FIFTEEN MONTHS!!!

 Paxton is 15 months old today!  Here's what he's been up to this month:

•  He learned to walk!  This is obviously his biggest accomplishment this month.  Last month he was taking one or two steps at a time, and only if we stood right in front of him and begged him.  This month he is walking across the living room and down the hall because he wants to.  He probably walks 75% of the time now.  He can stand up without pulling up and he just goes.  If we are in the room, he will always look at us before he takes off to make sure he gets plenty of praise for his walking.  I love to watch him tottering around the house with his arms up in the air for balance.  He just looks so big!  I love when I have my back to him doing dishes or something and hear him coming and turn around and see him standing!  It always shocks me for a second.

This happened for the first time this month, he turned around and slid off the chair.

•  He is saying a few new words: "ahh" for up when he wants to get up on the couch or down from his high chair, "ahh" for eye when we ask him wear his eye is, "nah nah" which actually does mean night night sometimes...and sometimes we're not sure what it means, "uhhh-GAH" for again...usually when he wants me to read him the banana book for the 60th time (haha I said I wanted a reader).

•  He has FINALLY mastered clapping!  He has been trying since he was about seven months old.  He would flap his arms and say "yay" but could not get his hands to meet.  He finally got it down on Tuesday evening and has been obsessed with practicing ever since.

•  He loves to be read to right now.  He brings me books (usually the same two) all day every day.  He sits still and listens while I read for the most part, and figured out how to turn pages today.  When I finish the book, he usually demands that I read it again and again until we can distract him with something else.

•  He has gotten really cuddly this month.  If I'm on the floor with him, he will run into my arms and lay his head on my shoulder for a few seconds. He loves giving kisses right now (on his terms).  At the aquarium, Jared was holding him and I was standing next to him.  Paxton would give Jared a kiss and then turn quickly and give me a kiss.  He went back and forth about twenty times and was laughing the whole time.  It was really sweet.

•  He is still taking two naps a day but the morning nap is getting unpredictable.  It is sometimes much shorter than two hours and sometimes does not happen at all.  It will be nice when he drops it so we have more flexibility during the day.
• He can do some things on command such as stand up, clap, walk, point to his tummy, arms up, and we are working on pointing to his eye and ear (he gets those two confused and sometimes will just point to his nose).  When he is about to throw a piece of food, we can tell him to put it in his mouth and half the time he will obey.  He gets his feelings hurt really easily if we tell him no too sternly (it really doesn't take much), but if we don't tell him no sternly, he just smiles and shakes his head no and keeps doing whatever he was doing.  Discipline is tough right now.  We are mainly just redirecting him and distracting him.

•  He is still wearing size 4 diapers and 12-18 month clothes.  He was measured for his first pair of shoes and was at a 4.5.  His new shoes are 5's, but his 4's still fit.

•  He is eating three meals a day and snacks on demand.  He usually brings his snack container out of the diaper bag to me when he wants a snack.  He drinks about 20 ounces of milk each day and a few ounces of juice (mixed with water) some days.  He loves pizza and enchiladas and all fruit.  We have a hard time getting him to eat vegetables and sometimes bread.  Some meals he can't get enough food and some meals he throws everything on the floor. 

•  He can make the monkey sound "ooh ooh ahh ahh" but does it without much sound, he mostly makes the motions with his mouth.  He also will only do it if we do it first...so he doesn't do it when we ask him what sound a monkey makes.

Making the monkey sound

Starting to walk has made him seem so much bigger!  We really are starting to see more of the toddler side come out and he is definitely less of a baby.  He is getting really adept at communicating his needs and wants.  It really amazes me how fast he is learning to speak and understand.  We love our little toddler!