Wells: A 15-Month Snapshot

Well, it's officially been FOREVER since I blogged last. Being pregnant plus chasing after a one-year-old all day plus the absolute craziness of life in general lately has gotten me so out of whack!

Never a dull moment.

Anyway, a certain handsome guy just recently turned 15 months old. Babies grow so much at this age (physically, mentally, emotionally, everything!), so since we are no longer doing monthly updates like in his first year, I wanted to make sure that I document just what Wells has been up to lately :)

Measurements:
At his 15-month appt last week, Wells weighed 25 lbs and 10 oz and was 31 inches tall. He wears 18-24 month clothing (although the length is sometimes too long in some of the pants/shorts). He wears a size 5 Wide shoe (chubby foot!), and he is still in a size 4 diaper.

Eating Habits:
My boy still loves to grub. There are some days when he will eat less at meal times than other days, but I think that's pretty normal for a toddler. He is most definitely a snacker. If you are eating something and he sees it (even if he literally just finished a meal), he will come get some from you. He pretty much eats everything...except lima beans. Which is a little crazy because he eats all other kinds of beans. Who knows.

Sleeping Habits: 
For about two months or so now, Wells sleeps through the night. Can I get an AMEN? Up until that point he was waking one or two times a night wanting his paci. I guess he has finally learned to get it himself throughout the night or just soothes himself back to sleep without it because he very rarely crises out in the middle of the night. After over a year of not getting a full night's sleep, I have to say it feels GOOD to have no interruptions throughout the night. I am going to enjoy it to the fullest, as in just a few short months, it'll be back to waking every 2-3 hours with a newborn. Goodness, I need coffee just thinking about it.

Vocabulary: 
Wow. This kid knows so many words. He amazes me, for real! Here are the words he knows right now:
- "Daa" - Dad (side note, he will not say my name! if you ask him where I am, he knows you're talking about me, but he never says Mama!!!!)
- "Bye" - says it with a little country twang, and ALWAYS says it when he hears you say it when hanging up the phone.
- "Mak" - Milk.
- "Ba" - Bottle/Cup
- "Book"
- "Jaaaaaaake!" - says it just like that whenever he sees Jake & the Neverland Pirates
- "Ball" - all day, every day :)
- "Bloon" - Balloon
- "Moon"
- "Duck"
- "Kak Kak" - Quack Quack
- "Cow"
- "Moo"
- "Fish"
- Other animal noises for owl, lion, snake, bird.
- "Bi" - Bite
- "Dip" - he looooooves to dip his meat in any kind of sauce
- "Ma" - More. When he wants more food or drink
- "Ches" - Cheese
- "Nana" - Banana
- "Ni-Ni" - Night night
- "Don" - Donald Duck
- "Threeeeee" - After you say, "one, two"
- "Awwww" - more like an "mmmmm" actually...whenever he gives hugs or kisses.
- "Gat"- Gatlin, my nephew
- "Ash...ley" - My sister...he says it with a pause in the middle :)

- He makes utterances that I really don't even know how to type or spell for: fan, blankie, amen, bubbles, all gone.

Quirks & Miscellaneous:
There are so many cute things Wells does right now that I know are just a phase and that he soon won't do anymore, so I wanted to record those for my memory, too!
- After he takes a nap, when you go to get him out of his crib, he hands you his blankie first, and then sometimes all the other things that are in his crib, too (pillow, other blanket, stuffed animal).
- Singing, if you can call it that. He has just started to "sing"...which really just sounds like short words or beginning of words in a row. Hard to explain, I know. But he does it when songs he likes come on.
- Lots of times before I lay him in his crib for nap time or bedtime, I will not even realize I am patting his back. He has just recently started patting mine :)
- Folding hands to pray at dinner sometimes happens and sometimes he just sits there until you fold his hands for him. During our (super short) blessing, he will look right at you, and then utter a "uh" when you say amen.
- If he sees you blowing his food, he will blow it too...sometimes after it's already in his mouth. Crazy kid.
- This boy takes after me and loves condiments of any kind. I try to not give him dip at every meal because I don't want him to get dependent on it. He has tried (& loved) all of these: ranch, hummus, ketchup, yogurt as a dip, greek dressing, marinara, honey mustard, and CFA sauce.
- He loves his blankies. He sleeps with one at every nap and at night. And at different times throughout the day he will pick one (or more if there are others in sight) and drag it throughout the house. His favorite are the muslin ones.
- Even though I've tried to get him to do this for a while now, he finally just started giving kisses, or "sugars" as we call them. I cannot get enough.
- He is a paci boy. He does not have one at all times. But he always has it when laying down to go to sleep. We give it to him when is fussy throughout the day, and lots of times he will get it himself if he sees it laying around. His favorites are the Mam brand. Do not try to give him another brand. He knows.
- He is soooo into books right now. Multiple times throughout the day, he will grab a book and sit down with it. Or he will bring it to you to read. We also read every night before bed.

