Elijah at 15 months

Elijah has finally started to say actual words!  I have literally been waiting for this time since I found out I was pregnant.  I think it is so adorable to hear tiny kids speaking.  They mispronounce things, and get things mixed up.... it's so cute!  For a few weeks, Daniel and I were concerned that Elijah wasn't really developing in his speech.  We've heard so many other one year olds that have lots and lots of words and as of a week ago he only had a few.  He could sign "more," "milk," and "all done."  he could shake his head "no," and had very few verbal words (yeah, dada, oh no).  Most of the time when he did speak, he was just mimicking us.  I talked with his pediatrician about it at his 15 month well check on Monday, and he said it's too early to be worried. He also said that we would likely see a huge explosion of language all of a sudden.  His teachers said that he was right on track for his age.  Well this week, I think we've witnessed that language explosion!  Just this week he has said "doggie" and "mo."  That's two new words in just a few days.  And he has this new thing where he goes "woooooow."  It's the cutest thing ever.  He is also signing much more reliably.  Our pediatrician told me that if I wanted to encourage his speech development, to encourage him to use the signs or words before I respond to his needs.  We started doing that Monday night and it has made a huge difference. We make him sign "more" before we give him more food, or "milk" before we give him his sippie cup.  I think being in the toddler class has helped too.  He is hearing all the other kids speak and it's helped his speech develop.

There are so many other new things he's learned.  He is pointing to things constantly.  Pictures in a book, things he sees out the window, to himself and to his dada.  It's a tiny window into what he's thinking about at any given moment and I just love it.  He is using utensils remarkably well.  Just in the past month he's gone from using them clumsily with our help, to almost not needing help at all.  Especially with something like yogurt or applesauce, he can dip his spoon in, scoop up the food, and put it in his mouth.  It's amazing to watch.  He also doesn't cry or protest anymore when I cut his nails!  Seems like a small thing, but it amazes me every time.  He is 25 lb 6 oz (at his 15 mos well check) which is the 84th percentile!  He's still our chubby little boy, and I love every one of his little fat rolls :-)

He is doing so much better in the toddler class.  Drop off gets easier every single day, and he hardly ever clings to me or cries when I leave.  When I pick him up he is happily playing as part of the group.  He does still have a few issues with drop off.  Right when we enter the room, he usually turns around and buries his head in my legs.  But it's fairly easy to distract him with toys and then he's happy to stay and play.

I'm concerned with how the adjustment will go after we move tomorrow.  I am assuming it will be difficult, and planning for the worst.  We are going to do our best to keep as much as possible the same.  His schedule, eating habits, napping place, we will try to keep consistent.  And I am also prepared to stop what I'm doing to give him a little extra attention and down time if necessary.  

Right now I feel like we are having a blast.  Elijah makes me smile and laugh multiple times every day.  He giggles incessantly.  Everything in the world is new and exciting.  The snow under his feet fascinated him.  When I showed up in his classroom to pick him up with a knit hat on my head, he thought it looked hilarious!  He laughed and tried to pull it off.  I put it on him and he thought that was even more funny!  Bathtime is a happy time again (partly due to Grandpa being here this week to visit and play).  Last night he discovered a bowl of M&Ms in the basement.  He started to play with them and we couldn't believe he didn't eat them.  We turned around for a minute and when we looked back, he was shoving them in his mouth and fast as he could!  He had chocolate smeared all over his face and on his sweater.  Daniel was saying "no! yuck!" and he just kept shoveling them in his mouth.  He has also started to bring books to us when he wants to be read to.  A particular favorite right now is "Snuggle Puppy."  I just love being his mom more than anything else in the whole world.  I don't know how I lived without him to give me so much joy every day.