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!

Paul: One Year Old!

I can't believe my baby boy is already a one-year-old, but he definitely is in every way. He is growing up way too fast!

Paul took his first steps at 10 1/2 months old, and really took off walking at 11 months. He's really steady on his feet now, and I think he will be taking off running before we know it! He loves walking and being able to keep up with Anna. His favorite game is running away from us. If it's time to change his diaper or get his jammies on, he runs away and then looks back with this little mischievous grin and then giggles his head off when you start to chase him. I finally found him a pair of shoes that fit (he has the chubbiest little feet), and he loves wearing them. Now that it's getting nice outside, he loves to play and explore outside.

Video of him first learning to walk

 Paul loves climbing. He escapes up the stairs almost any chance he gets. He finally figured out how to go down them, so I don't worry so much about him getting stuck or falling. He also loves climbing on Anna's step stools and her little Mickey Mouse chair. He was trying really, really hard to climb on the coffee table, and was getting super frustrated and start crying when he couldn't, until the other day, he finally made it. He was so proud of himself! He's taken quite a few tumbles off of chairs, steps, and once off Anna's bed. It seems like he always has some new bump or bruise.

He's becoming quite vocal. He is always babbling and loves to put his hand over his mouth to make an "ah-ah-ah" sound, kind-of like Tarzan. He also loves to scream, especially when he wants food. He says "Mama" and sometimes "Dada" and he just started saying Anna, but it sounds like "Na-na-na-na." He also says "Yeah" whenever you ask him a question. :) He also just learned the sign for "more."

Some of Paul's favorite toys right now are toy cars, the lego train, toy phones (or anything that looks like a phone), Anna's doll stroller, toothbrushes, and glasses (especially Anna's). He is also really starting to love books, which makes me really happy. I think his favorite right now is Five Little Monkeys or maybe The Hungry Caterpillar. He will find a book and bring it to me or Derek and then immediately climb onto our laps to read.

Paul loves his binkies. He usually goes to sleep with, not just the one in his mouth, but one in each hand as well. When you go to give him a pacifier, he always opens his mouth wide and says "Ahhhh!" haha.

Anna likes to steal his binkie

Paul gives the best hugs. If you are sitting on the ground at his level, he will just come up to you and wrap his arms around your neck and lay his head on your shoulder for several seconds before going off to play again. He loves to be cuddled. He also gives kisses...open-mouthed slobbery ones on your cheek or lips haha. And he still lets me rock him to sleep most of the time. He is a little snuggle-bug.

Hug!

Eskimo kisses (or, as Anna calls them, "nose snuggles") Melt my heart!

Paul is the messiest eater. Every time we put him in his high chair for a meal, food ends up all over the floor, in the seat, stuck to his pants and socks, and sometimes in his hair. That is usually because he likes to put the bowl on top of his head. He insists on feeding himself all the time now, and is getting pretty good with a spoon. He also likes to share bites with whoever is sitting closest to him.

Eating his birthday cake

Chocolate beard!

Here's a video of him putting the bowl on his head. And another one of him putting Anna's underwear on his head. He really loves to be silly and make us laugh!

Have you noticed the gap in his front teeth? I was trying to find a good picture of it, but you can really only see it if he's laughing. Here's a video where you can see it. He has six teeth now, two on bottom and four on top. The gap between his top front teeth is so big that the bottom two teeth can almost fit inside it! Hopefully it will go away when he gets his permanent teeth, but for now it's pretty cute.

Paul is almost always happy, but when he's upset, he gets REALLY upset. Sometimes he's very inconsolable. And it's happened three times now where he gets crying so hard that he doesn't breathe, and then passes out! It's the scariest thing. The first time it happened, it was so scary! He had been playing with a little flashlight and fell and cut the inside of his mouth on it, but we didn't see what happened, we just heard him fall. And then he was bleeding out of his mouth and wasn't breathing and then passed out, and we freaked out and called 9-1-1! But seconds later he was alert and crying and we could see the cut and figured out what happened. I was still on the phone with the dispatcher and told them he was fine, but they still had to send someone to check him out. The EMTs told us that sometimes kids just do that...they get hurt or really upset and cry so hard they don't get enough oxygen and pass out, but then they are fine because they start breathing normally and are calm again. So now we know he will be fine when it happens, but it is still scary!

Paul's HATES getting his diaper changed. It is pretty much a two-person job, one to change the diaper and one to pin him down. When Derek isn't home, I can usually hold him down with one arm (or sometimes a foot) long enough to get the dirty diaper off and wipe him clean before he twists over and runs away half naked. I keep telling Derek he will be a good wrestler because it's impossible to pin him down!

He also hates his car seat. He cries and fights almost every time you go to put him in the car. Again, it's a wrestling match that I sometimes only win by giving him a treat or a binkie to distract him while I buckle him in. We finally switched him out of his infant car seat into a bigger one, and he doesn't seem to hate it as much so that's good!

Paul still loves baths. It might be his favorite thing. He loves to splash and play with cups and also to drink the water out of the cups. He doesn't really love when Anna helps to wash his hair.

Paul loves going to the park. He's always loved the swing, but the slides might be his favorite now. He likes to go down head first!

Lately, he's been helping to clean up, which is really cute. He will put toys into the toy box or help put socks into the drawer. We always clap for him and he gives us the biggest smile. He also likes to help sweep the floor with the broom.

We sure love our always-moving, full-of-energy, giggly, snuggly, happy boy!