Kellan is 17 Months Old!

Kellan turned 17 months on Wednesday, March 20.  He will have a well baby doctor's visit next month so there is not one this time.  These are his measurements from his 15 month doctor visit except his weight.  I put him on our scale here and it shows 29 pounds.

Height: 33 1/4 inches

Weight: 29 pounds

Head Circumference: 19 1/4 inches

A few more statistics for this month:

Sleeping: Kellan's bed time has inched more towards 9:30 pm. A lot of nights it can be even later than that.  Most mornings he wakes up between 8-8:30.  If he wakes up while Michael is getting ready for work, we put him in our bed with me and he will sleep for another hour or more. 

Morning naps change day by day.  Some mornings Kellan needs a nap around 11:00 am (usually for about an hour) and other mornings he just doesn't.  I don't push it because he takes an afternoon nap every day.  His afternoon naps are around 1:00 if there hasn't been a morning nap and around 3:00 if he did take one.  I still mainly just watch his behavior and he lets me know he's sleepy by going in search of his paci and blankie and carrying them around the house.

Eating: Kellan remains to be a good eater but his preferences continue to change each day.  Most meals he will eat anything that we give him and if not, I can usually find something that he wants.  There was another week this month where he did not eat very much of anything and was extremely picky.  He was doing a lot of drooling and putting his fingers in his mouth so I believe we are working on some more teeth.  He also threw his butter beans which were his favorite last month.

He has 3 meals a day with breakfast being between 8:30-9 am. He usually eats half of an avocado (that I feed to him) and we have now moved up to a whole banana that he holds and bites.  If I make myself scrambled eggs or grits sometimes he may have a bite of that too.  He particularly loves bites of mommy's strawberry jelly toast.

Around 12:00-12:30 he has any combination of 3 items for lunch.  Most of the time he has cut up fruit, pieces of cheese/cup of yogurt, and some kind of vegetable or maybe even left over meat from our dinner the night before.  

Around 5:30-6:00 he has his "first course" of dinner which is usually something that he can feed himself while I am cooking our dinner:  cheese, cut up fruit, veggies, raisins, hard boiled egg, cut up leftover meat, etc.  Then when we sit down to eat dinner, he goes back in his high chair and eats whatever he might like that we are having.

Kellan continues to try new foods and still loves biscuits and crackers.  We limit his bread intake as much as we can and he mostly only gets it at restaurants.  If there is a cracker or biscuit anywhere nearby he will find it and demand to eat one.

We still avoid all processed/boxed foods and always try to make the healthiest choices for him.  I still keep eggs, cheese, blueberries, oranges, strawberries, grapes, bananas, baked sweet potatoes, baked butternut squash, etc...always on hand in our kitchen so that he has plenty of healthy options for mealtimes.  

On a Chick-Fil-A lunch date with mommy.  I love their kids meals!  Grilled chicken, a fruit cup, and whole milk.  Then of course he did eat a bite or two of mommy's sandwich and fries :)

Drinking: Kellan always drinks either whole milk or water.  He loves to drink water out of our glasses and he is going through a stage now where he does not want his own cup, he wants to drink out of ours, even if we all have the same thing.

Clothes: Kellan is wearing all 24 months.  24 months fit him perfectly although we do sometimes have to cuff the bottoms of his jeans so that he doesn't trip.  He is moving up to size 5 diapers as soon as we use up the last of the 4's.  We still haven't gotten his feet measured but hopefully we will soon before we buy him some new shoes for warmer weather.  Right now his size 7 Nike's fit perfectly.  

This is what a too little 18 month pj set looks like...skin tight pants and belly poking out the bottom of the shirt :)

Milestones: 

1. I continue to be amazed everyday at the words that Kellan hears, repeats, and then uses correctly later.  Lately he has been saying phrases with two or three words.  Here are some new words and phrases that he can say and USE:  soup, shower, "see you," raisins, phone, TV (TB), work, shake, "the end" (dee in), ready, "I get it,"  "I dropped it," "that's funny," marching, Kellan, "bye! see you!," blankie, bed, Gigi, grandma, "in it" (when he wants to get in his high chair), "up here," miss, egg, avocado ('cado), potato (tae-toe), train, Calliou, Mickey, mouse, fork, coming, naked, "Oh no!," Wow, song, "stop it," dunk, jump, taggie, phone, bathroom, coming...I know I'm not remembering them all.  At least once a day I look at him and think "Where did he learn that?!"

Words that he has been using in previous months:  nana (banana), night-night, cheese, shoes, socks, duck, yes, no, mommy, daddy, thanks, you, car, truck, tractor, doggy, ball, paci, Briggs, papa, Elmo, spoon, milk, tootie (cookie), chicken, bath, shoot, this, hat, more, uh-oh, book, hammer, hot, cold, light, button, mess, dirty, read, fish, fire, poot, bed, yucky, bread, Mimi, apple, water, egg, berries, cootie (cookie), go, remote, house, cow, funny, up, movie, burp, moose, avocado, blocks, bless you, miss, clock, nose, eyes, brush, phone, hey, bye, horse, train, lotion, read...and the list continues to grow.  

