16-month update

The walking is crazy. Harmon walked at 15 months too but didn't pick it up as quickly as Simon has. He walks all the time ... well, unless HE IS CLIMBING. He climbs on everything. He's part monkey, we swear. It's hard for us because Harmon wasn't like this. Simon is constantly on the couch, despite falling off it. If you don't push the dining room chairs in, he'll climb on those. Even if you DO push them in, he'll either a) pull them out and climb or b) just crawl up on them while they are pushed in. It's nuts!

In addition to the climbing, he gets into everything. If we let him, he would have every toy of his and especially every toy of Harmon's out at the same time. He also likes to climb into and empty our pantry and totally digs playing in the fridge.

Another thing Harmon never did that Simon loves to do is make a huge mess eating. He really gets into his food and, at the end of the meal, his entire high chair is a mess. He throws some of his food on the floor and he rubs food in his hair and eyes. When he gets tired of actually drinking his milk, he'll start letting it slowly dribble out of his mouth. It then settles down into the pocket of his bib, along with food that he missed getting into his mouth. We call this Simon "soup" and it's disgusting to clean up.

To make up for the food mess and the climbing, though, he gives the best squeezey hugs and will give unsolicited kisses (open mouth, on the cheek) at any moment. He's also learning new words by the day! He's doing great at school and may move up to the next room - the grasshoppers - very soon. He spends some time visiting the new room now and just shimmies under the gate when he wants to go back to his old room.

Overall, he's a very happy, healthy, handsome smart boy. We are so very lucky!

BITE ME!

On Monday, March 8, Kevin picked the boys up from school and there was a note in Simon's coat sleeve alerting us that he had been bitten earlier that day. Evidently, he was standing near the play sink in his room and one of the other little dragonflies didn't like that so much so s/he bit him. He cried a bit, the teachers cleaned and iced the bite and all was good. I didn't even think much of it until later that night when we stripped him down for his bath.

Near his left shoulder blade, there was a huge bite mark that had BROKEN THE SKIN. It also was bruised. I started thinking, wow, the guilty party must have bitten him long and hard because there was a lot of damage, especially when you consider he had on a onesie and a thick sweatshirt.

Bites happen, we know that. Harmon was bitten a couple of years ago too. So, that wasn't what upset us. We were mad because the teachers didn't actually SAY ANYTHING TO US. They just put the note in the coat sleeve, of all places. What if that note had fallen out? We would have had no idea. So, that following Thursday, when we dropped him off, we talked to them and they apologized for not telling us. This made US feel a little better but I'm sure it didn't make Simon's SHOULDER feel any better!

Stepping out

Because Harmon was a late walker, we didn't really stress about Simon walking. He has been upright and cruising since the fall so we figured it would all come in time. Well, that time was February. He took a few steps between me and Kevin in our living room on Tuesday, Feb. 9 and then took several steps across the hardwood floor at my parents' house on Saturday, Feb. 20. The following week - the week of Feb. 22 - he had the hang of it and was everywhere. I think our favorite thing was watching his little hands open and close as he tried so hard to balance himself. We also loved the open mouth!

Someone once told me that your baby is gone once he or she starts walking. Because of this, I was more than happy to wait until the 15th month!

15-month update (March 5)

The 15th month was kind of a big deal. It included things like talking, blowing kisses and WALKING! Once he got the walking down, he started talking more. With Harmon, it was just the opposite. As I've heard so many times from doctors and parents, it's hard for toddlers to concentrate on more than one big thing at a time. So, yes, more words is a good, good thing. We taught him to blow kisses to us and he obliges on most occasions. Around Valentine's Day, we found the source of what seemed like an infinite amount of drool - four more teeth, including his first molar. Such a big boy.

The 15th month also brought his first time playing in the snow (Feb. 10). He had a great time and only cried for a short time after he fell face-first into the snow! He cried much less than Harmon did when he got snow in his gloves!

As for the stats, he weighed in at 26.3 pounds and measured 33 3/4 inches. He continues to close the gap on Harmon, who was 28.4 pounds and 34 inches long. He remains two pounds lighter but is only 1/4 inch shorter! His hands and feet, though, are much bigger. Who knows what we have on our hands.