From NC to PA...: 15 Month Recap

Nolan has toddled his way to 16 months so now it's time to recap July. There has definitely been some major developmental changes this month with our busy boy!

Cruising at 15 Months

July was busy with Independence Day, Meeting up with Auntie Danielle in Philly, 15 Month Pediatrician and ENT visits, Alex's Lemonade Stand fundraiser at daycare, a trip to NJ for Meredith's Wedding, and Mommy holding down the fort for a week while Daddy was a big shot shooting a commercial in LA.

Helping raise money for Alex's Lemonade Stand at daycare

Sitting in a chair like a big boy!

Playing with the water table on the hot afternoon

Having fun at the fundraiser!

Reading Terminal with Aunt Danielle!

15 Month Stats:

Height: 2'6'' (49th%)
Weight: 21lbs, 10oz (22th%)
Head Circumference: 19''(52th%)
3 Shots - DTap, Hib, Pneumococcal

Motor Skills: Nolan went from "letting go" last month to full on running and climbing this month! He can't get enough of the playground - luckily we have 2 within walking distance of our house, and one MEGA playground under 5 minute drive away. His favorite things to do at the playground are to run up and down the ramps, climb the stairs, sometimes go down the slides, and spend some time on the swings.

Swings on the Fourth of July

Back to his favorite playground in the Haverford Reserve

Cool swing in my hometown playground

New Ardmore park - walking distance to our house

Haverford reserve AGAIN :)

This boy and his swing :)

The climbing carries over to our house where he constantly wants to go up and down the stairs (prompting us to install a baby gate at the bottom) and is now even trying to get up on the couches and beds. He also loves climbing in and out of his radioflyer wagon, riding giraffe, and musical horse. I even caught him climbing on top of and sitting on Dean the other day!

Lovin the popper!

Climbing up the stairs with his favorite toy!

Running around New Ardmore Park

He wants to climb on everything

Loves running up and down the ramps

Giraffe is finally getting some good use!

Also loving his zebra rider!

Talking: Nolan is picking up more and more words each day and loves mimicking sounds! His favorite word is definitely "Mama" right now (read about his clingy-ness below!) Other than the other basics "Dada", "Dog", "Dee", "Baba", "Mmm Dat?" he has picked up quite a few (adorable) words this month.

He now almost always answers a very clear "Yeah!" when I ask him just about any question (clearly he doesn't always mean yes!) - it is very cute! He also shakes his head "No", but it also does not necessarily mean No. It'll be nice when we can at least reliably get yes/no answers out of him to figure out what he wants! He also has started saying "Whoa!" when something cool happens. When he presses a button on the radio to change the station or band, he almost always says "Whoaaa!" Love it! His "What's that" is more clearer now too - sounding more like "WaSAT?" The best is he'll say "WaSAT?" and point to something and I'll say "That's a window" and he'll say "Ohhhhh!" haha. Looking forward to more vocabulary each month!

Chatterbox

Eating: Not much change here. He's still a pretty good eater - especially at daycare. I'd still say his favorite foods are ravioli, tortellini, pasta, dumplings, rice, and pizza. Goldfish are his #1 snack - he will choose them over anything else. I've gotten him to eat raisins this month, and he was eating blueberries when Cylar was eating them over July 4th, but then wouldn't eat them another time I tried. His favorite fruit is Mandarin Oranges with Apples being 2nd. Veggies are hit or miss - sometimes he'll eat frozen mixed veggies when mixed with rice/pasta. The easiest way to get him veggies are through food pouches. He loves applesauce, yogurt, and cheese sticks. He also started feeding himself with spoons/forks and does a decent job of getting it in his mouth!

What's for dinner?

Feeding himself!

Re-load the spoon please!

Stuffing his face - not a great idea!

What a face!

Finger sandwich!

Sleeping: Nolan has been a champion sleeper this month! Must have something to do with basically ALL of his baby teeth being in now. The pediatrician was amazed he had 12 going on 16 teeth already - at least he got them all done at once and early :) His bedtime has moved back slightly - he is usually sleeping by 8pm. These days he will more often than not sleep a full uninterrupted 11-12 hrs straight! Every few days we'll hear him wake/cry briefly during the night but will fall right back asleep within a few minutes. After having so much sleeping struggles due to his ear infections/teething/colds, we are soaking up every moment of good sleep these days! Often times we are awaken first by Dean on the weekends than Nolan (darn dog and his weekday routine!)

Ready for Night Nights (and eating a cheese stick)

Things to remember at this age:

This silly squinty smile he does when I put him in his swing or high chair. He probably got it from imitating me trying to make him smile, but it makes me laugh every time :)

What a silly guy!

Hamming it up!

Nolan "buzzing" around - he'll just run all over the place making the rolling "brrrrrr" nose with his lips. I just picture a busy little bumble bee swarming all around.
His other favorite sound is "duckaduckaduckaducka" - we've caught it on video a few times. Love it!
Brushing our teeth together! I've realized the best way to get Nolan to brush his teeth is let him hold his own toothbrush while I brush mine and he mirrors me!

Showing Nonna how we brush our teeth at her house

This is the way we brush our teeth!

And grabbing mommy's toothbrush

Doing laps around downstairs with him sitting in his radioflyer while Joe or I push him. He loves it!
On demand high fives, claps, and hugs. We'll send him back and forth across the living room "now give Daddy a hug", "now give Mommy a hug".
Blowing Kisses!! "MMMM MUAH!" while moving his hand from his mouth
Waving to everyone while we are out and about.
Waving excitedly whenever I say "Bye byes" or "Night Nights"
His increased interaction with Dean. We're teaching him to pet "nicely" or "suave" and now he loves to climb all over him too. This morning I heard him chasing Dean all around then silence (always suspicious). I round the corner to see what was up and found them both sitting down with Nolan leaning back on him enjoying a snack. My heart just about melted.
He also loves to feed dean. We had to put a lock on dean's drawer since he gave him snacks constantly! He also has figured out how to open his food bin and gives him a few pellets at a time.

Food for Dean!

Fun with everyday objects.

His imitation of what we do with objects. Give him the remote control, he points it at the TV and pushes buttons. Give him a hair brush, he tries to brush his hair. He'll run the lint brush over the couches and brush dean with his brush too!
His new desk! I took Nolan shopping at our local consignment stores this month and found this awesome fixer-upper elementary school desk that's at least 50-60yrs old. This thing is HEAVY and I can't wait to give it a nice new coat of paint. Nolan loves it already :)

So excited about his new desk!

He always wants to climb in!

So studious already :)

CLINGINESS! Nolan has hit separation anxiety in full swing this month. He wants to held (by Momma ONLY!) all the time, and has had some rough drop offs at daycare. He grabs tight and we have to break his grip to pass off to his teachers. It has been hard to see his tears, but I've seen how fast he transitions to playing and know it's just a phase. While I love how much he loves his mommy, it makes it difficult to do much around the house when we're home with 1 hand. For now, I'll enjoy my cuddly little guy since I'm sure it won't be long until he wants to constantly be on his own!