15 Months

Ben had his 15 month checkup yesterday, and everything went swimmingly. His height is 30.5 inches and he weighs 22 lbs. That means he is in the 25-30 percentile for height and the 10-25 percentile for weight. Dr. Horger said he would most likely stay within those percentiles from now on, so he'll probably always be average height with a slim build. I asked if he was able to predict adult height at this age, and he "guesstimated" Ben would be between 5'8" and 5'10". That's exactly what I had been thinking! 

Overall, the doctor thought Benjamin looked very healthy and happy. He has gotten four new teeth in the past week (including 2 molars!) and he's working on more. When it rains it pours! He was also VERY impressed with his sleep schedule, since he sleeps 11-12 hours a night, and still naps twice most days. I only had two questions, and they both concerned development. Ben is still not too verbal, and he only has about 5 words he uses regularly. Dr. Horger asked if he babbles with a variety of sounds, if he understands commands without gestures, and if he constantly points and grunts. The answers are yes, YES, and OHMYGOSHYES!! So, I guess the small vocabulary isn't a problem. I also asked about learning disabilities, specifically ADD. I felt kind of dumb being concerned about it, but I'm a little hyper-vigilant about that problem because of my own issues. I just want to know if there's anything I should be noticing at this age. He said there is definitely a genetic component to ADD, but the earliest ANY child could be diagnosed would be 3 1/2, and even that is a stretch. He told me not to worry about it, and we would deal with it later if we have to. So, ok! I'm not going to think about it. 

He's still a happy baby. LOVES to brush his hair and pretends that everything is a hairbrush. He also pretends to wash his face all time. And he loves to swiffer! Whenever I'm straightening the house I just give him a swiffer, and that usually occupies him for a while. The favorite activity right now is matching objects. He's always placing lids with containers, and bringing people items he knows are theirs, like shoes, shirts, etc... The other day the whole family had to go to the Verizon store, and Ben occupied himself by taking an item off the shelf, walking around for a while, and then placing it back in the proper spot. It was like one big game of Memory. He also likes to look at himself in the mirror. We have a big mirror leaning against the wall, and he'll walk by and glance at himself, stop, back up slowly, and then wave. He also likes to walk past and take a glance, back up, move forward, back up...on and on and on. I think it's pretty funny.

What else? Still eats a lot. Still loves bananas, strawberries, and blueberries, and could probably live off them. He'll eat eggplant and zucchini if I disguise it, and he loves spinach and sweet potatoes. His new favorite foods are sour cream and salsa. As in...give him a spoon and let him dig in. Apparently quesadillas or other "main dishes" are just accoutrements that I use to distract him from the REAL meal. It's the same with cream cheese or strawberry jam. Bread is just the vehicle for his choice of condiment, and he spends a lot of time carefully dismantling and licking various foods off his sandwiches. I'll turn around and see that he's amassed a pile of gooey, smooshy, and remarkably clean looking bread on the side of his tray, while somehow managing to not take a single bite.

His hair is getting long, but I can't bring myself to cut it! The front is cute, but he's working on a little mullet in the back.

New favorite activity...climbing on stuff. And since we live in the South, shirts are always optional. No shirt combined with a mullet means that maybe I need to step it up in the "making sure my kid looks presentable" department.

This is a new sport called "Scoot-About Swiffering." It's just like Polo, only with a Swiffer. And a Scoot-About. And it's inside. And, ummm...you don't actually hit anything, except, like, maybe the wall or the refrigerator on accident. Maybe I should think of another analogy? And maybe he shouldn't play this game anymore?