15 month Stats

Will turned 15 months on July 19th and I never posted his stats.  He is almost 16 months now, but I'll do it anyway. 


He is still a big boy, but is definitely slowing down.  Remember, I have the kid who was 15 pounds at 2 months old.  It was crazy.  Anyway, here are his weight and height for 15 months:


Weight: 27 pounds (82nd percentile)
Height:  33 inches (92nd percentile)


It's nice that he's on the charts now.  I actually think he'll be able to wear his clothes from last winter b/c he was in 12-18 months then and still his.  He has thinned out  A LOT.  


He is saying so many new words and is trying to say a lot too.  I love to see him watch my mouth as I sound out a new word and then he tries and it's pretty much just jibber jabber, but so cute.  He just jabbers nonsense at me all day with a look on his face like, "Of course you know what I'm saying.  I just told you, lady."  


He has said his first 2-3 word phrase too!  "I did it" or "did it"

Current Loves

watching Yo Gabba Gabba - he screams and dances when it comes on

playing outside, in the dirt, with sticks and rocks- awesome

playing in the car

playing with keys (which we've tried to outlaw, but sometimes he snags them)

playing catch (he can catch now!)

"slamming" the basketball in the hoop outside (wants to do it every time he sees a goal)

bubbles - outside & in the tub

water- drinking & playing

coloring 

climbing steps

laundry basket racing

raisins

shaking his head no 

Pop Pop (sorry all other grandparents, not to mention ME)

throwing food on the floor ;(

fruit

Current Dislikes

going to bed, laying in bed

church nursery

time out

being told no

having his diaper changed

getting in his car seat

having sunblock put on

Our Good Habits

signing please

saying and signing more

hugs 

kisses

sitting in booster seat for all meals and most snacks

drinking lots of water

Bad Habits we need to break

using a paci (not sure when we'll stop, it just helps so much)

not going to bed alone (we've been sitting in his room, but he's not going to sleep with us anymore!)

putting his hand down Mommy's shirt for comfort (a really bad habit)

temper tantrums

Having a toddler is challenging and tiring, but everyday is definitely an adventure.  I love my little maniac so much more every day it's overwhelming.  He is adventurous and playful and a little comedian.  We are having so much fun seeing the little person he's turning into & can't wait to see how he develops each new day.

Thank you Lord for our little boy!

We made a tent in his room the other day.

14 Month Milestones

Last Saturday Will turned 14 months!  It's funny because I seriously think he changed overnight.  It's like he woke up one morning and decided he was going to be a big boy.  He started so many new things and just seems more like a toddler.  All of a sudden he understands so much more.  When I ask him to bring me his shoes, toys, etc. he knows what I'm saying and will do it.   Here are some updates:

Sleeping
This area has not been good lately.  When he was sick a couple of weeks ago I didn't let him cry to sleep at all.  I laid down with him for every nap and bedtime and then most nights let him sleep with me (on me) because of his coughing.  Anyway, he began waking up every night at like 1:00 am and just screaming his head off.  He would point to the door and want out of the room.  We had to let him cry and it's going better, but I still hear him wake up a couple of times.  Most mornings he still gets up around 6:00.

Eating
Still great!  He's such a good eater- maybe too good of an eater.  He will try anything and eats a lot.  Last night he wanted all of the olives off my pizza.  He still asks for crackers and cook-cooks (cookies)  ALL of the time.  He's learned to get into the pantry and bring me whatever he can get his hands on- a box of pasta, bag of rice, etc.  He rubs his little chest (please) and nods his head while saying, "Yeah, yeah." He shoves the food in so frantically though that sometimes I worry he's going to eat his fingers off.
One of his favorites is peanut butter!  He's definitely my boy!

Signing
Mostly he just signs please.  Sometimes he'll do 'all done'.  He never does more anymore.  He'll just let us know he wants more by saying "yeah" and signing 'please'.  Pointing isn't really happening, not with just the pointer finger anyway.  He puts his pointer and thumb together and gestures toward what he wants.  I try to not worry about it, but it does bother me.  We're working on that one!

Talking
He says about 10-15 words.  Some are very understandable and a couple I only know what he's saying because of what he's doing.  For instance when he says "ta" he's throwing something in the trash, so I know he's saying ''trash".   I'm counting it!  He does a few animal sounds, but not many- cow, duck, puppy, and sometimes a monkey sound
His words:  mama, dada or daddy, Pop Pop, car, ball, cracker, cookie, hi, bye, trash,  quack-quack (for duck), moo,  boo (which is peek-a-boo or boom!), yeah, and uh oh... I can't think of any more, hopefully we'll get a new one today!

New Accomplishments or Tricks as I call them
-Throwing things in the trash for Mama.  I have to be careful with this b/c he likes it so much that he's thrown away things that are not trash.  (my make-up for instance).
-Helping with laundry.  If I give him the clothes, he will throw them in the washer or dryer for me.
- Stacking blocks.  We have some of those big cardboard ones and he's getting better and more interested in it everyday.
-Playing chase.  He likes to chase and loves to be chased.
-Combing his hair.  He actually needs a cut right now, but will comb his hair or at least try to.
-Using a spoon.  We started this a couple months ago and he still prefers his fingers, but he's getting much better.
-Climbing.  He can't get on the couch all by himself yet, but if there is something close he can step on then he'll be up there.
-Pulling, dragging, and lifting.  He is trying to lift and drag all kinds of things are a way too heavy for him.  He gets very frustrated and it's hard not to laugh at him.
-Running.  He's still kind of a clumsy kid sometimes, but he's getting pretty fast.
-Being a comedian.  He's learned to do things that he knows will make us laugh.  At dinner he shakes his head back and forth and then waits for the laughter.