2. We are still holding at (at least) 10 teeth. He has 4 on the bottom and 4 on the top and two molars that we know about.  The way he has been drooling tells me that there may be more but he won't let me get a good look.

3. Kellan loves to watch people on TV sing and he twirls, sways and tries to hum along when he hears music.

4.  Kellan continues to love looking at books on his own and having us read to him.  He has started to want us to read the same book over and over.  His current favorites are "Machines at Work," "Where's Spot?," and "Brown, Bear, Brown Bear."  Now when we get to the end of a book (or when he's decided its time to stop) he will loudly say "Dee In!!" (the end) and close the book.

5.  He loves to point out objects that he recognizes.  He has to point out every one's eyes and nose and thoroughly enjoys letting us know when he sees an animal that he knows by yelling out its name.  He gets so excited when he knows the word for something that he sees.  On our walks around the neighborhood he points out every car, dog, truck, house, etc.  We have many conversations daily about socks and shoes.  He points to himself if you ask him "Where is Kellan?"  And he can say his name now...he says it sometimes when he's looking in a mirror.

6.  He has officially learned "mommy."  Before everything used to be "daddy."  Now Kellan is usually found wherever mommy is and says her name about fifty million times a day. I can't go far before he is following close behind.  He also has started saying "mommy daddy" for no apparent reason when we are both at home. :)

7.  Kellan is watching everything.  Whatever we do he is right in the middle of it.  If mommy is on the computer, he needs to tap on the buttons too.  If mommy is cooking, he needs to "see."  If mommy is loading the dishwasher, Kellan is climbing into the dishwasher.  If mommy is taking clothes out of the dryer, Kellan is throwing his toys INTO the dryer.  He gets very mad when he tries to open a drawer or cabinet that has been child proofed.  He wants everything that he can't have and touches everything that he shouldn't.

8.  I am still letting Kellan practice feeding himself with a toddler fork and spoon but now I keep 2 towels underneath his chair.  He makes such a mess and throws his food or spits it out when he's done or doesn't want it.  Even when I'm feeding him, he wants me to scoop it, hand him the spoon, and he will feed himself.  When he can't get pieces of food on his fork, he will yell "HELP!"  This lets me know that he wants me to stab it for him and then he will feed it to himself.

9.  Kellan still has an affectionate side and loves to hug at random times.  Several times a day he will plop himself in my lap just to hang out.  He loves to sit beside us on the sofa.

This picture didn't capture it very well but he was hugging and kissing Elmo's eyes this morning.

Hugging Briggs :)

More hugs...

10.  We are still working on the hitting...especially the hitting of other people.  Everyone tells me that its just his age and the fact that he is a boy.  He loves to hit things all over the house with his plastic golf clubs and wooden hammer.  

11.  He still loves to play "shoot shoot" (basketball) with his indoor basketball goal.  His new favorite basketball word is "dunk" and he still loves to tell you when you've "missed."

12.  Kellan still loves Elmo and gets so excited when he comes on Sesame Street.  We don't have to play the videos on our phones quite as often because he loves playing so many other apps.  I do have to hide the iPad from him sometimes because if he sees it he has to have it and he doesn't want to do anything else.  His favorite app right now is PBS Kids where he can pull up videos from Sid the Science Kid, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, Calliou, The Cat and the Hat, and Curious George.  These are also his favorite TV shows at the moment.

Rubbing his fingers impatiently waiting on something to download. 

Watching "Sid the Science Kid"

21.  One thing is definitely for sure.  Kellan's hearing works.  He notices every time a train comes by, a dog barks, or a song comes on TV.   He stops what he's doing, points his finger in the air and says "train!" or "doggy!"  In the mornings if he hears the cabinets open or water running, he sits straight up and says "Daddy!"

22.  Kellan's new way of saying bye is to wave and say "Bye!  See you!"...although its usually after we have already gone.  When we were on a walk this week he told every car that passed "Bye!  See you!"

23.  Kellan is constantly looking and asking for "Papa"...a lot of time he just asks for him out of the blue (we're not sure which one, that's what he calls both of our dads and Michael's grandpa).  He has also started saying "grandma."  I think this is coming from one morning when he stayed with his Great-Grandma Grizzard while I went to the doctor.

His artwork with Great-Grandma and Aunt Tina :)

24.  He sometimes calls his daddy "Michael" when he's not around.  Where does that come from?!

25.  Kellan still has to have a blankie and rubbing the tag between his fingers in order to fall asleep.  He always has a paci too but I'm not sure if that's a necessity...I'm just not brave enough to take it away to find out yet.

26.  It is still a struggle to change his diaper or put his clothes on.  He loves to run around the house with no clothes on saying "naked! naked!" and wanting me to chase him.  He wiggles and bucks and kicks his legs.  He absolutely HATES to have Desitin put on him during diaper changes.  He screams like its burning.  

27.  Another of Kellan's new frequently used words is "coming."  We always have told him that Elmo was coming when he is waiting on a video to download.  Somehow that has translated to everything.  When he is waiting on his breakfast in the morning he chants "nana coming?" " 'cado coming?"  Everyone or something is always "coming."

Here are a few more pictures from this month:

Kellan loves bath time and bath toys.  He especially loves the Penguin from my Aunt Tracie.  It sings to him and the baby penguins dive into the water :)

He loves to pull everything off of mommy's nightstand...everyday.

