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| This is "Nathan's cabinet" that he keeps his plastic bowls, spoon and go-cups in. |
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| All train conductors wear sailor hats...when their Lolo gets back from Hawaii with presents. |
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| This was one day I stayed home with Nathan when he was sick. He was pretty snuggly that day. |
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| New favorite hobby...reorganizing the pantry for mommy. Includes arranging water and soda bottles and stacking cat food cans to his satisfaction. Also examining the back of the Honey Nut Cheerios box (because there's a girl on there he thinks is his Aunt Ashley). |
My precious baby boy isn't such a baby anymore! At 15 months he was 23 lbs 9 oz (37th %ile), 33 inches long (94th %ile) with a head circumference of 18.3 inches (31st %ile). At a recent visit he was around 25 pounds and I swear he carries rocks in his pockets. He is growing out of his 18 month shirts although he can still fit in some 12 month pants. Mostly he's in size 18 month all around but we've had to buy a few 24 month shirts. He's in size 4 diapers still and size 5 shoes. He now has his 4 bottom teeth, 4 on top and is currently cutting all 4 "one year" molars. Fun times had by all. The good thing about that is he is eating a slightly wider variety of foods and can chew them a lot better.
He is still sleeping through the night although we have had a few nights where gas/bad dreams/teething/fill in mystery baby ailment here have kept me out of my own bed for several minutes to several hours. We did recently put him back into one piece footie pajamas because his two-piece jammies were getting too small and the shirt would ride up and expose his belly/back and wake him up cold at night.
Going back to eating, he is still moderately picky and I find myself relying on the Gerber pre-packaged meals both because he eats them and because they are quick. Even when I leave work "on time" I still have a long commute and because he doesn't eat a good lunch at school he's ready to eat pretty soon after we get home. I have some mommy guilt about that but until I find something else other than scrambled eggs (one of his regular dinners) that he will eat they will have to do. Fortunately he loves fruit, string cheese, yogurt, beans and green beans so he does get a little variety but not a ton. He is great about drinking his milk, so that is not a concern and the only other be stage he's allowed to drink is water. We generally don't give him sweets of any kind (other than fruit) although grandma's have been known to slip him popsicles, ice cream and cake on occasion. That's what they are there for after all. Probably about a month ago we started letting him try to feed himself with a spoon and, well, it's been slow progress. But we'll get there eventually.
As for Nathan's "cognitive" skills, he's learning shapes and colors right now. We have a ways to go...currently everything is "purple". He has figured out how to turn his toys on and off, put the shape blocks in the matching shape on the container and now loves to dance. Dancing consists of moving his feet really fast and maybe swaying back and forth some. Entertaining nonetheless. His vocabulary is huge and he'll parrot anything you say. We laughed when they asked if Nathan knew 3 words besides mama and dada at his 15 month appointment. We came up with 30 in the waiting room without working too hard. He probably has at least double that now. Not all of them are clear (you need context clues sometimes) but the fact that he try's the word at all amazes me. I'm not going to know what to do if our next child has a "normal" vocabulary for their age. Before I sound like I am completely bragging I will say he does not link words at all yet, which is not expected until 18 months or later. So while he has a lot of words he will only use them singly.
We are teaching him to say please and thank you, and he is learning that people (and cats) have names. He catches on quick to everything, including the "tricks" his Lolo, Aunt Ashley, and Popo continue to teach him. Most recent is to shrug one shoulder and tilt his head and say "I dunno." of course he doesn't know what it means, so he uses it at funny times. And I guess I shouldn't place all the blame on Jimmy's family since we, like good Aggie parents, are teaching him to whoop (complete with hand motion) and today I got him to say Aggies! There is evidently some confusion on the hand motion though. Today in church we were trying to get him to be quiet during prayer and Jimmy told him to put his hands together to pray. He promptly put his fingers together and started whooping. Sorry, Lord, but I had to laugh.
My sweet boy just continues to amaze me. He is so smart and even tempered and a joy to be with. He is still dependent on a paci to sleep and likes to have it when he's feeling tired or sick, but he is a good natured boy who just loves to laugh and play. Two of his favorite games right now are what he calls "happy" (singing If You're Happy and You Know It") and playing a modified hide-and-seek. The second involves him "hiding" behind one of our wicker chairs that he can see through but he thinks he is hidden. Then we pretend to look for him and call his name. Of course he answers us and laughs. He is so darn cute! He still loves to read his books and point out things he knows to you. He is also starting recently to explore the joy of climbing...the couch and ottoman so far, and I know that's just the beginning. He is fearless on them and would dive head first off if we didn't stop him. Crazy kid (I find myself saying that a lot these days).
Well that's all for now. Hopefully his 18 month check up will be posted more timely.
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| Beans are difficult to eat with a spork, but he was trying. |
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| A litle more successful with the yogurt! |
