Where does the time go?  I had this draft ready two weeks ago but I was waiting on some pictures to be sent my way.  The pictures are delayed and I figured that some iPhone pics would just have to do so that this post doesn’t become a 16 month update.

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I decided monthly updates probably weren’t necessary after Jack turned 1, but he has been up to so many new tricks lately that I thought it would be fun to check in.

We had Jack’s 15 month checkup last week.  Our little guy isn’t so little anymore – 91% for height and 95% for weight!  He is still a phenomenal eater.  He starts his day with a bowl of steel cut oats and some berries.  He has started doing a Macaulay Culkin fist pump when he gets food that he especially likes – like raspberries and blueberries.  He loves most fruit and makes the sign language for bananas.  Fish is his preferred animal protein, (chicken is rarely enjoyed), and most vegetables are still a hit – especially peas, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans (only the flat ones!), and sweet potatoes.  And of course all things dairy like cheese, cottage cheese and greek yogurt are hits.

Sleeping is going really well.  The time change has pushed Jack’s bedtime back to 8pm but he likes to sleep until about 7:30am lately.  He’s down to one nap which makes going places on the weekend much easier to plan around.

He has 12 teeth and is working on getting his incisors and canines in next.  Poor little guy has been drooling again so hopefully these teeth will come in quickly and give him some relief.

And the really fun stuff…he has become more adventurous and is a little daring sometimes, flinging himself off the couch for a laugh.  He loves playing, running and dancing.  We got him a basketball hoop to have a good inside activity with the rough winter, and he LOVES it!  He says “ball” all the time, and has a pretty decent shot.

His language has really taken off in the last couple of weeks.  Earlier last week I was explaining to him that I had to change his diaper because it was so wet (he HATES having his diaper changed in the morning…or really anytime).  He looked at me and asked “diaper?” very clearly.  So in addition to saying mama, dada, and ball, he can tell you what sounds most of the animals make (cow, monkey, owl, lamb, doggy and cat are his favorites), says thank you (“shu shu”), yeah, uh oh, purple (and sometimes gets it right), hot, more, hat, brr! and bubble.

Speaking of bubbles, check out this bathtime video from last week from his first time saying bubble.

This age has been a lot of fun, but it would be remiss of me to not mention the start of toddler tantrums in our house.  The back-arching and screaming is not one of my favorite parts, but I guess it keeps us on our toes.  (Case in point:  Matt and I took Jack to the park last week on one of our first nice weather days for a picnic dinner and lots of playing.  As we congratulated ourselves on such a wonderful Monday night of parenting on our way to the car, Jack threw a complete fit not wanting to leave.  Kids are great for lessons in humility.)

Hope you have a great week ahead!

Yep, we’re in one of the states with bitter cold and lots of snowfall…around 10 inches of snow.  And we have a pretty sick little guy in our house with a fever, major sniffles, and big time clinginess.  We’ve been cuddling a lot, and while not much is making him smile this video seems to make Jack happy.  It makes me pretty happy too, and if you’re waiting out the cold at home I hope this gives you some smiles.  And if you want to join in the dancing I bet it will help keep you warm!

It is almost the end of 2013 and I am finally getting around to writing a 12-month update for Jack.  I just noticed I missed an 11-month update.  C’est la vie! Luckily, we had a trips to Kansas City, Effingham, and Rossville in the last few weeks so lots of people were able to see the updates in person. 

Height and weight:  Over 24 lbs and 31.5 inches (88% for weight and 94% for height!  He jumped on both growth curves this appointment!)  He has come along way from the little peanut he was the first couple of months.

Food:  Jack is a voracious eater!  There are very few things he won’t eat, but his favorites are avocados, bananas, raspberries, clementine oranges, broccoli, string cheese, cottage cheese, peas, oatmeal, salmon and most fish, bbq sauce (Baby was born in Kansas City.  What else can I say?) 

Teeth:  8 baby teeth, and two molars just popped up after Christmas, explaining the drooling and clinginess.

Party tricks:  Signing “hungry,” “more” and “music.”  Clapping, waving, blowing kisses, spinning in circles and dancing to music, singing into the tuberware, peek-a-boo.  Pointing to dada’s nose. 

Words:  dada, momma, woof woof, and that are the only ones that he say consistently with meaning. 

Likes:  Turning on electronics, cell phones, music (especially toddler radio on Pandora), reading books and turning the pages, anything outside (snow was a hit!), bathtime, running in circles around the kitchen, being chased, the park, the kites hanging from his bedroom ceiling, brushing his teeth (but having him drop his toothbrush is difficult), food time, wrestling and playing around, throwing balls.

Dislikes:  diaper changes, getting separated from mama, going down for naps, waiting for food, carrots.

In addition to finals and lots of travel, we also had a couple of rounds of stomach bugs at our house.  Poor Jack hasn’t even had a first birthday party OR birthday cake yet! I’m sure we will catch up on celebrating in 2014…and I’ll try to post an adorable video of Jack dancing soon!

Happy New Year!  Thanks for reading along over the past year with us.