My little bookworm.

Favorites: 
Food - Broccoli. I mean, he KILLS it. He will pick it over all things on his tray.
Book - Mr. Brown can Moo by Dr. Seuss
Thing to do - He is all boy. Give him a ball, take him outside, or wrestle with him, and he is happy.

Spoon skills: cheese grits edition.

Recent Milestones to Note: 
Obviously since doing his 12-month update, Wells learned to walk. He is a very good walker, and running is now in the works. Lucky us. He also just cut tooth #13, his first canine tooth. Lucky us, again :) He refused to drink through a straw and would get very mad when he tried, up until last week. My mom bought him a sippy cup with a fat straw, and he finally got it. Now he is a master of all straws! We have been working on eating with a spoon for a little while now. He does better with some foods than others, but it is never a pretty sight after he's done. Grits have been the most successful since they are a little more dense & sticky. Also since doing his 12-month update, we found out that Baby #2 will be a BOY. I could not be happier that Wells is going to be a big brother to a little brother. They will be about 19 months apart, and I cannot wait to see them grow up together as best friends. As we get closer to the due date, I think we will start talking to Wells more about the baby just to try to prepare him a little bit.- we do include "baby brother" in our nighttime prayers. Wells is very much a mama's boy, so I am hoping that the transition with Baby #2 goes smoothly. Prayers, please! :)

Winding down after a long day :)

Our Daily Routine: Not all of our days are the same as far as outings, etc., but for the most part, we have somewhat of a routine down. Wells wakes up around 8am (give or take) and immediately gets a morning bottle of milk. He usually drinks this in our bed while I catch a couple more minutes of sleep or while I get up and get ready for the day (I leave the bathroom door open so I can see if he tries to make a run for it and nose-dive off the bed). Then we go into the living room and play for a little bit. About 30 minutes to an hour after waking up, we eat breakfast (lately, breakfast looks like a banana and maybe grits or pancakes or yogurt or dry cereal, with a sippy cup of water). After breakfast, we play a little more. He may watch an episode of something on Disney Jr. while I clean the kitchen or do some other housework. Then he takes a short morning nap. Depending on what day it is, after the morning nap, Dad is usually awake (he works weird hours some days of the week). Playtime with Dad ensues (and maybe eating some of Dad's breakfast!). Eventually it's lunchtime (varies: PB & J, chicken with some kind of dipping sauce, mac & cheese, with some kind of side like veggie straws or fruit, and a sippy cup of water or juice). More playtime, maybe run an errand, or go out somewhere. We usually go out to lunch with Grandma one day of the week when Eric goes in to work early. Somewhere between 2 and 3pm, Wells goes down for his afternoon nap, which can last anywhere from 1 to 2.5 hours. After waking, we play, possibly eat a snack if it isn't too close to dinner, or maybe run to the grocery store. We then eat dinner, play some more, go for a walk, take a bath, etc. Around 8-8:30, Wells gets his nightly milk bottle and may wind down for the night by watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or Jake and the Neverland Pirates while I catch up on some computer work. Then it's time to change into PJS, brush teeth, and read a book or two in the rocking chair. After that, I turn on his noise machine/projector, grab his blankie and paci, and he hits the light switch to turn out the lights. He puts his head on my shoulder while we say prayers (sometimes he'll pat my back like I do his! the cutest!); then I lay him down in his crib and he goes right to sleep. I usually stay up a little while to do work or watch some TV and then call it a night. If it's a night where Eric is home, Wells usually stays up a little later.  And then Eric and I will then catch up once Wells is asleep and then head to bed.

 
We love this energetic, adventurous, smart, sweet boy so much! He brings so much joy to our lives. I don't know what the heck we did before we were parents, but I am sure it was a boring life :) Happy 15 months, my Wellsie-Man!