He was not happy with mommy at the doctor's office when he had to get his flu shot.

He hates shots so much (and mommy does too) so I took him to Panera to get a cookie afterwards.

Kellan loves to brush his own teeth (he does not care for us to help).  I am constantly having to take away our toothpaste because he sucks on the open end.  We had to baby proof the bathroom drawer to keep him from getting it.  One day when I was brushing my teeth this is what I found.  I guess he figured shampoo is just as good as toothpaste :/  So I pulled him out of the wet shower and went back to brushing my teeth.

Then I heard the bathtub water turn on...here he is wetting his toothbrush...

And then brushing...*sigh* never a dull moment with this one in the house.

Eating a cup of strawberry ice cream at Baskin Robbins BEFORE dinner.  This won't happen again for a looooong time.  He acted crazy for the rest of the night.

One of Kellan's new words is "march."  This is him marching in the backyard one afternoon.

We have had a few really nice weather days so Kellan and I tried to take advantage of them.  Here he is loving his swing.  I couldn't capture all of the shrieks and giggles in a picture :)  He loves to be outside and asks to go " 'side" even when its dark out.

Appropriately golfing OUTSIDE instead of his usual inside.

And mommy pulling him in his wagon.

It is so hard to believe that in one more month my little buddy will be one and a half!  I love this little guy so much and I treasure every minute I get to spend with him :)

Kellan is 16 Months Old!

Kellan turned 16 months on Wednesday, February 20.  He had his last well baby doctor's visit at 15 months so there is not one this time.  These are his measurements from last month except his weight.  I put him on our scale here and it shows 28.2 pounds.

Height: 33 1/4 inches

Weight: 28.2 pounds

Head Circumference: 19 1/4 inches

A few more statistics for this month:

Sleeping: Kellan's bed time continues to stay around 9-9:30 pm. From time to time it can be even later than that.  He has started to wake up a little bit earlier, sometimes around 7:30-8:00.  Most times he still wakes up between 8-8:30.  If he wakes up while Michael is getting ready for work, we put him in the bed with me and he will sleep for another hour or more. 

Morning naps change day by day.  Some mornings he will eagerly take a nap around 10:30-11:00 am (usually for about an hour) and other mornings he just refuses.  I don't push it because he takes an afternoon nap every day.  His afternoon naps are around 1:00 if there hasn't been a morning nap and around 3:00 if he did take one.  I still mainly just watch his behavior and he lets me know if he needs to lay down.  Most of the time if he is tired, has a paci and a blankie, lay him down in his crib and he will go to sleep easily.

Lately he has started letting me know that he is sleepy by going in search of his paci and blankie by himself, hugging his blankie and laying his head down on any pillow he finds.  Sometimes he even says "nigh-nigh." :)

If you see this...it means its nap time.

Eating: Kellan remains to be a good eater but his preferences change day by day, meal by meal.  One day he may love carrots and the next he may push them away.  At lunch one day he spit out and threw pieces of hard boiled egg.  The next day he gobbled it up.  Everyday is different.  He mainly eats anything that we give him and if not, he has such a wide variety of foods that he WILL eat, its normally easy to prepare his meals.

He has 3 meals a day with breakfast being between 8:30-9 am. He usually eats half of an avocado (that I feed to him) and half of a banana that he now holds and bites.  If I make myself scrambled eggs or grits sometimes he may have a bite of that too. 

Around 12:00-12:30 he has any combination of 3 items for lunch.  Most of the time he has cut up fruit, pieces of cheese/cup of yogurt, and some kind of vegetable or maybe even left over pieces of meat.  

Around 5:30-6:00 he has his "first course" of dinner which is usually something that he can feed himself while I am cooking our dinner:  cheese, cut up fruit, veggies, raisins, hard boiled egg, cut up leftover meat, etc.  Then when we sit down to eat dinner, he goes back in his high chair and eats whatever he might like that we are having.

Kellan continues to try new foods and still loves bread and crackers.  He also has a new found love for bites of mommy and daddy's peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  We try to limit his bread intake as much as we can and he mostly only gets it at restaurants.  

We still avoid all processed/boxed foods and always try to make the healthiest choices for him.  I keep eggs, cheese, blueberries, oranges, strawberries, grapes, bananas, baked sweet potatoes, baked butternut squash, etc...always on hand in our kitchen so that he has plenty of healthy options for mealtimes.  

Drinking: Kellan always drinks either whole milk or water, that's it, no matter where we are.  He did have orange juice once when we were somewhere that the only other option was tea.  He loved it but easily went right back to his milk and water.  He loves to drink water out of our glasses and daddy has let him sample sips of Coke and tea from his glass.  Now daddy has to deal with the constant requests for "Daddy's milk" and "Daddy's water."

Clothes: Kellan is wearing almost all 24 months, it really just depends on the brand.  He has pretty much outgrown most of his 18 months clothes.  24 months fit him perfectly although we do sometimes have to cuff the bottoms of his pants so that he doesn't trip.  He is still wearing size 4 diapers and I really think he is outgrowing his size 6 1/2 Stride Ride sneakers.  We are going soon to get his feet measured.  This weekend we bought him a size 7 pair of Nike's to get him through the next few cold weather months.

