Tuesday, December 30, 2008

15 Months!

It's hard to believe! Where does time go?! Looking back at last year's Christmas pictures, he was so little - 3 months! They grow and change so rapidly at this age!

I'm not sure where to begin or what all to include.

He's a sponge with sign language! He's constantly picking up new signs, mostly animal signs - which can be really difficult! He has his own version of just about everything. So far he knows

more, please, thank you, food, finish, I Love You (which looks like the manual "L"), deer, dog, fish, bird, bear, cat (looks like his version of thank you), dad (which for some reason is the same as deer???), mom (pointer finger to the mouth), tree (hard to distinguish between tree and fish) and today I saw him sign monkey. I love watching him learn and I love that he's able to communicate some of his desires! I can ask him if he's hungry and get a yes or no by whether he signs food or not. I can ask him if he wants more or if he's "finished, all done." It's fun to see people's amazement at his knowledge and use of sign language! I'm so thankful we have this language!

He's a very busy child; not hyper, just in his own world and constantly doing something. Which means he does NOT like long car rides! We drove to Muskegon (2 1/2 hrs) yesterday and listened to him scream and cry for probably a total of an hour. Not fun.:/

He's very cuddly, and of course, mommy loves this!!!:) But he doesn't sit in our laps for long!

We made huge progress two nights ago when Corey put him to bed and he went without crying! We started taking turns putting him to bed recently because he would scream something awful when dada put him to bed. It was successful again tonight. About broke my heart though as he realized I would not be putting him to bed and in dada's arms his lower lip came out and he wimpered and then you could visibly see on his face, "okay, I can do this," and he'd "suck it up" and stop whimpering. He did this about three times, and it was just heart breaking to watch! But he needs to be okay with someone other than mama! Especially with another one on the way!

He's our little social butterfly. He has started waving at everyone when we're out in public. And he will always grace people with his smile.
He's quite the chatterbox - we love to listen to his version of talking!:)
He's just started figuring out how to stand up on his own without crawling over to the nearest object to use in the process.

We are immensely enjoying this stage he's in. It seems like life with a child keeps getting easier as he becomes more flexible.

We love him to death and can't imagine life without him! He's such a blessing and a gift! Being a mother is the best thing on this earth!:)

6 comments:

The VanderZwaags said...

He's getting too big!!! I'm waiting for a prego picture!! :) Glad to hear you had a good Christmas! I can't believe they grow up so quickly! Yes, Morgan is a little sponge too with sign (she only knows two working on a third!) but she says so many words out loud that we can understand too! So fun! Miss you!

Joey said...

Thanks for this post, as a prospective parent, it's really good to see the excitement and joy you're having with him, especially when the prospect seems daunting at times!

Keithslady said...

I loved all the new posts. It's especially fun to read as a "fellow mom" with a little one at a similar stage of development, but also fun to see your perspective of newness since it's been about 23 YEARS since my first was that little! We also had cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning and everyone got an ornament that was significant to their year (Joey's is still in my cupboard....)!

Anonymous said...

He's getting so big, and if it's even possible, cuter! Love your posts on the family!

The sign language is SO wonderful. Unless of course, your 6 yr old does the bathroom sign and you are so engrossed in worship at church you miss it until she's standing on the chair and waving both hands around signing.

So much for thinking she was just praising :)

Katie W.

Sarah said...

What a cutie! Sounds like you guys had a great Christmas. So did we. Hope you are doing well otherwise. We miss you guys!

Anonymous said...

I totally agree ..being a mother is best thing on this earth..most challenging and most rewarding...:), Kathy