Not-so-goods
This month also brought some attitude changes.  He's been getting frustrated very easily when he can't do something.  He's also been disobedient at times, doing things we've told him not to do- repeatedly.  We've started doing time out for a minute at a time.  He HATES it.  Impatient- he can hardly wait for his snack, drink, meal without crying and yelling at us. And testing limits- it's actually funny b/c when we tell him "no touch" he will immediately go find five other things to touch and look at us each time.  He's such a stinker.

It's hard not to share every little thing he's doing.  (You're thinking, I'm pretty sure you just did)  We just love him so much and are so proud of him.

Have a good weekend!  The Lentz's will be very busy!

11 Months

Yesterday Will turned 11 months! In a month he will be a year old! Now that sounds crazy! It's funny b/c one year olds always seemed older than I think Will is. He's still such a baby to me. Things are really changing around here.

The biggest news in the past few days is that he has started to WALK! Not all the time, and sometimes we have to make him, but once he's balanced he can walk across the room all by himself. He kind of collapses into your arms once he reaches you though. He is still cruising around all the furniture and rarely falls anymore- thank you Lord. I know walking will bring its own round of bumps and bruises, but hopefully less. The cool thing was that we had my brother on Skype and he got to see it too, plus my parents were there for Dad's birthday.

As far as talking goes, things are coming along- but very s l o w l y. Still no mama or dada, well maybe an occasional "ma" on accident. He tries to say "ball" which comes out as "ba" or "bow". He says it every time he sees one of his balls in the house and started saying it over and over at the Botanic Gardens. I looked up and saw a dad kicking a football to his boys and got so excited that Will recognized a ball out in the real world! Small victories! He also tries to say hi by saying "Ha" when he holds things up to his ear or waves.

Lately his moods have changed too. We are blaming the grumpiness on the teething. His fifth tooth poked through and I think more are on the way b/c the drool is pouring out like a faucet. He has been extra sweet as of late too. He will just come over to us, climb in our laps, and lay his head on our shoulder. He is also giving us kisses all by himself. I just melt every time.

Eating is still going great. We are still doing some baby foods for convenience sake, but he pretty much eats what we eat. Last night we had CiCi's and he enjoyed a breadstick and pieces of pizza. (So healthy right?) He goes crazy when we give him a plum and will just hug it to his chest and grin. The only thing he doesn't care for much is potatoes.

I'm still nursing him once a day, first thing in the morning. He gets formula two or three times- usually two, but it just depends on the day. This month I plan on getting him onto milk.

His favorite things right now are:

-clapping

-dancing (head bobbing)

-throwing things

-eating

-reading

-pulling open drawers

-pulling EVERYTHING out of the drawers

-playing outside

-riding in his wagon

-taking away Dex's toys

-"wrestling"

-peek a boo

-picking leaves, flowers, and grass

I know I'm forgetting so many things. We are having so much fun watching this boy grow up and learn about his world. I can't wait to see what this next month will hold. One thing I know is that it will be filled with party planning! I have already been working on his first birthday party. Even if it were just the three of us there, we'd go all out celebrating surviving one year as a new family!

Here are a few pics and a short video. Enjoy!

New baseball socks from Grandma, aren't they the cutest?

That's such a goofy smile, but it really is the best we could get. There is almost no way to keep this kid sitting here.

Pulling a picture off the wall

Mom and Dad on his 51st birthday

Will and Grandma

8 Months!

On Saturday Will turned 8 months old! He has really started to do some really fun new things too. Of course, with every milestone I just think, "He's never going to get it!" and then one day he just does it. When he was tiny, I thought he'd never lift his head. Then I thought he'd never start cooing. Then it was rolling over... rolling the other way... getting onto his hands and knees... sitting up... eventually he has done all of these things. I had starting thinking he would never do the army crawl thing, but about a week ago he finally figured it out! Now if we could just crawl and start some consonant sounds... I know, I know.... be happy with him just where he is! I have to tell myself that every day!

He sits really well and can lean to reach for things and then get back onto his bottom. He can get from his bottom to his tummy without completely face planting most of the time. He can really cruise in his walker! You really have to watch your feet and shins b/c he will ram you. He chases Dex all over and can get basically anywhere that there isn't carpet. We think he is starting to wave and trying to say, "Hi". It sounds more like,"Ha", and he isn't very consistent, but he's working on it! Also, we think he's learning the hand sign for "eat". Just last night he finally starting making a "b" sound! I was really excited b/c I've been a little worried about him not making any consonant sounds yet. I know I'm nuts! He wants to walk everywhere all the time- holding our fingers of course.

His most fun game lately is yelling, "Ah" and then waiting for us to "ah" back at him. We will go back and forth for a long time. He just thinks it's so much fun! We think it's quite cute.

These were taken in the morning when he was still in his jammies.

He finds that paper way too fast now.

The past 8 months have been so wonderful. We were just saying last night how much easier things are getting now that he is just a little bit more independent now. I can't wait to see what fun and exciting things this little guy is going to learn this month.

Our love for this boy is beyond explanation!