Gray was 15 months on Tuesday but had his well visit this morning. There weren't in routine shots this time but he did go ahead and get his flu shot, which he handled like a champ but it still broke my mama heart anyway.
I'm trying to capture as much as I can about him over the last three months so this is yet another post more for my own memory's sake than your reading pleasure.
Growth-Gray is wearing a few 12 month clothes but mostly18 months (especially pajamas because he is so long), still in size four diapers and is wearing size four shoes (his feet are tiny compared to his hands and the rest of his body).
Weight-22 pounds, 13 ounces (51st %tile)
Height-31 and 1/4 inches (85th %tile)
Head measurement-48.3 centimeters (86th %tile). His head doesn't look big to me anymore so his measurements always surprise me until I remember that they go along with his height measurement.
Milestones/Firsts/Accomplishments-
Gray became a full time walker a week or two after his first birthday. He has been even happier and more content since, but walking has caused some of his first minor injuries as well. Our boy has a new scrape or bruise every day. He is tough as nails though and rarely cries.
He has SIXTEEN teeth! Six came in all at the same time and four of those were molars. Just after that when we were certain he'd catch a break, here came two more. All he has left are his two year molars and he'll have a full set of teeth. These last eight have been the worst for him yet. He's had a terrible, constant runny nose, low grade fever and many clingy and fussy days. He's even been up screaming a few nights here and there. When it's been that bad we give him some Tylenol or Ibuprofen and it seems to helps a lot.
We made the switch from the infant car seat to the big boy seat! Poor boy's legs were all scrunched up and we weren't about to buy a bigger rear facing car seat to use for only a few months. The pediatricians are recommending that you wait until as close to 24 months as possible to turn them forward but again, we didn't find it necessary to buy a third car seat, especially with Gray being so big for his age. He is much happier facing forward and loves to watch trucks go by on the road. Look how much he's grown since his first time in a car seat...
Gray had his second room "promotion" at church from the crawler room to a walker/young toddler room.
We had our first public tantrum. Thank God Paul was with me. I'm pretty sure every person in Target heard our son screaming. It was good times.
Language/Learning Development-I can't keep up with all of Gray's new words these days but he is pretty verbal most of the time. He will rarely say "more" or "all done", even though he used to say those words all the time. But then he'll bust out some phrases (daddy bye-bye, daddy's turn, go outside, so silly, etc.) when we aren't asking him to say anything.
He can show you where his feet, belly, ears, eyes and nose are on a good day but would rather point these out on someone else or a stuffed animal. His favorite body part to say is "EYES!"-he says it as clear as can be but pokes you right in the eye as he's saying it. We're still working on "gentle" (he honestly doesn't fully get that yet, plus let's face it-he's all boy!). Most things like that that he is learning are still pretty inconsistent. He is still answering "no" to questions, even when he means for the answer to be "yes". He understands so much and it constantly blows my mind. He is starting to sing along to certain songs now-his favorite is still Jesus Loves Me. His singing is more like humming right now but it's so cute! When we're out and about he loves saying "hi" to everyone we see. He has been very obedient lately when we tell him "no" or "stop" or give him a simple direction to do something.
Temperament/Personality-Gray is happy and well behaved about 80-90% of the time. We had a long streak of golden behavior but I knew that wouldn't last too long. He has started having occasional tantrums again, mostly over me telling him no or that he can't play with a bottle of Lysol. I am such a mean mama! We do time out sometimes but limit it to major offenses (haha) because us telling him "no!" in a very stern voice seems to be enough right now. He HATES for us to be mad at him and it breaks his little heart (wonder how long that will last?!). Right after he's been scolded or gotten in trouble, he gives a good long silent cry and runs to us to try to give us a hug and kiss. Some of that seems to be manipulation already too, but he genuinely (for now) hates for us to be mad at him. Thankfully he gets over his tantrums quickly at this point. He really is so sweet and affectionate and I thank God for that every day. We've prayed daily that God would give him a sweet and gentle spirit (amongst many, many other prayers) so we aren't taking any credit for it.
He has been going through some separation issues for a month or so now. He sometimes cries for a minute when I drop him off at the Y but as soon as he turns the corner he's fine. If I take him to Lindsey's, to my Gram's house or something like that, he does better. But if someone comes to our house, he thinks that means I am leaving and has a complete meltdown-we're talking huge tears and long, long silent cries that will break your heart right into a million pieces. He usually gets over it pretty quick and it seems to be harder on me than it is him, but I will be glad when it's over!
Interests/Playtime-Gray is still really into books. He reads so many each day and brings them to us to read constantly. We praise him for it and hope this continues. His new loves are any and every thing that he can turn on or move or manipulate in some kind of way. He has this weird obsession with cleaning supplies right now-vacuum cleaners, brooms, spray bottles, etc.
