15 Months

Handsome: You have been incredibly busy this month. The busiest month so far. So busy that you felt sleepy during the monthly photo session. . .

If anyone needs sleep this month, it is Mama and Daddy. You have had a handful of good nights, but are typically waking 1 - 4 times each night, and have been up an hour at a time on a couple of occasions. You take one nap for 1.5 to 2 hours at daycare, and two shorter naps when at home, during which we try to do the same ;).

We try to pack as much as we can during your waking moments, and here is what you've done this month:

(Slightly confused if this was done by Justin or Daddy )

You have done so much at daycare in the past month. You color, paint, play outside, and are learning sign language. Proud Mama moment: you had a tractor cutout, and colored it green. 

Speaking of green - you spent your first time in a green tractor with Papa in October. This may or may not have been in response to spending time in a red one earlier ;)

Hawkeye Football and John Deere - The quintessential Iowa fall. 

Your new hobby is to climb onto the fireplace base, pull open the doors, and play with the metal curtain inside. We've tried to barricade it with Izzers' kennel, a storage ottoman, and some pillows, but you squirm your little tush right past our defenses, laughing all the while. You have reached the stage at which you run faster and laugh when you are being chased because you are doing something you shouldn't be. 

Are there Fruit Loops in here? Or just more trouble?

This month you discovered that the Fruit Loops (or 'crack' as we call it here) were kept in the lazy susan, and in trying to get to them knocked over the canister holding flour.

Don't forget to put the filter on the shop vac. Oh, you forgot? Well this mess has nothing on that then ;).

You spent more time outside, and we had to break out your cold-weather gear on ocassion. 

Your footprint in the house is expanding. You can pull things off of the kitchen table and break into closets that are not locked. Izzers has been forced to retreat to high ground to get some peace and quiet.

He cannot grab me here... yet.

Time for you guys to clean, there is still flour residue on the kitchen floor.

Halloween was fairly quiet. You were dressed as 'Linus' from the Peanuts Comic Strip. Mama took you to see your grandparents, great-grandparents and Darwin and Susie! (Daddy was busy listening about vacuum carburizing and contour induction hardening [Mama edit: Snooze boring Snooze]). You got three pieces of candy - and Mama ate all of them. True story - we're horrible parents but you do not need candy. (Then again neither do Mama's thighs). 

On a few rare occasions, your hair has settled down. 

Jon Hamm has nothing on me . . . 

On another occasion, you 'Made it rain' Cheerios. Isabelle was incredibly grateful for this.

Working on adding fuel to the 'Tank' - you mastered drinking through a regular straw. 

It is true what they say . . . The way to a Tank's heart is through his tummy. 

This is how you sleep - yes, you occasionally fall asleep on a floor. Note the fingers in his mouth. When actually falling asleep, he rubs his nose with the blanket.

Other things of note:

* You have maintained clothing size for a full month - this could be a first!

* You can identify where your belly and nose are.

* You muted FOX news again - Mama is sooo proud of my little liberal boy :)

* You say 'Cah' when you see a car, truck, or other vehicle. 

* 'Cah Cah' is how you say 'Tractor'

And with that, we move on to month 16, where we dream of taking a nap with a Tank full of tryptophan.