15 & 16 Months

Matthew is 16 months old today! He has been a busy, busy boy for the past two months. I didn't do a 15 month post so here are some fun facts about Matthew at 15 & 16 months old:

• 15 Month Stats (from his well-check appt): Weight, 21 pounds (8th%)/ Height, 31 3/4 inches (70th%)/ Head, 45.3 cm (15th%)
• Wears 12-18 month clothes, a size 4 diaper, and a size 4 shoe
• is getting more hair (yay) and has a piece that likes to stand straight up in the back like Dennis the Menace (did I just date myself?? :-)
• still a great eater (except when sick!!)...some of his favorite foods at the moment are nutrigrain bars (he asks for a "bar" EVERY morning!), peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pretzels, pretty much all veggies, grapes/blueberries (finally got sick of bananas and refuses to eat them anymore), salmon and chicken, any kind of crackers and any kind of sweets, especially donuts (he's so my child!)

• had some firsts over the past two months: first time to get attached to a lovie (his abc blue blanket!), first time to move to a new house, first road trip to visit some of my best friends from college, first (diagnosed) ear infection/s

Speaking of ear infections, Matthew has spent the vast majority of his 15th and 16th months sick. It's been miserable for him :-( He had a couple of bad colds which repeatedly infected some standing fluid in his ears. We just can't get the fluid to drain before another infection hits. Matthew is currently going on 4 weeks of infected ears and antibiotic #3. Thankfully, our pediatrician is watching Matthew/the fluid in his ears very closely and if something drastic doesn't change over the next 2-3 months, I'm pretty sure tubes are in our future. I've suspected Matthew had fluid in his ears for months, and I think that could be the culprit of some of his speech/language issues. Jury is still out so we'll see. I'm not opposed to tubes at this point, esp if they will make Matthew feel better and improve his speech and hearing. At our last doctor's appt, Matthew had so much fluid in his ears, he failed his tympanogram (miserably) in both ears.

• Speaking of speech/language, even though Matthew isn't hearing 100%, he's made some great progress over the past two months...some of his new words are: go, sissy, nigh-nigh, Mimi, PopPop, bar (nutrigrain bar), caca (when requesting The Very Hungry Caterpillar), doggie & puppy (sounds like duhguh and puhpuh), sigh (outside), bath, bathtub and there are more that I'm forgetting. I think he probably has around 15-20 words if I had to guess. The best thing is Matthew's screaming and frustration have decreased dramatically! He also will try to imitate almost any word you ask him to say...it just doesn't sound anything like the word most of the time :-) 
• Matthew signs  "all done", "thank you", "more", "please" and "milk"
• can identify his head, tummy, foot, ear and nose 

 

• his love for reading continues to grow and he brings me books to read him all day long...favorites include: any of the "Daddy Hugs" series, Brown Bear/Polar Bear, and The Very Hungry Caterpillar
• loves to scribble on paper with pens and crayons
• doesn't love to finger paint because he hates having his hands messy...just like big sister

 

• is walking everywhere and never crawls anymore...he tries to run but isn't quite there yet
• loves to dance and will clap, sway and bounce anytime music comes on, especially Veggie Tales
• thinks it's hilarious to chase Caroline around (they're playing chase and "hide" as I type this, both laughing hysterically :-)

 

• still obsessed with cups, bottles and lids and one can almost always be found in his hands when he's walking around
• loves to play peekaboo, chase, "gotcha", and hide-and-go-seek
• does the motions to Patty Cake and Itsy Bitsy Spider while I sing the songs....then signs "more" over and over until we do it again (and again and again)

 

• recently started pushing his cars/trucks around and saying "vrooooom"...I LOVE this ;-)
• favorite outdoor activities: going on walks/wagon rides, kicking the soccer ball around and playing at the park (still HATES the swing)

 

• The VERY BEST thing about Matthew at 15 & 16 months old is his developing relationship with Caroline! I had friends tell me that the closer Matthew gets to 18 months, the more he will interact and play with his big sister. And it's true! I love nothing more than watching them make up and play funny games, be silly, read books, build legos, and laugh together. I could watch and listen to them all.day.long. I'm so thankful they have each other and continue to pray for their sweet relationship. Matthew just adores Caroline and she's pretty crazy about him!! 
• Happy 16th month birthday baby boy! We sure do love ya!!!