Raspberries

Daddy showed Hunter a new way to blow raspberries...through the gate!

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...

Ultrasound of "Thing 2"

Here are two pictures from a recent ultrasound we had on October 20th. Our #2 is looking quite good and healthy so far. One picture is a profile shot and the other is a leg/foot, which Ryan thinks looks like a great soccer leg!

Can't wait till our next sneak peek around week 20!

Happy Halloween!

Hunter had a very busy Halloween weekend! He went to a pumpkin farm with his buddies at Day Care and got to dress up with them, too! We also had his neighborhood friends, Ethan and Ian, over to make "Monster Cupcakes." He just loved playing and entertaining them at our house; he really adores those boys!

On Halloween day, we attended a party where the 20 or so kids from our neighborhood dressed up in their costumes. They really had a blast playing games together. Ryan raked a huge leaf pile and the kids spent hours jumping and playing in it, especially Hunter!

Later that evening we walked Hunter to a few of the houses in the neighborhood, so he could get a feel for the whole "Trick or Treating" thing. He was a hit and was completely exhausted by the time we got him in bed at 8:30. He passed out without a peep!

Pumpkin Carving

This year we rolled up Hunter's sleeves expecting him to cover himself from head to toe in pumpkin. Much to our surprise, he didn't want to touch the squishy insides at all. So we quickly adjusted our plans and tortured him with it instead!

Definitely our Child!

Hunter got ahold of the remote for his Daddy's Fart Machine and, much like Mom and Dad, he finds farts hilarious!!

The Question Was...

"Hunter what does a fishie do?"

Entertainment for the Whole Family!

Fall is Here!

Now that October has arrived and the weather has cooled, we've been out and about doing those things you do this time of year.

We took Hunter to the Fell's Point Festival and, while we were too busy looking at all the displays to take many pictures, Hunter did get his photo taken perched on top of a race car. (Baltimore is hosting its first Grand Prix next September so there was a sweet car on display to advertise it.)

We also took a trip with our dear friends and neighbors, the Wagners, to Applewood Farm. Hunter went last year, but was obviously limited in what he could enjoy. Not this year, he had a blast checking everything out. He started on their playground, then found his way through the corn maze, played antler toss, got a hayride to the pumpkin patch where he found his very own pumpkin, and visited the animals at the petting zoo. Unfortunately their train had derailed soon after we arrived, so we were unable to take a ride. We'll have to save that for next year!

Some small talk!

Hunter is now saying a few words to indicate what he wants! We are excited as we imagine there will be much less frustration on his part once he can better communicate what it is he wants. Although, we must say that he does a pretty good job with nonverbal communications now (a grunt and a point say so much!) and we've realized many times the frustration stems from him wanting things he cannot have!

His chosen first words are very telling... Here they are in order of first learned and used, to last.

1) Mama and Dada: he started using these months ago

2) Iddy At = kitty cat: again, he started saying this months ago

3) Up: this was perfected about 2 weeks

4) Kee or Coo = cookie: started saying this all the time just a few days ago, mysteriously after a visit from Mom-mom

5) Mor = more: said this for the first time this morning while making the sign language gesture for it at the same time. This blew me away because, interestingly enough, I was doing this sign and a few others with him a lot when he was around 4-7 months old, but stopped. We can't believe he just did it out of the blue with no provocation while eating breakfast this morning.

In addition to these words, he has learned several animal sounds which he started using many months ago. He moos like a cow, pants like a dog, clicks his tongue like a horse galloping, snorts like a pig, and roars like a lion. We couldn't be more proud!!