15 Month Update

Connor turned 15 months old last Sunday, September 19th and boy has he made some serious strides recently. Of course the most obvious are his literal strides as he is moving quite quickly these days on two feet. People who see him usually comment about how fast he is. For someone who's only been walking a month, he's picked it up pretty quickly.

Granted, he falls down about 500 times a day, but that's not really because he's unsteady, it's more because he doesn't look where he's going...at all. It's hilarious really. He just walks along like he owns the world. A stuffed animal will be in front of him and he'll just barrel through and of course trip over it, and then lay there on the floor like, "What just happened? Who put that there?" Luckily, he usually just pulls himself back up and goes along his merry way, but it's pretty funny to watch.

You can usually guess when a fall's about to happen like when he's about to walk over uneven ground or something with a lip or a curb, but sometimes he surprises us and steps over it without a problem. He'll get it soon enough.

He also seems to be making language strides. We have started deciphering a few more words lately. We think he officially knows the difference between Momma and Daddy and that's kind of new. He also says (but not really on command, just when he feels like it) "Doggy", "Z-Z"(which we assume is Maizey), "Banana", "Bye Bye", "Ball", "Baa Baa" (the sound a sheep makes and a sheep toy he likes), and "Baby". Clearly he's got a command of the letter "b". Ha! I feel like there are more, but I can't remember at the moment. Anyway, it seems like he's really trying to talk more and more lately. It's fun.

Also, he seems to be using his hands more lately. I have seen him wave and clap a lot more lately. Also he has started to sign "all done" now. I signed this to him when he started eating more solids, around 6 months old, thinking it would help me signify when he was done eating a certain food, but it has really come in handy as a way of me telling him when something is over and him understanding. For example, when a bowl of snacks are gone, I can sign "all done" and he'll sign it back and he understands they are gone instead of me just getting up and walking away and he crying because the food has disappeared. It seems to help him. Of course we still have mini-tantrums, but I think it helps a bit.

As I have mentioned before, we also practice a few animal sounds. Well, Jeff got Connor to not only make an elephant sound but also sort of make an elephant trunk and Connor sort of does it with his hand. It's really cute. We also have a counting book and count along with our hands and then so does Connor.

I've also talked about this in other posts, but it certainly is something new. Connor is really into books lately. It was so sweet, the other day, I was in the living room and Connor walked off around the corner. I sort of assumed he went into the study to play with a few toys he has there, so I gave him a minute or two before I followed him. Well I listened, and it was pretty quiet, so I walked around the corner and didn't see him in the study. Instead, I saw him sitting on the floor of his room flipping through books. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen. He just looked up at me like, "Yes Mom, do you need something? I'm reading."

So the rest of Connor's life is still pretty much the same. He goes to bed at 7pm, wakes up around 7AM and takes about a three hour nap in the afternoon. Of course he doesn't get much of a nap at school Tuesdays and Thursdays, but he makes up for it the rest of the week usually. He is doing great at school and everyone says he is a really happy boy.

Of course he also has a full set of teeth. Ugh, he finally got in his final eye tooth and knowing Connor, he'll get his two year molars any day now. It wouldn't be bad to get them out of the way, but we haven't had a break in months now and the poor boy has been in so much teething pain.

As for his stats. We had his 15 month appointment today and it went great. He weighed 29 pounds 1 ounce! Oh my goodness. That puts him in the 95th percentile for weight. Also, he was 33 inches long, which puts him in the 90th percentile for height. So all in all, he's a big boy. More of him to love I say. The pediatrician says he's always been big and is just charting 5% higher than at 12 months, so he's totally normal. We'll see if now that he's on the move he burns off this baby fat. I can't imagine him being small, since he's always been so big, but I keep hearing stories from people with kids that started off really big and then ended up really skinny. We'll see.

I was happy to answer all of the pediatrician's questions positively. It seems like he is reaching all of his 15 month milestones. The pediatrician seemed really happy with his progress. She asked if he knew 4 words (including Mommy and Daddy), if he could scrawl with a crayon, if he's walking fast, if he imitates us, if he lets us know he wants something and how, if he eats table food, if he's transitioned to whole milk, and if he's starting to get opinionated or maybe even throw tantrums (unfortunately I had to answer yes to that one, although he's still pretty even tempered).

Overall, even though everyone who meets him tells me he seems "soooo serious" he really is a very happy boy. He is easy going and really jolly. His teachers and everyone who really gets to know him tell me all the time how happy he seems and how much fun he seems to have. It makes this Mom very happy to see her boy seem to have such a zest for life. I love him so much. He brings so much joy to our life.

And you think this guy is "sooo serious". Connor being silly with a paper bag.

Jeff took Connor to Lowe's on Saturday and he said it was like Disneyland. He loved it.

