15 Months Old

Our Charlie Man has now surpassed the 15 month mark.  He's a (mostly) happy, silly, lovey, easy little guy.  He is talking more and more with each day that passes.  Just this week I learned that he is starting to make animal noises (woof, moo and roar that I've witnessed) and Grandma Lang tells me he can say his cousin's name (Bar-Ber), which he finally demonstrated for the rest of us last night.  He can also say Mommy, Daddy, Jack and ball very clearly and lots of other words not so clearly.  I even got him to say Ho Ho Ho the other day, but now he won't repeat it (he has 2 more days to master that feat).  He loves a book at Grandma and Grandpa's house where he can point to a ball, dog, shoes, etc.

Charlie had his 15 month check-up on the 10th.  Daddy took him since I am still so crazy at work (and not happy about missing milestone doctor appointments).  He said Charlie is on par with all the questions the doctor asked about him....starting to experiment with utensils, understanding ~50 words, starting to say some words, climbing a little (though he's not as daring as some other boys in our life - Ethan Asher will climb ANYthing he sees - gotta keep an eye on that little guy!), following instructions, etc.  He apparently despised the whole appointment from the moment Jason set him on the scale (what is it about that thing that gets kids all worked up??) until they left the building, but they survived nonetheless.  He had to get two shots: MMR and Varicella (chicken pox).  He's still going strong in the growth stats:  weight = 26 lbs, 4 oz (88.5%), height = 32.25" (85%) and head is still large at 19.76" .

 He hasn't gotten any new teeth lately, but one of his eye teeth is on the verge of poking through any second now and I think the other three are closely behind.  Here's to hoping it's not too painful for the little man!!

Charlie loves to give big open mouth sloppy kisses and hugs.  One of his favorite things to do is play on beds or couches.  He'll stand there until he has your attention and then say "aaaaahhhhhhhh" and then "fall" down to his knees.  Seriously cutest thing ever.  He'll do it over and over again as long as you keep paying attention.  Mark my words: this one is going to be a class clown.  He LOVES to make people laugh.

He is still pretty shy with strangers but opens up pretty quickly (a little more outgoing than Jack was at this age).  Back on our Rochester trip in early October he mastered blowing kisses and he can also wave, give high fives and do some sign language, especially more (and please, though not as consistently) and help.

Charlie can identify his body parts - so far I've seen him point to his hair, belly, nose, eyes, mouth, hands and feet.  Every time I've asked him where his ear is, he points to his hair, so we're still working on that one (though I haven't asked him in a few weeks, so for all I know he's mastered that one too).  I also discovered this week that he knows some motions to songs.  I was at his holiday party at school and the Wheels on the Bus came on and like four littles, including Charlie, stood near each other and did the "open and shut" and the "round and round."  We also discovered the other day that he will put his finger to his lips when we say "shhhh," which we're also assuming comes from that song (Mommies on the bus go shhh shhh shhh).  He's always surprising me with new things he knows!!

Enjoying a cookie at his class holiday party

Yum! Red icing! (notice Jack in the background baring his undies)

Charlie recently decided that high chairs are not for him.  After Jack did this at about the same age and we gave it and struggled getting him to stay still to eat for the next year or so we swore baby #2 would stay in a high chair until he was 5.  But alas, he is fighting us and we find ourselves giving in to avoid screaming and struggling.  I'm not giving up on the high chair or the booster seat just yet!!  However, this big chair (no booster, just sitting at chin-level with the table) has worked for about a week now - I think he thinks he's hot stuff.

Another new development: little man can officially open the doors at our house. That's what we get for going with lever door handles - we like the look, but toddlers can figure them out so much more quickly.  So much for keeping him out of closets, bathrooms and the laundry room by simply closing the door!

We have so much fun with our little Char Man and are enjoying each day that goes by!