Fifteen Months

My not-so-little 15-month-old

A little late on this, but we've had so much going on, I'm happy to get to it at all! This past month has been full of traveling and sickness, so I'm sure many of Aiden's likes and dislikes will have to do with those things....

Favorite things:

• Animals and making animal sounds, especially growling and roaring! He's really been into reading books that are about animals, too. We visited a petting zoo at a pumpkin farm and the NC Zoo this month, and he really enjoyed both. He has the cutest little baby roar I have ever heard. It makes all of us laugh and grin each time we hear it.
• Refrigerator magnets. He has the bottom half of the fridge to himself, basically, and he has a few magnets that are there for him to play with. These include a tiger magnet I already had and some other magnets we got at the zoo...again with the animals...they're a hit!
• Cars. The kid loves cars, especially those little matchbox cars. A few times in the past, Camden has considered getting rid of his huge collection of them, but I've managed to convince him to keep them for future siblings. Glad we did! Camden has actually decided he likes them once again, and whenever Aiden finds his way into Camden's room...he tries to snag yet another car from the stash! He will just stand around rolling the cars and trucks on the window sill, the couch, the ottoman, a bookshelf...anything at the right height for him. It's nice to have a couple small toys that I know will hold his attention for long periods of time, especially for when we're out and need to have something stashed in the diaper bag for emergencies!

• Grandparents. We have gotten to see almost all of them for at least a little bit this past month due to a planned visit and one unplanned visit. He is learning to remember everyone and knows they are all fun! (So...when is everyone going to come visit us again??) ;)
• Candy - in the wrapper. After getting some candy in his little trick-or-treat bag on Halloween, Aiden thought it was too much fun to put the candy in and out of the bag and to just play with the wrappers. He has no idea there is anything IN there, and we're perfectly happy to keep it that way.
• Peas! I have never seen a child get so excited over eating peas! He will actually jump up and down and shake his hands when he sees more peas that are on the table and not yet on his tray. He wants them that badly!! He also really likes dishes with squashes in them...pumpkin, butternut...it's all good.
• Swinging. The funniest part is that while swinging, he will look so serious. You might actually think he's not having fun and wants out, but if you attempt to stop the swing, you will discover that you are very wrong. I've noticed that Aiden looks this way a lot, though. It often does not mean he doesn't like something. He's just a serious-looking kid; very observant and focused.
• Mum-Mum snacks. I heard about these from my friend, Becky, and then happened to see them at Whole Foods. We've had to eliminate some of Aiden's favorite snack foods due to the allergy issues, and these are completely egg-free and wonderful to toss in the diaper bag on the way out the door, just in case! And he loves these things!!
  

Aiden likes dropping things over the side and then peeking over to see them.

Least favorite things:

• Long car rides. He's never been a fan, and no matter how often we go on these long rides, he doesn't seem to be getting used to them. Quite the opposite. He's also not a fan of napping on these long car rides. Or being in the car when it's dark outside. Instead of sleeping...he gets scared.
• Milk from a sippy cup. Not that he hates it, but it's not his favorite. We were just recently told we could give him cow's milk again. He wants it from our glasses, though. Or sometimes he'll drink it from his cup with the lid off, but only sometimes. And it's even rarer that he wants it with the lid on. (He's never had a bottle, so that has nothing to do with it.) Mostly...he just wants what WE have. Doesn't matter that he has the same thing in his own cup... Funny kid.
• There really isn't a lot Aiden doesn't like. We're really blessed to have such a great kid (sleeping habits aside). He is typical in that he doesn't like someone trying to prevent him from doing what he is trying to do... But I've also noticed that if I take the time to explain that I understand what he wants to do and why he can't do it, he actually calms down some. We've noticed a difference in how upset he gets when we don't explain this versus when we do. Tantrums aren't that bad just yet. (I know, I know...we have time for that to develop more...)
• Going down for naptime. This has gradually gotten worse and worse lately. We had a good routine for a while, and then he was getting molars and lots of colds and...there's always something, it seems. He would end up almost falling asleep when he nursed, but it was working ok because I would put him in his crib before he was actually out. I would pat his back for a moment, and he would be asleep in no time. (Sleeping long enough is another story.) But I've noticed he wants to nurse longer and longer and is having more and more difficulty going to sleep, sometimes taking an hour (after nursing). It can be quite frustrating for Mommy. Sometimes Aiden thinks it's fun, sometimes he is really trying to go to sleep but just can't seem to get there, and sometimes he fights it like crazy. At the end of the month, I put the mattress on the floor so I could sit next to him, which is what he really wants. We're going to have to come up with another plan soon, though... (more about that when I get some time to write about it)
• Baths. He's used to taking a shower with Mommy, but we're changing some of our morning routine, and it means Aiden is taking baths more. He's fine with the bath..it's the rinsing his hair that he doesn't like. I think he prefers the shower over that.
  