Checking out the ceiling fans at Lowe's. "Wow, this place is awesome."

On Sunday afternoon, we all walked over to the park. Connor is really strutting his stuff.

Here is just one of the many parks within walking distance of our house. I love our neighborhood.

Helping Connor down a very "big" slope.

Connor looking through the bubble in the playscape.

Walking along the bridge.

We were touching hands through the bubble. He would laugh.

He always loves climbing up the stairs on playgrounds.

Sliding!

We found a football and Connor loved walking around with it.

Maybe he'll be a center. That's good technique.

Keep it high and tight Connor.

I love my football.

Connor's a Swinger

As I think I mentioned in my last post, we are slowly but surely encouraging Connor to like golf. Since everyone who sees him thinks he's going to be a linebacker, I'll take the much safer golf any day. Anyway, I think the encouragement is probably more Daddy and both of his Grandpas' doing, but I stand by and watch nonetheless.

Here is Connor's first swing lesson. As you can see, he's a natural. Ha!

Our Fun Amarillo Trip

It's been kind of a busy week, so I am sorry for the delay in posting an update from our fun weekend in Amarillo. We flew out Friday morning and really had a terrific time. Connor did well on the flight out, although Jeff and I will admit it really is a whole lot of work keeping a toddler contented on your lap for two hours. Man, he just wants to be on the move right now, so although he wasn't crying the whole time or anything, it still wasn't easy. Jeff and I were both glad to be on the ground.

The pictures really do tell the story, but to sum up, on Friday we arrived just in time for Connor to have lunch and then we put him down for a nap. Since we had a pretty early wake up call (my alarm went off at 5am), we had lunch too and then Jeff and I took naps as well. After we all got up, we let Connor play outside.

The weather in Amarillo was so amazing. It is so much more dry than Houston and it actually gets cool at night and in the morning. It was awesome. We basically stayed outside all weekend. We ate every meal outside and watched all of our college football games outside too.

Saturday morning, we all went to the Amarillo zoo. It is a smaller zoo, so it wasn't very crowded and we could let Connor out of his stroller to walk around. Plus, we could get up next to the fence and see all the animals. We all agreed that the flying lemurs were the best. Connor loved watching all the animals run around. He really seemed to like the entire zoo experience. It was a total hit. Plus, at the half way point there was a playground and he found some "older kids" (3 and 5) and he was totally entertained by them.

At around 11:30, we headed home for lunch, naps, and college football. After a near upset loss by Michigan (ugh), Connor got up from his nap and we played outside again and walked on the fairway a bit. Gigi and Pagger Don also live on a golf course (yes, we are subconsciously getting Connor to like golf) and let him walk around on the soft grass. It was really cute, because he liked walking down hill, but he also liked struggling up the inclines. It was sweet to see him sort of grunt up the hills.

That night, we listened to A&M have a comeback win against FIU and ate delicious prime rib and even had molten chocolate cake for dessert. Yummy. Oh and talk about a temperature change, I got so chilly, I was dressed in a sweatshirt, long pants, and Jeff's old high school, letter jacket. Ok, maybe it was only in the upper 50's but that's cold to me, especially since it was 92 during the day.

Sunday, we had a nice morning, because Pagger Don let Jeff and I stay in bed an extra hour as he got Connor out of his crib. After we all got up and ready, we went to brunch at their country club. We kind of timed it so that it would be an early lunch for Connor and he did great.

After Connor's nap on Sunday, we headed to the airport and flew back to Houston. It was a great visit to see Gigi and Pagger Don. Thanks for having us!

Connor was not that happy having such a small amount on space on the airplane, but we made due. We brought lots of toys, books, and snacks.

He got his own little set of wings to wear. He mostly chewed on them though. That final eye tooth finally popped through on Thursday, but it's still bugging him. He screamed bloody murder a couple mornings in pain. Poor guy. He's almost done though. That's what I keep telling myself.

I made fun of Jeff for buying a paper, because I knew he'd never be able to read it on the plane with Connor. So this is a joke picture we took of him reading it with Connor between his legs. Can you see Connor? Ha ha!

We figured we were about to get arrested for this, but we had to do it. It was too funny. Welcome to Amarillo little guy.

Connor is happy to finally be able to stretch his legs when we arrive in Amarillo.

Here he is exploring their back patio.

Pagger Don showing Connor a fun little space that was totally "Connor sized."

He couldn't do much walking from grass to rocks without falling over each time, but it made for a cute picture.

Connor had to try out his horsey that he got for Christmas.

Gigi reading him stories Friday night.

Saturday morning, Connor and I walked around with Jeff and his Dad for a bit, as they golfed nine holes.

