Paul-15 months

Paul is 15 months old as of last week! I have a hard time keeping up with him...both literally chasing him around and with how quickly he seems to be growing up. Both he and time need to slow down!

Paul is such an active little guy. If he's not running, he is spinning, jumping, dancing, or climbing something. He's loves to run off. He's escaped out the front door once (with Anna's help) and last week he escaped out the door at church. I'm constantly worried he's going to run out into the street or try to jump off the play structure at the park if I look away for two seconds. He just moves so darn fast! He also just started climbing onto the kitchen chairs and then getting on to the table. He sure keeps us on our toes!

I know all kids love to put stuff they shouldn't in their mouths, but Paul seems to take it to a new level. He eats dirt. He eats sidewalk chalk. He eats fistfuls of sand (by the way, it is IMPOSSIBLE to clean a bum covered in grainy sand-poo). He swallows small pebbles. And the other week, he literally chewed off a chunk of our wall! I thought he was just looking out the window, but then I looked over and he was gnawing the plaster off the window sill. Crazy kid!

Eating the sidewalk chalk

Despite all the trouble he gets into, Paul is so much fun right now. I think from about 12-18 months is one of my favorite ages. They just are learning and discovering so many things at that age and it's just so fun to watch them experience everything for the first time. And they just soak it all up like little sponges. It's so much fun to watch. Paul picks things up so quickly. He watches what we do and then immediately imitates us. My favorite was when he started pretend eating the play food. He holds it up to his mouth and makes these cute little smacking noises. And then he grins and giggles like it's the funniest thing ever. He's also learned to blow on his food when it's hot (or even when it's not), to put his finger up to his lips when we say "shh," to blow kisses, to "spit" in the sink while brushing his teeth, and to fold his arms for prayers. He also does a great elephant impression haha.

Paul doesn't say many words yet. The only one he really says consistently is "Yeah," always accompanied by a emphatic head nod. He just learned to shake his head "no" and he all of a sudden seems more obstinate. Before, he answered "Yeah" to almost everything, but now he will shake his head "no" until we say or do the thing he wants. He also likes to say "Oh!" and put his hand over his mouth when he drops or breaks something.  He knows and uses several signs...he signs for "more," "please," "hungry," "pacifier" and "stop."  He is also really good at pointing and grunting to tell us what he wants. And he understands most we say to him. If we ask him to put something away or go find something, he usually knows what to do. If you ask him where something is and he doesn't know, he will hold his arms out, palms up in the cutest little "I don't know!" gesture.

I dunno!

He also is learning several names for body parts. He can point to his tummy and hair and eyes and usually his nose and toes. If you ask him where his hands are, he usually starts clapping. He loves to point out his belly button and gets mad if he's wearing a onesie and can't pull his shirt up to show you.

Belly button!

Hair!

Paul loves being outside. He cries whenever anyone goes out the door without him. He will bring his shoes to me several times a day, wanting to go out to play. And he cries whenever it's time to go inside.  His favorite thing right now is finding rocks and throwing them. He loves the park and continues to be fearless going down slides, often headfirst, and loves when I give him underdog pushes on the swings.

Smelling the flowers at Home Depot

Digging in the sand

Splashing in the rain...

...and the sun!

Paul's favorite toys are balls, and he is getting surprisingly good at throwing and kicking them. He also loves anything with wheels but especially the little push lawn mower our neighbors gave us. He never seems to get bored pushing it up and down the sidewalk.

Batter up!

He needs a little work on his technique haha

Paul is obsessed with animals of all kinds. Whenever he sees any animal he gets so excited and babbles and points and tries to chase it. Our next door neighbor has a dog that he has to go see anytime it's out in their backyard. And our neighbors across the street have an orange kitty that will come over to visit sometimes and Paul will just follow it around everywhere it goes. Thankfully it's a really sweet kitty and doesn't mind when Paul pulls his tail or is too rough with his petting. We went to the zoo over Memorial Day weekend, and he was in heaven! He got so excited with each new animal and pointed and squealed. It was so much fun to watch.

He has also really started to love books. He's so funny, he will bring a book to me and as soon as I take the book from him, he turns around about a foot away from me and backs up until he gets to my lap and then plops his little bum down, ready to read! He usually has a favorite book that he wants to read over and over again until he finds a new favorite. Some of the ones he's really liked recently are Pete the Cat, Moo!, Freight Train, and Quick as a Cricket.

Paul is a little tease. One of his favorite games right now is to pretend to give you a kiss and then at the last minute pull away and shake his head "no." Then he laughs and laughs at himself. He also loves to pretend to bite me and then when I say, "Don't bite!" he laughs and laughs. (I'm thankful he doesn't actually bite because he has a full mouth of teeth now!) And he always loves to run away when it's time to get dressed or change his diaper. He loves to be silly and do things to make us laugh.

Paul still loves to eat, but he no longer likes to sit still to eat. He is always trying to stand up in his highchair, way before he's actually full. Then when we take him out, he runs back and forth begging for more bites of food. Sometimes when the food isn't too messy, I'll just put his plate on a chair and let him come and go as he pleases. And now that it's summer, we eat lunch outside almost every day because it's just easier. Paul's favorite foods right now are cheese (definitely #1 favorite food), watermelon, green beans, strawberries, olives, ketchup, and bacon haha.

Paul LOVES his binkies. He always goes to sleep with one in his mouth, plus at least one back-up in his hand. When he finds a binkie somewhere in the house, he lights up like it's the best thing in the world. And when you go to put one in his mouth, he opens wide and says, "Ahhh!!!"

Paul is a HUGE momma's boy right now. I usually have to sneak away because he cries almost every time I leave him. I weaned him from nursing when he was just over a year, and I thought, "Great! Now Derek can put him to bed too." But no, if I am home and Daddy tries to put him to bed, he screams and cries until I come take him. And even when I'm not home, Derek has to take him around the whole house to satisfy him that Mommy's not there before he'll finally resign himself to letting Daddy put him to bed. It can be a little frustrating at times, but I sort-of love being his favorite. I'll try to soak it up while I can. :)

Here's a few more pictures of our not-so-little boy!