New Developments:

• Learning how to walk down steps. We visited family a couple times this month. One grandmother has a short half-step between a couple rooms and another has two regular steps between rooms. It wasn't long before Aiden mastered going down either.
• He's also realizing that he can get hurt if he falls down those stairs. He wasn't scared with a couple steps, but back at home...he refuses to go down the stairs, even with a parent in front of him. He will stand up, reach out his arms, and whine for you to carry him. He won't budge otherwise. Well, he will sometimes turn around and go UP instead...
• Aiden can also get down from the bed. Our mattress is on the floor without a frame at the moment, since we're co-sleeping at night. There is something to prevent him from rolling off the side of the bed, but he has learned to shimmy down past that and scoot off the bed by himself. The day I took his 15-months pictures, he decided to show me that he no longer had to sit for those pictures...and he proceeded to roll onto his belly and scoot right off of that chair and walk away. Great timing.
  

• More signing! It is really amazing and totally crazy how quickly babies pick these things up. I can show him a sign once...and that's all it takes! I haven't counted how many signs he knows at this point, but I would say it is twice what he knew last month or close to twice. We are hoping to get some of the Signing Time videos for Christmas to work on some new ones (hint, hint). ;)
• Animals and animal sounds are big hits, and he picks them up so quickly, too.
• Remembering what is in certain books and anticipating what happens next. I can say a word or phrase from one of his books, and his face will light up as he looks at me (sometimes those eyes are really wide, like he's thinking, hey...I know that word!), and he will go and get the book it was from. Or I'll be reading a book, and right before I get to a certain part, he'll do the sign for it or a sound from it. One example is from his Big Words for Little People. There is a page about "privacy" - and it says something about wanting to be alone to do weird dancing (and we jiggle like we're dancing) or needing to pee (and I do the sign for peeing). Before I say those phrases, he'll start dancing and grin at me or do the sign for peeing, which he thinks is hilarious!
• Aiden now says "mama" alllllll the time. When he wants something or wants me, he'll put his hands out towards me and say "mamamama" in the cutest little voice ever. Sometimes Ryan will go in to check on him at night, before he is in our bed, and...although he's supposed to try to get Aiden back to sleep without me nursing Aiden...he'll show up at the door of the bedroom with the little guy in his arms. "He wants his mama," he'll say, in his own cute little voice. (I want to tell him he was conned.) What really happened was he went in to get Aiden, and Aiden pulled one of his cute "mamamamama" stunts, and Daddy is whipped and gave in. But it is hard not to do that; it's just the sweetest thing. I think all mamas will agree that is the sweetest word in the world. "Mama." It also seems that "dada" is not heard so much around here anymore. Hmmm. He seems to have switched one out for the other.
  

I know there is more that I am missing, but we've just had too much going on for me to remember it all right now. (It's been a rough couple weeks here.) I've had this open and drafted for...three or more days now...and am just getting to finishing it, so I think we'll just leave it as it is at this point! Maybe this next month will be a better one....or should I say the next one, seeing how we're halfway through the sixteenth month by now!