15 months

daxton turns 15 months old today!

either his clothes are shrinking or he is really growing!  we've bumped up from our (what i previously thought were) giant 12m clothes to even bigger 12-18m clothes.  things that are strictly 18m are too big, but the 12-18m shirts fit much better than those 12m onesies and jammies i was cramming him into!  he's totally stretching out these days!

this month has included a lot of big boy action. daxton's tricks include crawling over to you while you are laying in the bed and putting both hands on your legs or torso to hoist himself up. he'll then balance (look ma no hands!) and stand there for as long as he can until he goes tumbling down! we've tried to get him to do it on the floor, where his balance would be more stable, but he only likes to do it in the safety of the bed.

some babies are "safer" about standing and walking than others, and we think daxton is totally on the safe side. when he rises to stand he'll brace himself on a window sill or table and then slowly slide down the wall or table leg to get back onto the floor on all fours. he cautiously walks down the couch with both hands pacing along, and has only recently decided to flash the bravery and go for a one handed hold so he can go from one brace to another. he loves to pull up on the couch, tables, trays, armoires, chairs, and just about anything he can lay two hands on.

daxton's totally weened off baby food now.  we're buying all organic so that daxton can eat everything we eat. we let him try whatever i've made us for dinner and then if he does not care for it we resort to baked sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and broccoli.  one night i roasted beets and cooked beet greens and he did not think either one of those items was a good idea, but lately he's tried and loved polenta, roasted carrots, pesto (as a topping on veggies), and marinara with or without spaghetti noodles. it was funny to watch him slurp noodles and eat spaghetti, but we're torturing him less with mini spirals whenever we give him pasta now. he's still a huge fan of the bunny crackers and has lately also added graham cracker bunnies to his repertoire.

daxton's favorite words and phrases are still thank you, uh oh, daddy, and good girl.  we now hear good girl whenever he's referring to amelia.  he's dubbed her the good girl and it's pretty cute how he calls for her.  will commented that it's so amazing how quickly he picks up on things.  recently, after apparently watching too much wheel of fortune, dax has been shouting out letters. his favorite shout out letter is "T"! however, he will also repeat letters you tell him, so if you say a, e, i, o, u - he will too. it's pretty cute and it shocks us every time. he laughs so hard he closes his eyes and we all get a good chuckle out of hearing daxton shout out letters!

although its not my favorite thing for daxton to do, he does get to watch one show a day. his two favorite shows are the aforementioned wheel of fortune and mickey mouse clubhouse. he's a huge fan of the hot dog dance, especially when mommy and daddy play minnie and mickey and dance around like giant goobers. lately he's started doing his own dancing and hopping around on both knees flapping his arms like goofy whenever he hears the song.

daxton loves to watch us do chores. he's totally fascinated by watching the dishes go into the dishwasher or be put into the cabinets. he loves watching us sweep or mop. we promised him that as soon as he was old enough he could certainly help with all of the chores he wanted. we remind him that things like mopping and laundry are fun!

daxton has lately learned to mimic us with different things. he'll want to hold the hair brush and attempt to brush his hair, grab a hold of the tooth brush to brush his own teeth, reach out for his spoon to put it in his mouth himself, take his fake remote to try to "work" the tv, and even take the washcloth to wipe us down.

he's awesome at picking up things like his blocks, balls, and even tiny pieces of food. he'll work those digits to grab everything around him. he opens his one and only free kitchen cabinet door to take out all of (mommy's new) rubbermaids and stack them in various places all over the kitchen. it keeps him busy for quite some time. he loves grabbing the ball when daddy rolls it to him and tossing it back or throwing it over his head. he jumps up and down on his knees and claps when we cheer for his amazing talents! he still loves to clap and dance. he loves all music and loves to wiggle and bounce to just about anything we put on.

he's had a good month and he's learning and growing by leaps and bounds!  we're in love with his curiosity and eagerness to learn and do new things.  we cannot wait to see what fun this next month holds!