15 for 15

Eddie turned 15 months this week. Becoming more and more of a toddler every day. Trip to the doctor for a check-up went well. He now weighs 21 lbs. 9 ozs., still in the 25th percentile, and is 31 and 3/4 inches, 75th percentile for height. I thought I'd do something a tad different this month and just share 15 great new things about him:

15. His tumbling. He loves to roll around on the floor, and loves it even more if you join him for a tumble. He also does that bent-over-looking-through-his-legs position that makes it look as if he is about to do a somersault.
14. His new found love for Marty. Sometimes he just walks up to her and strokes her coat so gently. Sometimes he grabs at her face and she licks him back. He also likes to feed her directly from his hand.
13. His ability to share. He loves to share his food with us, feed us by placing the food directly in our mouths or in our hands. He can also hand over objects if you ask for them, although he mostly just does a psyche and gestures to hand you the object but then never lets go of it. He smiles. He is so proud of himself.
12. Books. I swear the kid is crazy about his books and is very independent about reading these days. He carries his books into little corners of the house and sits there and flips through pages. Board books, big kid books, mommy's books, magazines, really anything and everything legible he wants to get ahold of.
11. Pens. He always wants to have a pen if he sees one or after seeing me use one. And then he will motion around on the floor that he is "writing." Maybe he will be a writer like his Grandma and Aunt.
10. Putting on shoes. He is not able to do it yet but he makes attempts and it is so cute. He often tries to put on my shoes too.
9. Blankie and Kiki. He has two of the same blankie - I bought a second one to have in case something happened to the first one and to have for when I need to wash the other one. Well he found the second blankie right away and so now he has two blankies and he loves them. He carries them everywhere - luckily though he dosesn't need to have them, as in we don't bring it with us outside of the house, but he is so happy when he has one. Kiki did go on an excursion this week though. I brought her to the doctor's office this week to give to him after he got his shots and he was so happy. He nuzzles his little face in the blankie and will often lie on the floor with it as if going to sleep. If you ask "where is blankie?" he will go find one. I named the second one Kiki because he repeats "kkkk" when he sees his blankie/s.
8. His independence. I love how he can just play and play and occupy himself without needing intervention. And how he loves to figure things out on his own. Like walking - he never went through that phase where the parent holds the kid's hands as they walk between their legs. He just did it himself. Now he is trying to step up and down and once again, he doesn't want our help at all. Sometimes I get a little jealous when I see other kids his age holding their parents' hands; he won't, I think because he isn't used to it because we let him walk by himself.
7. His dancing. There is something innate within humans to dance to music, right? Because it seems like all/most babies love to dance when they hear music. It is a pretty amazing thing. That an infant ear can detect sound and designate what is music and what is not. Eddie dances to everything from Beethoven to Johnny Cash to our own attempts to sing or hum or make music on the piano. He dances when I play a Kuhlau Sonatina and a tune like She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain...can't wait for Christmas music soon!
6. Gimmie five. His dad taught him how to do this.
5. His patience. His dad says that he got his focus and patience from his mom. It is evident with this magnetic puzzle he got from his friend Niah for his birthday. He can take the net, which has a string and a small magnet attached to it, and pull up the puzzle pieces from their small magnet center; it is something that takes precision and a whole lot of patience for a baby. And Eddie can do it. Another thing that impressed me the other day was he had a chapstick and was trying to set it on top of the garbage can and it kept rolling off. After it happened twice he figured out how to set the chapstick down ever so gingerly so as to make it stay put.
4. His new found love of cuddling. Along with his tumbling skills, Eddie now has become a total cuddler. If you sit on the floor he will run over to you and climb all over you and then hug you and sit in your lap. These are some of my favorite moments of the day.
3. Belly button. His favorite body part. Likes to find mine and poke at it.
2. Apples. His favorite food of the moment. He sees them in a bowl on the table and points to them and whines until I cut off a wedge and give it to him. He probably eats 2 whole apples a day.
1. Understanding. Even though he isn't saying much, all just babble and garble still, Eddie understands a lot. When I ask "do you want to go downstairs?" he will walk over to the stairs. When I say "do you want to play piano"" He will walk over to the piano and start hitting the keys. If I say "Let's go for a walk" he will go to the door and try to open it, or grab Marty's leash. Although I anxiously await for the day when he is able to verbally communicate back to me, I am content now that he is comprehending most of what we are saying.