15 months

It's hard to believe that another month has already come and gone! Here's what Ryan has been up to this month ...

STATS:  Height: 31.5" (60th percentile)    Weight: 25 lb. 7 oz. (84th percentile)

PHYSICAL/DEVELOPMENTAL:

*continues to throw anything he can get his hands on ... but now he'll "warn" us by saying "toh!" ("throw") loudly right before he does it :)

*got 1 more tooth -- a bottom molar

*loves trying to climb on top of things

SOCIAL:

*says "no, no" when going over to the nightlight -- but will proceed to take it out of the outlet if no one is there to stop him

*has a special fascination with some words, like "backpack" and "doctor" ... he'll repeat them with a huge smile!

*LOVES finding his belly button when asked

*starting to sign the word "help" and signs the word "more" all the time to mean "I want"

*loves shaking his head and saying "no," even sometimes when meaning "yes"

*can say about 20 words -- new words this month include bus, uh oh, hat, eye, Elmo, and hi

*can help with easy tasks & loves following directions

EATING:

*has made HUGE strides with eating this month ... he eats a wider variety and bigger quantity of food. We don't know what has changed -- if it's just that he's gotten older, that his anemia issue is resolved, that he's hungrier?? Whatever it is, though, we're so thankful! Our non-meat-eater even ate chicken, pork, and beef all within a period of a few days!

*can drink from a straw cup

*started to feed himself (yogurt, applesauce, etc.) with a spoon -- sloppy but coming along!

*likes to feed US

*discovered just how tasty ice cream is!

*wants his hands to be wiped off immediately whenever he gets them too messy while eating

*loves taking bites of big pieces of fruit -- like apples

SLEEPING:

*has started an unfortunate tradition of waking up at 5:30 in the morning ... and won't fall asleep even if we take him in bed with us! He might've inherited Papa's early bird tendencies .... :)

FAVORITES:

*books continue to be a big part of each day -- he loves to pick his own book off the shelf (the "blind man" book and Elmo counting book are his two current favorites), bring it to us, and back up into our lap. About half the time, he'll sit through the whole story. The other half of the time, he leaves to choose a new book a few pages in. ;)

*likes paging through books on his own -- sometimes for 4-5 minutes at a time!

*still loves the fake moss on our fake tree but now will tell us he has it ("maw! maw!")

*fascinated with dump trucks and buses 

*hides objects in the "trunk" of his firetruck and mower push toys. On more than one occasion, "lost" things like washcloths, remotes, books, and even Momma's keys were found in the trunk. (Momma's watch, though, must've been put in a different secret spot! It's still MIA. Ha!) 

*loves opening and closing doors, drawers, and cabinets -- and taking as many things out as possible

*also seems to LIKE picking things up and/or putting things back where they belong(!)

*flaps his arms when he sees a dog

*fascinated with Ian's remote control car & likes to make it "drive" but can't really control where it is going

*enjoys dressing up -- especially in fun socks

"Show me your socks," we asked Ryan for this picture.

*finding Elmo in books

*playing in water

DISLIKES:

*HATES having fingernails and toenails trimmed and will cry loudly

*having a toy or object taken away ... Ryan definitely has started having his own opinions and has been expressing an independent streak. (Temper tantrums have begun ... ha ha1)

*going to the church nursery or anywhere that Momma or Daddy aren't in plain sight

We love you, Mr. Fifteen-Month-Old!