16 Month Update

I almost forgot that Noah just turned 16 months! There's been too much holiday excitement and lounging around at home. I continue to be amazed at how quickly Noah is growing and developing. He is eating more and more "real" food these days and seems to prefer Chinese and Korean food. When we were in New York recently we went out to dim sum and he has never behaved better at a restaurant. No screaming, no throwing food, just lots of eating and sitting quietly - for almost an hour! Peter and I were a little concerned. He also really enjoys ja jang myun, dumplings, and rice. I have to admit his diet is somewhat lacking in the vegetable area but I just don't know what to do because most vegetables that we eat require a great deal of chewing. He only really eats peas and carrots. I hope I'm not ruining his palate for the future. Other than the vegetables, Noah continues to be a good eater. Yesterday I made a grilled cheese for us to share and when I asked him if he wanted to have some, he ran to his high chair faster than I've ever seen him move.

Noah continues to be more affectionate, giving lots of hugs, more kisses, and recently even started blowing kisses. Unfortunately he's become more clingy too, which makes daycare drop off and even nap time and night-night time very difficult. From me, he always wants to be held longer, and from Peter he always wants more back rubs. What a rascal. He used to go to sleep so easily but these days he cries every time we put him down.

I'm happy to report that Noah's vocabulary has expanded significantly in the past month! He's no longer only saying "ball" and "dah". He says "mom" now (referring to me) even though he never actually calls me "mom". Still working on that. He also says apple ("a-puh"), Elmo, owl ("ow-wool"), car, cold, nose ("no"), yes ("yesh"), more, and a lot of uh-ohs. I found out recently that he can sign "more" (he touches his forefingers together) and "all done". He also finally is able to point to his nose, ears, eyes, and belly button. I think he's learning all this stuff at daycare and just in this past month he is revealing it to us! When I was folding the laundry the other day I asked him to take out some socks just to see what he would do and he pulled out three socks! All of this makes me feel better about sending him to daycare. :) This and the fact that I have been exhausted these past 2 weeks taking care of him full-time - and I haven't even been doing all the work!

In addition to throwing around balls and watching cars from the window, Noah LOVES watching Sesame Street videos on YouTube, primarily the ones where they're singing a song. He used to grab Peter's phone and hold it up whining, so Peter started asking him "Do you want to watch a video? Yes or no? If you want to watch a video, come lie down on the couch with Daddy." So Noah started grabbing the phone and climbing up onto the couch to lie down next to Peter. Eventually he also started to say "yesh" when Peter asked him if he wanted to watch a video. Now, he just gets the phone, holds it out to Peter and says "yesh". What a rascal. After each video is over, he also always smiles and claps. He loves his Elmo! He'll say Elmo when he sees Elmo, but he still doesn't call me "mom". I'm just chopped liver... Noah only comes looking for me when he's hungry. Okay, I'm exaggerating. I know he loves me and enjoys my company too, but it would be nice to hear him say mom every once in a while.

Those are the main highlights of month 16. Looking forward to more fun in the 17th month! This month I'm hoping that he'll be able to master use of the spoon, but I think that's going to take some time.

15 Month Update

Noah is 15 months old and kind of a little terror. He is very adamant about doing things his own way. If you ask him to do something, most of the time he'll do it. But if you make him do something, he will start screaming as if he were being tortured. Do the "terrible twos" begin in the 2nd year, or is it after he turns two? Either way, I'm thinking that it's going to be very, very bad.

Other than the little tantrums, Noah has been lots of fun. :) He still doesn't say much other than "ball" and "daaa" - which is sometimes used to refer to Peter, but his understanding continues to develop. When I say that it's dinner time, he usually walks to his highchair and wants to get in. When I say it's time to put on his shoes, he'll walk over to his shoes. Sometimes he'll even start tapping one of the shoes with his foot; his attempt at putting them on I guess. If I say that we need to take off his shoes, he'll bend over and touch the velcro straps. I've been having a lot of fun testing out what he understands. I know that he understands "no" but it already has lost its effect when it comes out of my mouth. Once upon a time when I said "no" or "don't do_____" he would at least stop and look at me. Now, nothing. When his Uncle Eugene says no though, Noah not only listens, but he also looks like he's about to cry.

He's also been expressing more love, which is so fun. When I pick him up from daycare, he usually gets really excited when he sees me and will practically run to give me a hug. Sometimes, when we're at home just hanging out, if either I or Peter aren't paying attention to him, he'll randomly come over and hug us. If he's in a particularly huggy mood, he hugs for a long time and very tightly. :) It just melts my heart every time.

The pictures above are from when we were in Boston for a few days. Every morning we had to take Noah outside to walk around and play. If we didn't, he'd start getting very cranky and crazy. It kind of reminded me of having to take a dog out for a walk, and in fact when we took him out to play, there were lots of dogs out there too on their walks! Noah was really excited about the dogs and wanted to touch all of them. Maybe one day we can convince Peter to get a dog. Preferably the kind pictured above, in black and tan.

That's all for this month...not too many exciting milestones recently. Hopefully by next month, Noah will have a more developed vocabulary by then. Or at least one that includes "mom"! I'm the one doing the bulk of the heavy-lifting and all Noah ever wants is "daaa". What about "maaa"??