His Nike's make him look like too much of a big boy :(

Milestones: 

1. I am amazed at how much Kellan's vocabulary has grown.  He is a regular little chatter box.  He uses new words everyday!  He copies most everything that we say but he has learned so many words that he uses correctly and consistently.  New words that he can say and USE:  button, mess, dirty, read, fish, fire, poot, bed, yucky, bread, Mimi, apple, water, egg, berries, cootie (cookie), go, remote, house, cow, funny, up, movie, burp, moose, avocado, blocks, bless you, miss, clock, nose, eyes, brush, phone, hey, bye, horse, train, lotion

Words that he has been using in previous months:  nana (banana), night-night, cheese, shoes, socks, duck, yes, no, mommy, daddy, thanks, you, car, truck, tractor, doggy, ball, paci, Briggs, papa, Elmo, spoon, milk, tootie (cookie), chicken, bath, shoot, this, hat, more, uh-oh, book, hammer, hot, cold, light, and more that I know I am forgetting.  

He surprises me all the time with words that he knows and is able to use.  He talks all the time and there are plenty of words that he says that we just can't understand yet.  He still calls most foods nana but is beginning to use the names of foods that he knows.  Whenever you hand him something he almost always says thank you.

2. We are now up to (at least) 10 teeth. He has 4 on the bottom and 
4 on the top and two molars that we know about.  It is getting more difficult to check because he bites down when you try to feel around in his mouth. The only reason we know about the 2 molars is from Michael holding him upside down and making him laugh so that we can see into his mouth!

3. Kellan can point or find the following objects when you ask for them by name:  his ears, nose, mouth, cheeks, hands, hair, head, belly, foot, socks, shoes, shirt, ball, mommy's glasses, button, ...and a world of other things that I just haven't figured out yet!  He just recently began to show us his cheeks.  He will put the palms of both hands on his cheeks and squeeze.

4.  We have finally taught him to say "up" when Kellan wants to get up on the sofa, chair or bed.  He used to pat it and say "mommy"...now he pats where he wants us to put him and says "up" or "mommy, up."   

5.  Yep, I still sometimes lay down and take naps with Kellan.  He's such a good snuggle buddy.  Lucky for me he takes naps in his crib just as easily.

6. This child continues to adore music!  He loves his xylophone, electronic drum, hand drum, and keyboard...he constantly keeps the music going whenever he can.  

Here he is playing the drums...I'm telling you, he's WILD...I have to take the drum sticks away from him a lot because he drums on everything...including people...

He loves to "sing" along with daddy.  Right now he tries to sing to all kinds of songs but he doesn't know the words.  We have caught him singing "fi-yuh! fi-yuh! fi-yuh!" around the house and in the car.  After a while we realized that he is singing "This Girl is on Fire" by Alicia Keys.  Fire is just the only word that he can say :)  

Playing the piano at Great grandma and papa's house.

7.  He still loves books and will often sit on his sofa and read to himself.  He has also started to bring us books and asks us to read them.  I keep his books with paper pages, flaps, or pop up pieces on the top shelf in his new room because he will tear the pages and parts.  He somehow managed to get one off of the shelf that I hadn't read to him in a while.  He came running down the hall as fast as his little chubby legs would carry him yelling "read! read! read!"  This is a video of him after he made it down the hall and sat down at my feet.

He has names for certain books that we read often.  When he wants to read The Napping House for instance, he will bring it to you, hold it up, and say "house!"  If you ask for the "monkey book" he will bring you Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed.  He has become a little too smart lately.  When it is bedtime, he will stop you in the middle of a book, get down from your lap, choose another book and bring it to you.  He knows that he has to go to sleep when you get to the end so he just keeps requesting new ones.  "Books!" is usually the last thing he says/pleads before bed, even though you have already read three of them.

8.  Kellan is into everything.  Seriously nothing is safe from his exploring.  He notices EVERYTHING and he does not leave a crack or crevice untouched.  Nothing within his reach is safe.  His favorite toys are anything that he can find inside of kitchen and bathroom drawers and cabinets and he is obsessed with the dishwasher.  This month he has begun to explore the water in the toilet.  I thought we had bypassed this but I've caught him splashing a couple of times this month.

9.  I am still letting Kellan practice feeding himself with a toddler fork and spoon but let me tell you...it is so hard because he makes such a mess!  I know it must be done in order for him to learn.  He loves it and sometimes will pick up food with his hands, stick it on the fork, and then eat it :)

10.  He still loves a bath and his bath toys and can be found digging in them at all times of the day.

11.  Kellan has become such an affectionate little boy.  He will hug and kiss his stuffed animals when you ask him too and sometimes just out of the blue...especially if he's getting sleepy.  Every now and then he will snuggle with a stuffed animal and has even started to walk up to me and give me a hug for no reason.  

12.  Kellan is going through a hitting stage.  He will hit me in the face and will even just walk up to someone and hit them out of nowhere.  We are trying to work on stopping this really annoying behavior but I think its developmental too.  I hope.

