I’ve been really slacking in the picture taking department when it comes to my own kiddo…so we headed out to my favorite field this morning to take some belated fifteen month pictures. He’s getting so big, so quickly! The baby in him is quickly disappearing, being replaced by this rambunctious, adorable little boy. I’m embracing it (or trying to anyway) and loving this stage he’s at. What follows is a long, scattered list of what my little guy has been up to lately…feel free to skim the text and just focus on the pictures

At 15 months, he’s walking everywhere and is very independent. He knows what it means when I say, “Let’s go in the car,” and will run to the front door screaming, “go go go go!” He loves to help me shut the front door and climb off of the porch all by himself. He knows where most of his body parts are and loves to help put on his shoes. He absolutely loves reading books and will snuggle on my lap turning the pages all day long if I let him. His favorite book of the moment is The Dog Who Cried Wolf by Keiko Kasza…he loves the part where the dog and wolves howl and loves to skip ahead to that part and howl with me. When we’re dressing him in the morning, he’ll hold out each foot to help us put his shorts on and tries to help get his shirt over his head as well. When you ask him if he has a dirty diaper, he’ll grab his diaper and run to his room and stand in front of the changing table. He also just learned how to climb up on the couches…time for mommy and daddy to find new hiding spots for the remote controls! He loves to comb his hair and help bathe himself at night. His hair is getting so long and so blond! He has these adorable little blond curls in the back and I’m pretty sure someone’s going to have to force me to cut it when the time comes.

He’s talking up a storm and really starting to repeat what we’re saying to him. His words include, “go,” “baye” (bye), “bi-per” (diaper), “sheeese” (cheese), “stin-key” (stinky), “no,” “bahl” (ball), “shues” (shoes), “gog-gie” (doggie), “bo-bo” (blankie) and tons of others that I can’t think of right now. He really is comprehending what we’re telling him well and I’m constantly amazed at how much he picks up on! We don’t go through the drive through often, but when we do, he starts chanting “na-na” (his word for food), demanding that I give him something yummy to occupy him in his car seat He thinks walking backward is absolutely hilarious and loves to spin in circles. He’s started “helping” me out around the house…he loves to push the buttons on the washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher and will follow me with one of his push toys when I’m vacuuming the house. He loves to talk on the phone and has his own “conversations” with his Grannie frequently. When he can’t find my phone, everything else becomes a phone – the calculator, the TV remote, the hair brush…you name it! He still doesn’t consistently sleep through the night, but he’s getting much better at it. Greg has a little pallet made up in his room that he’ll lay down on when Will wakes up in the middle of the night. Will knows when Daddy comes in that it’s time to lay back down and go to sleep – he just needs the reassurance of having Greg nearby.

He adores going to story time at the library every week. We just recently started going and it always takes him a few minutes to warm up, but once he does there is no stopping him. The librarian stands in the center of the circle and reads books and he walks right up to her to point at the pictures and ask questions in his own little 15-month-old language. He’s really learning about sharing there and has gotten much better about taking toys away from other children. We go to the park and the pool nearly daily and he loves them both. At the park, his favorite activities are climbing up the slide and getting chased across the bridge. At the pool, he loves to play in the baby pool. The water comes up to his armpits and he absolutely loves walking through it. We bring water toys and he’ll throw them across the pool and then go get them. He seemingly has no fear when it comes to water…he loves to put his face under and try to blow bubbles and the few times that he’s slipped and fallen under water when walking he just laughs when I pull him up.

There is not a day that goes by that I don’t thank God for him. Greg and I feel incredibly blessed to be his parents and to share life with him. It’s funny – nothing felt like it was missing from our lives before we had him…and now? I can’t imagine what life was like 15 months ago before he came along! He has totally stolen our hearts and we are head over heels in love with our little man