13 Months
Liam's 13th month started out marvelously with a fun one-year photo shoot with our friend, Will, and a great one-year check-up with sweet Dr. Jackson, our pediatrician. Sadly, the month took a steep dive when Josh broke his foot on Memorial Day. Even though Josh's life became much less active, Liam's level of activity really took off. Since he took his first steps just days before his 1st birthday, the next month was filled with the wide-stance, wobbly joy of freedom. He continued to be a great (and messy) eater, and continued to enjoy a morning bottle in bed with mommy & daddy and a nighttime bottle, usually snuggled in mommy's arms.
14 Months
During Liam's 14th month (June 11- July 11) we really tried to make the best of Josh's foot being broken and I think we did a pretty good job of finding creative ways to enjoy family time. Until the blazing heat of mid-summer moved in, we had some great times in the backyard watching Liam & Jack have fun in the baby pool and the sprinkler. Once we got Josh's super cool knee scooter that his parents graciously rented for him, we were able to expand our horizons a bit and made time for a couple of family picnics at our favorite parks & creeks.
On the 4th of July weekend we were able to spend some time with all of Liam's grandparents at a friend's lakehouse. Aside from a rough night of sleep for Liam (and therefore, me), he had a great time riding on the boat and getting lots of attention from his biggest fans. Speaking of fans of Liam, during his 14th month he also got to be reunited with his great-grandmother, GG, and her husband, Frank, for the first time since Heather's wedding last June. Frank & GG were able to come have dinner with us as they were passing through town and Liam loved them. He was especially eager to play "catch" with Frank.
15 Months
So, that brings us to this past month. It has been HOT, so Liam's outdoor play time has been severely limited, much to his dismay. He is crazy about being outside, and his favorite outdoor activity is the same as his favorite indoor activity - throwing things. He loves throwing balls or frisbees to Jack, throwing rocks, throwing mulch ... you get the picture. Even though it's been a miserably hot and dry summer, it did rain at least once in July and Liam and I took advantage of the opportunity to have his first real playtime in the rain. He loved watching the water gush out of the gutters and stomping his feet in the little stream that ran in the curb of the road. This month Liam also received the super exciting gift of a wooden toolbox & tools from our friends, the Acostas. The little cutie can often be found busily working his way through our living room and kitchen, working on toys, doors, and chairs with his little wooden screwdriver and hammer. Another activity that has become popular with the toddler in our home can best be described as "dress-up". On a daily basis Liam brings me one of several items (bunny ears from Easter, a little red fire helmet from Firehouse Subs, one of Josh's baseball caps, or his red sunglasses) and holds it up to me so I will put it on him. He is usually pretty serious as he toddles around the house in his get-up for the day, but he gets really tickled when I put him in front of a mirror so he can check out his awesomeness. The really big event of the past month was Liam's first trip to the beach, which you can read about here.
Developmentally, this month has been so fun ... and busy. Liam's language skills are really starting to take off. He has started mimicking words much more often, and uses quite a few words appropriately and on a regular basis. "Mama", "Dada", "Nana" (my mom), "Papa" (Josh's dad - our other parents have names that are harder to say), "Jack", "done" (at the end of meals), "ball", "bubble", "bottle", "baby" (yes, we really like "b" words in our house), and "uh-oh" are the most common topics of conversation. Even though he doesn't say any other words very regularly, he talks non-stop and uses lots of hand gestures. In the past week he has started approaching me with lots of serious chatter and pointing off toward another part of the house. It absolutely delights him when I ask him to show me what he's talking about and he loves leading me to other rooms where he can point at things and talk to me about them.
Liam continues to really dislike being dropped off at church, which is unfortunate. Honestly, sometimes I wonder if this child will still be crying when we go to church when he's in 5th grade. He always has fun after I've left, and is very sweet and affectionate to his teachers when I pick him up, so I know he isn't miserable there - parting is just really rough on him. He loves Jack more and more all the time, and currently his favorite game to play with him is hugging his tail until Jack walks off and pulls him over. I'm pretty sure this game annoys Jack to no end, but Liam squeals and laughs harder when he's chasing Jack than he does any other time.
Another great new development this month is that Liam has started enjoying eating fresh fruit. For a long time he was perfectly happy eating pureed fruits, but he didn't tolerate the texture of fresh fruit. Over the past several weeks something has changed, and now he will happily gobble down blueberries, grapes, bananas, and oranges. Now we just need to work on non-pureed veggies and we'll be good to go! He does still take a bottle in the morning and at night. I think he would do okay being weaned off of it, but we've decided to let him keep taking one until after the trips we have planned for this fall. Since we'll be leaving him overnight for the first time on a couple of occasions, we thought it might help if he has that comfort while we're away. We're also hopeful that teething will cease to be an issue soon. In the past couple of months Liam has gotten all 4 of his one year molars in, one of his top eye teeth, and the other has nearly broken through. That will bring him up to a grand total of 14 teeth - way to go little chomper!
Getting a 15 month old to sit still and smile look at the camera for a picture is ridiculously difficult, but at least I was able to get two where he wasn't either blurry or trying to climb out of the chair. And, as a reward for all of you who stuck through this L-O-N-G post, below is a picture of Joe Cool himself: photo shoots can be pretty stressful so after we were done Liam just wanted to kick back in his sunglasses and play a little basketball while reading his Bible. When you're 15 months old you've got to multi-task ... there's a lot to accomplish!
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