13.  I know that developmentally toddlers are not supposed to have empathy for other people's feelings yet but Kellan is definitely noticing other people's feelings lately.  If he hits me and I say "No! No! Kellan, we don't hit!"  He immediately looks so sad and will hug me and put his head on my shoulder.  He even does it if we just say "Ohhhh, no!" or "Kellan that is not nice."  

There have been a few times this month that Briggs has been crying and missing her mom.  Kellan will whimper and point to her.  One time she dropped her paci and he went over, picked it up, and handed it back to her.  One day I could tell that he was really upset that she was sad.  He went back in his room, got his blankie, and laid in the floor at my feet.

14.  My sister got Kellan an indoor basketball goal and Michael plays with him all the time.  In fact, they play so much that when basketball is on TV Kellan will sit on his couch watching the game and yelling "shoot, shoot!  shoot, shoot!!"  He says the same thing while he's playing basketball with daddy.  Now Michael has taught him to say "Miss!" when he doesn't make the basket.  He never lets an opportunity pass to let someone know when they've missed. :)

15.  Kellan came running out of his playroom wearing this and saying "hat! hat!"  It was the bowl/hat from the Tampa Bay Rays baseball game that our nachos came in.

16.  My child has gone from liking Elmo to being obsessed.  He asks for Elmo videos constantly throughout the day.  In fact I have to practically hide my phone from him because as soon as he sees it, he expects to watch Elmo.  He woke up one morning and the first thing he asked for was Elmo and da-dee.  The videos do help when we have to wait in the car or at restaurants.  I try not to play them too often during the day.

17.  He did get his first movie (All Day With Elmo) for Valentine's Day after he fell in love with it in Target.  It was not on my list of things to get but Michael said we had to when his little eyes lit up on the video aisle.

18.  Kellan still loves to play different apps on mommy's iPhone and the iPad.  I feel like I have to constantly reset the apps for him because he clicks around so much that he ends up somewhere that he doesn't want to be and he brings the iPad over to me countless times.  I have downloaded several more apps for him but Elmo's ABC is still his favorite along with Old McDonald Had a Farm...but mainly he just likes the Elmo videos now.

19.  I know it is his developmental level but Kellan is not very good at sharing.  Whenever someone picks up one toy, Kellan immediately has to have it.  The other kids that he plays with are exactly the same so I know its normal.

20.  Our house is near train tracks and the train goes by several times a day.  Kellan notices EVERY SINGLE time.  When he hears it, he completely stops what he is doing, points his finger in the air, and says "train, choo-choo."

21.  Kellan does the same thing when he hears a dog barking.  When we were on a walk one day last week every time he heard barking, he would point in the direction of the sound and say "doggy."

He also loves to turn around in his seat and point out everything that we pass on our walks.

22.  This month was my first time leaving Kellan overnight.  I was gone for 4 nights to see my friend Jenni in Florida.  I don't think Kellan even noticed I was gone.  When I went his room the next morning after I came home, he looked around and asked for daddy.  Um...excuse me?

23.  Kellan got his 2nd haircut on his 2nd Valentine's Day.  We love his new big boy look.

24.  When Kellan enters a room now he says "HEY!"

25.  He walks up to a picture of my mom and dad that is on a bookshelf in our room, points, and says "Papa, Mimi."  He also points out "Mommy" and "Daddy" in other pictures around the house.

26.  Kellan has a new favorite food.  Butterbeans.  I think he would eat his weight in them if we would let him.

27.  He has started dancing to music by twirling in circles, bouncing his fists in the air, and twisting his waist.

28.  Kellan has been doing this for months but I don't know if I have ever included it in his monthly posts.  He always sleeps with a blankie, he has several, not a particular one, but it must have a tag.  He rubs the tag between his fingers until he goes to sleep.  As soon as you lay him down he immediately turns the blankie around, feeling the edges, until he finds the tag.

29.  Kellan loves to go up and down the steps at Great grandma and papa's house.  They have a sunken living room with brick steps so he likes to scare everyone and climb up and down, and sometimes he just likes to sit on a step and tap his feet.

30.  This has been going on for the last couple of months but Kellan does not like diaper changes or to have his clothes taken off or put on.  He wriggles and bucks and kicks his legs.  He also wants to sit up or stand up on the changing table when I'm trying to change him.  He runs away every time you try to put on clothes, shoes, or socks.

31.  Kellan has 2 toy hammers, a soft, cloth one and a wooden one.  He loves to go around "hammah"-ing on everything...walls, people, furniture, etc.

32.  Kellan has started saying "bess you!" every time someone coughs or sneezes.  He rarely misses an opportunity.  He even "besses" himself when he sneezes.  When Michael sneezed in the shower the other night, Kellan stuck his head in the bathroom, said "bess you!" and then went back to playing with his toys in the other room.

33.  He can say and point to several different animals.  He can recognize horse, cow, frog, fish, dog, duck and sometimes turtle and elephant.  When anyone (including himself) says cow he almost always says "Moo! Moo!"

Here are a few more pictures from this month:

This is what he did one day when I told him to go get his shoes.  He just decided to borrow a pair of mommy's.

One morning Kellan grabbed Michael's lotion off of his nightstand and started tapping it on his feet.  Michael puts this lotion on his feet every night...someone has obviously been watching.

