15 months old

Charlie turned 15 months old yesterday. I'll give you a little update as to the things he is doing. He is not walking on his own yet. Charlie had his 15 month checkup with the doctor today and she said 17 months is still the average age when kids start to walk. He's very good at walking while holding your hands or walking with his walker toy/car though. I'm afraid he is going to be a runner and not a walker once he figures out how to do it own his own. For now, Charlie is walking, holding on to everything he can. And, when you are holding his hands to walk, he definitely has an opinion on where he wants to go and has figured out how to manipulate you to go that way. If you don't, get ready for a tantrum. Yes, sweet little Charlie knows how to throw a fit. I think I mentioned it in a previous post but he will drop his head, bend at the waist, and scream and cry. He's quickly learning how to get his way.

His vocabulary hasn't developed much. As mentioned, he can say "Khaki" (our dog) but he hasn't said it recently. We've heard him say "dada" but again, he hasn't used it in a while. Although I heard him say it over and over today but not in reference to Daniel. I'm not too concerned though and the doctor wasn't either. She pretty much said that if his vocabulary isn't up to about 5 or 8 words in 6-8 weeks to give her a call. But, in talking with my sister the other night, she reminded me that one of our cousins didn't talk much until about 2 and her son was the same way. In the meantime, we'll keep trying...

Charlie is definitely a busy boy. He is always playing with something. There is no sitting still any more. Most of his playing consists of taking things out and putting things in. He also has an obsession with pushing buttons over and over so he loves a phone, a remote, his little tool bench that has nails to push in, etc. Charlie also loves his poppin' pals toys. You know, the ones that have a button to push, or a lever to press to one side, or a key shape to turn, and a character pops up. He still loves to open and close doors, cabinets, drawers, etc. One new thing, now that he can squat and stand back up, is to drop something on the floor and pick it up in order to use this new skill over and over. And, he still loves his books!

Some of the questions I was asked today were things like can he point to objects in a book, can he point to your nose or your eyes if asked, does he primarily eat with his fingers (pointer and thumb), does he expect you to startle him when you play peek-a-boo, can he do pat-a-cake, does he reach for you to pick him up or push you away when he doesn't want something like when you wipe his mouth, etc. The answers, if you're interested, are yes; no, but he loves to touch my eyes and my mouth so we're working on it; yes, the little pig; yes; yes; and yes.

Charlie's "stats" from his appointment today are: weight - 22 lbs. (55%), height - 31 1/4" (50%) and head circumference - 19 1/2" (95%).

Dr. McGee said that his morning naps will soon disappear. *sniff* *sniff* I so enjoy two naps a day. Charlie can manage on one nap but I prefer him to take two for obvious reasons! He is still sleeping great through the night. He normally goes down about 8:30 or 9:00 pm and wakes up the next morning about 8:30 or 9:00 am. It's wonderful!

Charlie and I went to the park today to take his pictures. He was not very cooperative but I managed to get some good ones. Here are a few shots from our photo session...