We arrived at the zoo Saturday around 9:45, and right away, we could tell Connor was really interested in the animals. Notice Connor's appropriate "little animal" shirt.

These lemurs were awesome. They jumped all over the place. Connor liked them, but I think the adults were just as amazed.

A happy family at the zoo.

It was really cool, at the lion exhibit, there was a male lion right up next to the fence. I was so fascinated. I have never been that close to a lion before. It was really cool.

Very cool close encounter with a lion.

Connor wasn't as impressed. He only likes the animals that move. "If you just lay there lion, I'm outa here."

Connor was ready to move onto bigger and better things.

So Pagger Don had to show him the huge longhorn steer of course. That thing was massive. We told Connor not to get too interested in longhorns. :)

Pagger Don loved holding Connor's hand. It was really cute. Too bad Connor usually just wants to roam free. He's Mr. Independent, what can I say.

Checking out the donkeys.

Awww, now that's pretty adorable.

We took a break from the animals to play on the playground. Connor of course found the stairs first.

He also loved playing with these two boys in orange. One would dance for him and Connor would giggle. It was cute.

Connor loved his Connor-sized spot. I bet the next time we visit, he'll be too tall. This time though, it's just right.

We let Connor play with a golf club and he loved just walking all over with it. He even sometimes twirled it around. It was funny. Also, I had to take pictures of him in his A&M romper. He just doesn't have the "physique" for a romper.

Connor brandishing his golf club.

I love my golf club.

This is so fun!

Hanging out on the fairway.

Walking on grass is tough.

I need to take a rest.

Will you help me Gigi?

I am not sure what is going on, but Pagger Don sure thinks it's cool.

I got the pole.

Sunday morning, Connor and Pagger Don got to bond a bit, while Jeff and I got an extra hour of sleep. Thanks!

The buffet wasn't open yet, so we went down to the club's playground and played a bit before brunch. Connor had fun.

What a cool dude at brunch.

As we waited for our flight to board, a Southwest flight attendant was setting up her next flight and Connor was helping. It was really funny and it actually entertained him for a bit. He's always a hit with the ladies, that's for sure.

Getting Back in the Swing

Connor had it rough the past couple of days, but he's finally starting to turn things around. His cold manifested into the first ear infection of the season and he's still struggling with his final eye tooth. Basically, you're looking at one unhappy toddler.

He hardly ate (which killed me) and he cough and cried throughout most nights and naps. It was really sad. Luckily though, we're over the hump and seeing improvement. He even went to school today.

He finally started eating again yesterday and I can't tell you how happy that made me. I know logically the boy can stand a few days without eating a lot (yes, I know, he's big), but as a mother, it really hit home how emotional I was by watching my son not eat. It was so hard on me for some reason, because it's such an overt expression that your child isn't feeling well. Needless to say when he started eating again yesterday Mommy started feeling a lot less stressed out.

Oh one other thing, even after Connor's hunger strike leading up to his doctor's appointment on Monday, he weighed in at 28 pounds 3 ounces. I was pretty surprised, because I was thinking he was 27 pounds. We go for his big 15 month check-up in 2 weeks, so we'll get all his stats and evaluation then, but I wanted to give you that update for now. I put 28 pounds in a growth chart calculator and it said that put him in at the 96th percentile for weight. Oh goodness. Ha! I guess he could stand to have a few more hunger strikes. Ok, no that would kill me.

Anyway, I just wanted to do a quick post, since I didn't update you that he did in fact have an ear infection, plus we are going to Amarillo this weekend, so I wanted to post a few pictures from this week, before the bunch I'm sure we'll have after this weekend. Enjoy these few pics from the week.

I had to do some volunteering in town, so I brought Connor to Jeff's office, so his coworkers could see him and so Jeff could drive him home. Connor liked poking around. There are some open spaces, so Connor had fun.

This is my kind of place. A perfect toddler highway.

Hanging out in Daddy's office.

Connor was too sick to go to school on Tuesday, but he went today, and it just so happened to be yellow day at school. As you can see, Connor had the Alfalfa thing going this morning, but it laid down before we got to school.

I never quite understood the whole "dress in a color" thing that schools do, but it actually looked cute seeing all the kids in yellow and I guess they really focused on that color today.

Oh and I know that Connor is really well liked at school and he seems to like it, which makes me really happy. When we came for drop off today, both of his teachers in unison said, "Yay!! Connor's back!" It is always a quick drop off, but they said, it just wasn't the same without him. Then when we were leaving for the day, we walked by the main office and the Director said, "Bye Connor. There goes the happiest kid in Toddler I's." I said, "Really? That's so great to hear." She said that he just seems to really be enjoying it and doing great. Again, I was beaming. So I was one happy Momma today.

After school, Connor whipped me up a gourmet meal.