15 Months!

Hunter turned 15 months old on November 2nd and had his check-up appointment today. Our little monkey gained 3 pounds and grew 3 inches since his 12 month check-up! He now weighs in at 26 lbs 7 ozs (76th percentile) and is a very tall boy at 33.4 inches (96th percentile). The doctor was pleased with Hunter's development thus far and thinks he's right on track. He told us that his language will start to explode in the next few months and while he has been walking just fine on his own since his 1st birthday, he is going to get faster! We told Dr. D that we would soon be bringing #2 to him for routine check-ups and he congratulated us. He said not to bother trying to prepare Hunter for a baby because things just don't exist in his reality unless he can see, hear and feel them. Dr. D also said that since Hunter will be almost 2 years old when the baby is born, he probably won't have too much difficulty adjusting to a newborn as long as it doesn't disrupt his own schedule too much. Given that babies generally just need to be fed, changed, and sleep a lot, that shouldn't be a problem!

Hunter got 3 shots during this visit as well and handled them like a trooper, but afterwards he really got some knots in his thighs where he got them. They are a little bruised now, but he doesn't seem to be experiencing any pain there.

In addition to his check-up Hunter now has 7.5 teeth which he diligently brushes every morning and night. The .5 is for one of his upper molars that is not yet all the way through. He also has 1 additional front tooth and 3 more molars that are just under his gums and about to emerge!

Hunter is really enjoying the fall weather! He loves going outside to play with leaves and sticks and rocks that he finds in the yard, or just running around after the other kids in our neighborhood. He also loves playing with the soccer ball and can dribble it quite well across small distances (making his daddy so proud). Recently, Hunter has been playing with his football quite a bit. He loves to make touchdowns and do his touchdown dance!

He is learning new words everyday, but getting him to consistently use them is another matter. He may say them a few times and then he refuses. For the first time, we are having to rely on some disciplinary tactics as Hunter becomes more independent and therefore more defiant from time to time. Overall, he is a very good boy, but on occasion due to excitement, frustration, or just showing off he will do something we consider unacceptable and must be disciplined. Luckily, he has been reacting quite well when we count to 3 and/or put him in a time-out corner. As parents, we find it so hard to do that to him, especially when he starts to cry, but we know it will benefit him and us in the long run, so we are consistently sticking with it.

Hunter's next doctor's appointment will be at 18 months, so we can't imagine how big he'll be then and just how much he will have learned in the interim.

Here are a few pics we've taken over the last few months...