15/16 Month Old Developments

Reed turned 15 months on Nov. 12. Here is our recap of major milestones from months 15 and 16.

I don't know how or when it happened, but our baby is a little boy. He walks like crazy, and is now full-fledged running, although it doesn't look like running, more like frantic high-stepping. Beau always sings him the "Maniac" song from Flashdance because he looks like that film's dance sequence to "Maniac."

He is talking so much! Here are some of his words (as far as I can remember).
dog, up, more, milk, water, bath, daddy, mommy, Cubby, down, apple, please, thank you, Barney (yes, that Barney), car, beep beep, book, shoes, head, belly, nose, ear, etc.

He can do almost all animal sounds, including dog-woof woof, cat-meow, horse-neigh, sheep-baa, bird-tweet tweet, bee-bzzz, etc. He can also identify his parents and grandparents in photos. I made him a small photo book with all of our photos in it so he can work on addressing everyone. He can do Mommy, Daddy, Papa (for both my dad and Beau's dad), Gigi for Grandma DeLong and Yaya for Grandma Veihman. Just this week, he picked up Aunt Jenna, which he translates as "nenna." He can also now say most of the names of the kids in his class at daycare as well as his teachers. Really, he will repeat just about anyone's name the best he can. Reed also knows body parts and loves to show you his head and belly (he especially likes to look at mommy and daddy's belly).

And, most of all, Reed can say his first phrase. Guess what it is?? "Go Cubs Go!" It is sooo cute. Beau always sings him the Go Cubs Go song, and we noticed that he started repeating the chorus. Of course, he doesn't know what it means, but it is super cute. It probably sounds just like "Go, Go, Go" to everyone else, but we know he's saying Go Cubs Go because of the rhythm.

I'm always impressed when I catch him repeating what I say. Or, sometimes, it just dawns on me that he has been saying a word for awhile. For example, the other day we were walking out of daycare, and he pointed at the ground and said, "wah-wah!" He had been saying it for a few days, and each time he said it, I would put him down to walk on his own to the car without really thinking about it. That day, as I put him down, I finlly connected the pieces and it dawned on me that he really knows the word, "walk." That's when I realized that talking is now an expectation rather than a surprise.

He absolutely must do everything by himself. He loves to be outside and would prefer to walk everywhere on his own. I make him hold my hand in the street, but he would really rather not. He has taken to throwing a tantrum when he has to get in the carseat on the way home from daycare because he doesn't want to be strapped down.

He loves to mimic everything we do. We have hidden the brooms in the garage because he always wants to sweep. Not only does he want to sweep, but he wants you to do it with him. It actually works out okay because I have taken to getting more housework done. He holds the dustpan, I sweep and then he dumps the dirt in the trashcan. Here are some photos of him mimicking Mommy's morning routine which he observes every day (blow drying my hair).

From 16months

When it comes to eating, he's become somewhat more picky about vegetables. He usually declines anything cut up...he'd rather have everything whole. For example, we gave him some sweet corn kernels one night and he refused them. Beau and I were eating small corn cobs, and couldn't understand why he wouldn't even try the corn. Finally, I went and grabbed a cob, stuck two holders in the ends and gave it to him. That was the key...it took him a little time to figure out which way to eat it, but he ended up gnawing that cob to the core.

Reed was getting pretty tall for his highchair so we moved him to a booster seat, and he does just great.

From 16months

Not only that, but he has started using his step stool to reach the kitchen counter and the sink. The first time we brought it out of his bedroom, Beau set it up against the counter and let Reed watch him chop up meat and vegetables for a stew he was making. Now he loves to stand up on it. He'll point at it and point to where he wants you to put it. (He's quite the dictator!)

From 16months

From 16months

He now washes his hands and is working on brushing his teeth. He is still a great sleeper unless he is sick. When Mommy goes to take a photo, he will smile and say "cheese!"

Reed has his 15-month checkup with Dr. Thackrey in November. He is on target developmentally. He weighed in at 32 pounds and was 34 inches in height. That's the 99th percentile for height and weight! Beau and I sure know how to make 'em big.

We love our Reeders! Here is a video featuring some of his latest developments. Also, I opened a YouTube channel so that you can see these videos larger and in higher quality.