15 Months

Will had his 15-month check-up this past week, so I thought it might be time for a William update. This is really an update for my records, so feel free to just browse on down to the photos. His stats:

• 24 lbs. 8 oz. (55%)
• 32 inches (70%-but still far too short to go on any fun Disneyworld rides)
• 48 inch head circumference (45%)

This kid is full of life, energy, laughs and craziness, so much so that we can hardly keep up. Here's some fun facts about our little peanut:

• His words: hi, ball, nigh-nigh, hot, ma ma and da da.
• His signs: more (his form of it), milk and please. We're working on thank-you.
• He loooooooves to eat. I feel like all I do all day is feed him. He is constantly making the sign for more, which means more food now. When he wakes up in the morning he signs more then milk, then more, then milk which I interpret as: give me milk and food pronto.
• He'll still eat anything but his favorites are still meat, pasta and fruit.
• He thinks all food is hot. When we try to feed him something he says, "Ha, ha" and then blows on the food, even if he is eating yogurt. We tell him that it's not hot, but he isn't convinced.
• He can't get enough of the great outdoors. He will get his shoes and then stand by the door, clearly indicating that it's time to go outside. Once outside, he insists on running down our driveway (and directly into the road) at FULL speed; or rummaging through woods. We go to the school park after his nap a lot and there is a giant soccer/softball field surrounded by marshy woods--all he wants to do is play in the slimy woods. Yum.
• He is currently obsessed with the mouse on the computer--see photos below. His first tantrum came when I took the mouse away. That is a fun stage that I am definitely looking forward to.
• He can make a lot of animal sounds, though he won't always do it on demand. He pants like a dog, snorts like a big, roars like a bear, and growls like a tiger. I think it's pretty darn cute.
• He knows his body parts but refuses to show it. Any time I ask him where a body part is--he points to his ear. Occasionally, he will do the right thing, but it is a pass time that clearly doesn't interest him.
• He still loves to read and is getting so much better at letting me read to him. Before naps and bedtime I will read as many books as he'll let me (hey, I'm a sucker for reading). He recognizes books and parts that make him laugh since he'll open books and laugh at all the right parts.
• He is obsessed with phones. He walks around constantly with anything to his ear (even if it isn't a phone--my favorite are the church's door stops) and says hi over and over and over. The best is, he always laughs when on the phone, too. I guess I laugh when on the phone, because he sees it as common practice.
• He is still transitioning to one nap. I was hoping to get him happy with just one nap by the time we go to Disneyworld (in two weeks!) so we'll see. Two or three times a week he still needs two naps, while the other days he'll just take one, but for some reason, he doesn't always take the longest afternoon naps, so a lot of days he'll take a middle of the day nap and then go to bed extra early.
• He sleeps 12 hours at night. Usually from 7 to 7, though most nights he's in bed by 6:45. I like my evenings and he likes his sleep. It's a win-win.
• He adores his dad. And can recognize that the sound of the garage-door opening is his da-da coming home. He gets so very excited when he hears that sound. For some reason, he always growls at his dad. Maybe it's because Josh growls at him....
• His still loves his blankies (he calls them nigh-nighs), though Josh and I are blankey Nazis--we only let him have them in the crib b/c he won't put them down if he has them outside of it; he'll throw fits when we try to take them away for feeding and/or diapering and the such, so we just leave it in the crib. He knows now and will wave bye-bye to the blankey as we leave his room each morning.
• He really loves little babies and gives them hugs and even tries to pick them up. It's precious (he also loves dolls).
• He loves to give other kids hugs, especially this one little girl at church whose mother is an investigator. He is obsessed with that little girl and will chase her around all during church trying to give he hugs. His hugs are so enthusiastic that he knocks her right down to the ground. I'm not sure she's such a big fan of his hugs, but it is still stinkin' cute.
• He still only has 6 teeth--four on top and two on the bottom.
• He still hates getting his diaper changed, which is unfortunate since he has, as the doctor put it, a very healthy digestive system (meaning he has a lot of messy diapers).
• He is still, clearly, the light and life of our little world. We literally cannot get enough of him. We love this little guy and are having so much fun watching him grow!

Reaching for the mouse.

Standing on tip-toe to get that darn mouse.

Standing on the chair, smiling victoriously because he knows he is not supposed to stand on the chair.

Begging for food in the morning, as is common practice.

After eating a full breakfast of oatmeal with yogurt, a whole-wheat waffle, fruit and milk, he is apparently still hungry as he went to the pantry, got the crackers down and started chowing. Yes, he loves food!