This was before his last hair cut...he definitely has bed-head some mornings.

He loves to play with his toys at Great-grandma and papa's house.

Someone made a huge mess with his blueberries.  Once he was finished, he squished the remaining ones until the juice came out.

When you ask Kellan to show you he's a strong boy he puts his arms up like this :)

Kellan loves the vacuum so for Christmas we got him one of his own.  He has finally learned how to use it...

Mad because no one would play an Elmo video for him at Logan's Diner.

Eating lunch at Prince George Barbecue

Eating raisins that he stole from Mason

These monthly posts are beginning to get so long because he is learning so much, so quickly.  I am amazed by something new that he says or does everyday.

Kellan is 15 Months Old!

Kellan turned 15 months on Sunday, January 20.  He had his check up on Thursday, January 24 and these are his most current measurements.

Height: 33 1/4 inches (97%)

Weight: 28 pounds (90%)

Head Circumference: 19 1/4 inches

Totally unsuspecting baby on the way to get his 15 month shots...

This was our hardest doctor's appointment yet.  As soon as we entered the exam room he lost it.  He wouldn't let me set him down.  He fought us when we took off his clothes and clung to both of us crying hysterically.  When the doctor tried to listen to his heart and lungs, he pushed her hands away.  He refused to open his mouth and wouldn't turn his head so that she could look in his ears.  He totally remembered getting shots last time, he knew what was about to happen, and he was MAD!

It was horrible.  He had to get 3 shots and he was not a happy baby...but he survived and by the time we got in the car he was back to his little smiley self :)

Daddy said he deserved Texas Roadhouse yeast rolls after that whole ordeal...those can cure anything!

A few more statistics for this month:

Sleeping: Kellan's bed time has unintentionally moved back to between 9-9:30 pm. Some nights it is even later than that.  One Saturday this month he refused to go to sleep so I went and got him and put him on the couch with daddy watching a movie.  My 15 month old baby was laying with daddy, blankie in hand, paci in his mouth, watching Rise of the Planet of the Apes at 11 p.m.!  Not the best parenting decision we have ever made but he was totally engrossed in the "monkey movie," much to mommy's dismay.  Let me tell you...it was a far cry from Eight Silly Monkeys that mommy read to him right before bed.  He typically wakes up anywhere between 8 and 9 a.m. 

Most mornings Kellan will still take a morning nap for about an hour to an hour and a half.  I have a feeling he will begin to drop this soon.  He also takes an afternoon nap anywhere between 3-4 pm and he sleeps for another hour and a half to two hours.  We're just not "follow the clock" parents (whether that is good or not is yet to be determined) so Kellan does not have specific nap times, however he always takes 1-2 naps a day.  I still read his signals and when he starts getting whiny, falling down, rubbing his eyes, and bumping into things, I know its nap time.

Eating: I'm still making a lot of Kellan's food but he has become a much more picky eater.  He went through a phase the week of Christmas where he barely ate anything.  Everything immediately went to the floor.  I was so frustrated because this behavior was not like him at all.  We think it must have been teething because he ran a slight fever at night and also had a runny nose during this time.  The following week he perked back up and was his regular piggy self.  He is still a pretty good eater but one day he may gobble up a particular food and the next day he may throw it to the floor or spit it out.  Every meal is a surprise.

I don't know if you can see all of the carrots that Kellan threw all over the floor.  The exact same carrots that he devoured the day before.  I was one VERY unhappy mommy.

He had food everywhere!  This was a common occurrence for a few days...

He has 3 meals a day with breakfast being between 8:30-9 am. He usually eats half of an avocado (that I feed to him) and half of a banana cut up into pieces so that he can feed himself.  If I make myself scrambled eggs or grits sometimes he may have a bite of that too. 

Around 12:00-12:30 he has any combination of 3 items.  Most of the time he has cut up fruit, pieces of cheese/cup of yogurt, and some kind of vegetable or maybe even left over pieces of meat.  

Around 5:30-6:00 he has his "first course" :) of dinner which is usually something that he can feed himself while I am cooking our dinner:  cheese, cut up fruit, veggies, raisins, hard boiled egg, cut up leftover meat, etc.  Then when we sit down to eat dinner, he goes back in his high chair and eats whatever he might like that we are having.

There isn't really a point in listing the foods that he has had because by now he's pretty much had it all!  He has even had his first turkey sub at Subway.  Kellan is still in love with bread...if he sees it on the table at a restaurant, he will refuse to eat anything else.  We have to hide the biscuits at Cracker Barrel and the cracker bowls at other restaurants.  Restaurants are pretty much the only time he gets bread at all. 

I know it sounds like we just let him have anything now and although we have become much more lenient, we still avoid all processed/boxed foods and always try to make the healthiest choices for him.  The majority of the time we still stick to his same diet of fruits, vegetables, dairy, eggs, and cheese but at birthday parties and certain restaurants we still let him indulge :)  We even got him his first strawberry ice cream cone at the mall and I made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies that he liked so much he has learned the word "tootie".  He is a kid after all and to me the most important thing is that he WILL eat healthy foods and that it remains the basis of his diet.