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| Look guys, I can ride my 4-wheeler and Swiffer at the same time! |
He is also obsessed with doors-opening and closing them, closing us in a room and saying "bye-bye" or closing himself in a room and anxiously waiting for us to come and find him. Paul says my OCD is rubbing off on him but Dr. Bill says this is perfectly normal ;)
He still loves Sophie, but her feelings for him remain the same unless he has a snack. He loves to brush his teeth (praying this one lasts too!). He loves trucks and tractors and gets especially excited if we see one out somewhere. He is starting to get somewhat attached to a Curious George stuffed animal and a reindeer stuffed animal but he could care less about a lovey. He LOVES animals and would be thrilled if we made weekly visits to the zoo. He loves dogs and if we ever have a "real" house and yard one day, he is going to be a big dog kind of guy for sure!
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| Gray loving on Chip, my friend Julie's big lab. |
Now that he is walking he is a lot more independent during playtime. He loves to play upstairs and we have a gate up there too, so I can actually do laundry, clean or get myself ready while he plays. It doesn't mean I don't have a huge mess to clean up afterwards, but hey beggars can't be choosers, right?! He is starting to play creatively and it's so fun to watch. He always gets a kick out of us smelling his stinky feet and saying "shooooweee!" and a few weeks ago he randomly went up to Paul's feet and did his best "shoowee". It was precious. He is still very affectionate and initiates hugs and kisses all the time. That will never get old. He is into everything-closets, cabinets, purses, etc. I try hard to choose my battles though and all that stuff can be put away so I just let him explore as long as he isn't into anything that could hurt him. It's hilarious to see him come out of his room from playing in his closet. He'll have on a toboggan with some diaper cream or Tylenol syringe in his hand.
He loves to play outside. I love that but hate that we don't have yard for him to play in or hardly any outside toys. There isn't a park close to us but we do go sometimes. He is still in the "parallel play" stage with other children but is starting to interact more and more. He really responds to older kids a lot more right now-he loves my nephews and he loves Mason and Landon!
Eating habits-Last time I wrote about this Gray wasn't digging his milk. We kept offering it to him and were about to call the doctor to see what they recommended when all of a sudden he started drinking it. He likes it cold too, which is awesome because it never goes to waste.
He became very interested in silverware about a month or so ago. He's actually doing pretty well with it too. He thinks eating from a fork or spoon is way more fun so even things he can pick up he will put on his spoon. This boy loves fruit! Watermelon is his favorite, followed by blueberries, strawberries, grapes, apples, bananas and peaches. I'm certain he could eat his weight in watermelon and blueberries. Vegetables, on the other hand, are a different story. We keep offering though and sometimes are able to sneak some in with bites of other things or put them on his silverware and convince him that it's fun. He also wants nothing to do with meat. It's certainly not that he doesn't have enough teeth to chew it up. The only meats he will eat are chicken nuggets and turkey pepperoni. He's had Chick-fil-a nuggets a few times but we can't afford to eat out often and I don't want to make a habit of super unhealthy foods. I did find some all natural with no preservatives chicken nuggets a couple months ago and I fix them for him once or twice a week. Paul and I eat pretty healthy most of the time but unfortunately it isn't rubbing off. I worry about it sometimes but Dr. Bill always says there are two things you can't force your child to do-eat and sleep. He did recommend two books today that might help with this and we'll also keep offering him meat and veggies and hopefully he'll change his mind one of these days. God quickly humbled my many "nevers" about how we would raise Gray when it comes to food (any other things). I'm sure I've said things like, "Gray will eat very little, if any, packaged food with tons of preservatives. I won't make a separate meal for Gray, he will eat what we eat, etc. etc, etc." Some days half of his meals consists of packaged food but I've got to feed him something. I can see us trying the whole "it's this or nothing, even if you go to bed hungry" approach but we don't feel that's appropriate at his age now. Also, as much as we want to encourage healthy eating, we want to "live a little" and have fun with him too so we've already allowed way more ice cream and treat dates at this point than we ever thought we would. So never say never y'all because God takes lots of opportunities to grow us through our children! ;)
Sleep habits-I am loving him being down to one nap! I wish his nap durations were more consistent; he sleeps anywhere from an hour to sometimes close to three hours. I guess I can't complain because he sleeps so good at night (11-12 hours) and never fusses about going to bed or down for a nap. At night sometimes he will actually reach out for his crib. I am so thankful for this! He's been a tummy sleeper since he could roll over but lately has had some funny sleep positions. Sometimes it's so hard for me to get things done during his nap because I can't stop watching him on the monitor.
If you're wondering if we still love this age despite the tantrums being present again, the answer is a big fat YES!!! I am having so much fun with him and feel so crazy blessed to be his mama. Next time I give this update he will be ONE AND A HALF!