One night Michael and I were both cleaning the kitchen after dinner.  Michael had moved the candy bowl to the edge of the counter where he was wiping and when we looked down someone was enjoying a chocolate Santa.  This is why the candy bowl is usually out of reach for little hands.

-Drinking: Kellan always drinks either whole milk or water, that's it, no matter where we are.  There is absolutely no reason to have anything else and he adores both so why mess with that?

Clothes: Kellan is wearing 18 months and 24 months, it really just depends on the brand.  Some 18 months fit him perfectly, some are a little snug.  Some 24 months fit him perfectly, some are a little big.  He is still wearing size 4 diapers and he can only squeeze into his size 6 and size 6 1/2 shoes!  His blue Stride Ride sneakers and black (enclosed) Crocs are the shoes he wears the most.

Milestones: 

1. Kellan is now able to open the doors in our house.  We have lever handles so all he has to do is pull down.  He is pretty much able to wander everywhere.  The scariest part is that he now tries to follow Michael out the back door and into the garage when he leaves for work.  As if we didn't have to watch him closely before, we have to watch him even more closely now and keep doors to the outside LOCKED!


2. His vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds and he loves to copy words that we say.  Words that he can say:  nana (banana), night-night, cheese, shoes, socks, duck, yes, no, mommy, daddy, thanks, you, car, truck, tractor, doggy, ball, paci, Briggs, papa, Elmo (much to mommy's embarrassment), spoon, milk, tootie (cookie), chicken, bath, shoot, this, hat, more, uh-oh, book, hammer, hot, cold, light, and more that I know I am forgetting.  He surprises me all the time with words that he knows and is able to use.  He talks all the time and there are plenty of words that he says that we just can't understand yet.  He still calls most all foods nana, no matter what it actually is.  Whenever you hand him something he almost always says thanks.

3. We are now up to (at least) 9 teeth. He has 4 on the bottom and 4 on the top and one molar that we know about.  It is getting more difficult to check because he bites down when you try to feel around in his mouth. 


4. Kellan can point or find the following objects when you ask for them by name:  his ears, nose, mouth, hands, hair, belly, foot, socks, shoes, duck, shirt, ball, mommy's glasses...and a world of other things that I just haven't found out yet!  One morning I was just talking out loud to myself (and him) and I asked him where mommy's glasses were...totally not thinking he knew what I was talking about at all.  When I turned around he had my glasses in his hand, holding them out to me. :)

5.  He is now able to get down off of furniture like the sofa, chairs, and our bed.  He can't climb UP yet but he can slide himself off.

6.  When Kellan wants to get up on the sofa, chair or bed he pats it and says "mommy"...even if he is talking to Michael. 

7.  I still sometimes lay down and take naps with Kellan.  I've just been so exhausted and he is such a good snuggle buddy...lucky for me he still sleeps in his crib just as easily too.

8. This child LOVES music!  He loves his xylophone, electronic drum, hand drum, and keyboard...he constantly keeps the music going whenever he can.  He loves to "sing" along with daddy.  One of my new goals is to play one or two songs for him regularly so that he can learn them.  Right now he tries to "sing" to all kinds of songs but he doesn't know the words.

9.  He still loves books and will often sit on his little couch and "read/babble" out loud to himself as he turns the pages...today I overheard him reading Are You My Mother to himself.  On each page he said "mommy," "daddy," "mommy," "daddy."  The story does not mention a dad but I'm glad he included daddy anyway.

10.  Kellan is into everything.  Seriously nothing is safe from his exploring.  He notices EVERYTHING and he does not leave a crack or crevice untouched.  Nothing within his reach is safe.  His favorite toys are anything that he can find inside of kitchen and bathroom drawers and cabinets and he is obsessed with the dishwasher.  One afternoon, I was changing Briggs in the living room while Kellan stood beside me, babbling to her and handing her toys.  While I was pulling her pants back up I notice Kellan wandering off into the bedroom.  After I get her situated, I walk by to find him.  I found him alright.  Standing in our bathroom, top drawer open, daddy's razor in hand...and I kid you not...the child was shaving his upper lip!  Thank god he did not cut himself...I don't know how we got so lucky but thank goodness he was unharmed.  It takes him one minute to get into something dangerous and it also reminded us one more time that he is watching EVERYTHING that we do!  I haven't had any trouble with him in the house plants this month...we'll see what next month brings!

11.  Right before he takes something he knows that he's not supposed to have (cell phone, TV remote, etc.) he will flash you the biggest, cheesiest grin that you can imagine with his eyes squinted shut.  Even though this was from last month I'm going to keep it because he still does this.  Now he adds a loud, boisterous NO! NO! before he touches or does something that he knows he is not supposed to do.  I should note that this does not keep him from actually doing it or touching it.  I also caught him telling Briggs No! No! and pointing to the dishwasher right before he attempted to climb in it himself.

"Maybe if I smile really big she won't notice that I'm taking this book off the shelf that I'm not supposed to have."

He doesn't like to neglect the magazine basket either...he is more caught up with Oprah magazine than mommy is!  And if you can't tell...he is actually saying "Cheese!"

I should have waited until he was "finished" with this kitchen drawer before I took the picture.  There were plastic bowls and lids everywhere.

One night while Michael and I were organizing some things in the living room we noticed that Kellan had been awfully quiet.  Michael found him in the guest bedroom, digging in one of my craft baskets, completely covered in glitter.

Who needs toys when you have the wand off of the blinds?

12.  Since the new baby will be taking over Kellan's nursery at the end of May, we are slowly transitioning Kellan into his new room on the other side of the house.  Right now it is just his play room.  Mommy is not ready to move him quite so far away to sleep and there isn't really a reason to...yet...so his crib is still in the nursery, right beside mommy and daddy's room.  He loves his new room and it is slowly becoming more organized.

Playing with his alligator in his playroom

I have moved a few things into the nursery in preparation for the new baby.  Kellan seems to think I took this chair out just for him and he enjoys reliving his infant days in the bouncer.

13.  I am letting Kellan practice feeding himself with a toddler fork and spoon but let me tell you...it is so hard because he makes such a mess!  I know it must be done in order for him to learn.  He loves it and sometimes will pick up food with his hands, stick it on the fork, and then eat it :)

14.  He still loves a bath and all that you have to say is "bath" and he says "BAT!" and runs for the bathroom.  When the water is running he tries to throw his little leg up over the side of the tub whether his clothes are off yet or not!  He loves his bath toys and can be found digging in them at all times of the day.

15.  Kellan has become such an affectionate little boy.  He will hug and kiss his stuffed animals when you ask him too and sometimes just out of the blue...especially if he's getting sleepy.  Our favorite thing that he does right now is wrap his little arms around your neck, put his head on your shoulder, and pat your back with his little hand.  It is just precious.

Giving giraffe a squeeze

16.  My sister got Kellan an indoor basketball goal and Michael plays with him all the time.  In fact, they play so much that when basketball is on TV Kellan will sit on his couch watching the game and yelling "shoot, shoot!  shoot, shoot!!"  He says the same thing while he's playing basketball with daddy.

17.  I started trying to teach Kellan a few signs when he was 6 months old.  I gave up a few months later because I just wasn't getting any response from him and I felt like I was completely wasting my time.  It has been MONTHS since I have even attempted signing with him.  Just a couple of weeks ago Kellan ran out of milk and when I turned around he was doing the sign for 'more' PERFECTLY and saying "Mo!, Mo!"  He does it all the time now to let me know that he wants more.   It just goes to show you that babies are taking in EVERYTHING at a very young age.  This new baby better get ready because mommy is not giving up this time!!

Signing for more :)

18.  Kellan was digging around in daddy's closest and came out with this hat, wearing it exactly like this! :)  Saying "hat!, hat!"

19.  He has just now discovered our see through fireplace and loves running to one side and looking at you through the glass, then running to peek at you on the other side.

20.  Another of his favorite toys is this twirly helicopter thing that spins when you twirl it between your hands.  He got it from a goody bag at a birthday party and he is in love.  He will go for hours handing it to you and saying "This!, This!" and wanting you to fly it for him.   Luckily he is just as impressed with mommy's seriously pitiful flying abilities as daddy's that go flying all over the room.

21.  My child likes Elmo.  There.  I said it out loud.  Much to mommy's dismay he is actually a little obsessed with Elmo.  I don't know why.  I have never bought anything with Elmo on it, nor do we encourage talk about Elmo or watch him on TV.  It just happened.  His Gigi bought him a dancing Elmo for his birthday but he hardly has anything to do with, so that's not it.  Gigi also bought him a pair of Elmo pj's that he wears but he never really talks about him when he's wearing them, so that's not it either.  He finds that little furry red thing everywhere.  There can be a picture of Elmo a fraction of an inch big on a pack of wipes and Kellan will find him and point him out.  He digs through all of his bath toys saying "Mo!"  I knew he did not have an Elmo bath toy but lo and behold the container of capsules that turn his bath water different colors has a picture of Elmo on the outside.  He has millions of apps on the iPad but somehow Elmo has become his favorite one...to the point that he calls the iPad "Mo!"  Lord help us all...what do kids see in that furry red animal with a lisp?!  I don't get it.  I hope its a phase...

22.  Kellan loves to play the different apps on mommy's iPhone and the iPad.  Elmo's ABC is of course his favorite but so is Peekaboo Wild, Peekaboo Barn, and the Itsy Bitsy Spider.  He plays Peekaboo Wild so much on my phone he now calls my phone "Ah-boo!"

23.  I have a confession.  When we were at the Honda dealership getting an update to our car, I played Elmo videos on my phone to keep Kellan in my lap and not wandering around contracting everyone's cold and flu germs.  He was so engrossed in the songs and videos he never budged or even looked up.  I had numerous people come up and tell me how well behaved he was...*sigh* oh the things we told ourselves that we would never do...

Here are a few more pictures from this month:

Shopping with mommy at Marshall's

Eating a grilled cheese and people watching at Panera with mommy.  He loves to watch people, grin and wave frantically at them, and then completely ignore them once they talk or wave back to him.

He is an extremely grumpy morning person...it takes one to know one.

Shopping with mommy and daddy at Sam's Club

I can't wait to see what is in store for us this month...and I can only imagine what is going to happen when there are TWO of them!!