Hank 15 Months

The past three months have really been a mixed bag. We have some really rough weeks and some really great weeks - but I suppose that's just something I have come to expect with a baby! Months 12-13.5 were kind of overwhelming and frustrating. I seriously felt like we were in the newborn days all over again. On top of Hank being super clingy, fussy and wanting to be held all the time I was having a really hard time sleeping. So many days I would be dealing with a fussy baby on only a few hours of sleep and I just felt like my brain was not functioning and my temper fuse was very short.

I am still somewhat battling the sleep issue, but have found some ways to manage the issues I am having and Hank has been a lot calmer and more independent leading to a much more enjoyable couple weeks.

SLEEP: Hank is still taking two naps a day. I thought for sure he would be over this by now because Lucy dropped her second nap around 13 months, but he is still going strong. I don't stress about him getting two naps, so if we having something going on (like Real Moms, or a trip to the Children's Museum) I do push him to one, but most days he still takes two 1.5 hour naps (at 10/10:30am and 2:30/3pm). I suppose I could split the difference of those and give him one nap at 1pm, but Lucy has been wanting to nap pretty late too (around 2pm) so for right now I'm getting a good hour break (or longer) in the afternoon and am loving it! It does cause for funny outings because we typically can't do anything until around noon, but I'm ok with that. The only weird part about his sleep is that he always wakes up from his naps screaming crying, which I don't love, but am not sure what to do about... so I've just kept things the way they are. Hank has also been sleeping well at night, typically 7/7:30pm - 7/7:30am. He usually stirs (screams out crying for several minutes) several times at night, but we rarely have to go in and get him (maybe two times over the past three months).

FOOD: Hank continues to be a bit of a funny eater. I wouldn't go as far to call him a picky eater, but he does seem to refuse a lot of foods I will make him but will then turn around and it that thing the next day no problem (it just seems that some weeks he's refusing a lot more than he's accepting foods!) I have found myself feeding the kids between meals a little more than I would like to and reaching for a bag of goldfish to keep them entertained while I'm preparing dinner - so I'm going to try to be better about that! He has joined us at the table for the past couple meals in a booster seat. It has been so fun sitting around the table as a family of four! And Hank seems to really be enjoying sitting at the table vs. sitting in his high chair, so I think that has brought a new interest to meal times.

DEVELOPMENT/BEHAVIOR: Now for the fun stuff! These past few months Hank personality has really started to develop. He has started to like reading and will either sit and flip through books on his own or bring books over to me and plop down in my lap for me to read. He loves showing his excitement/curiousity by saying "woah" or "wow" or "woo" (it's probably my favorite word he is saying right now) - for example, I was blowing bubbles the other day and he was so impressed every time I would blow more and would yell out "ohhhhhh".... it was pretty darn cute. He isn't talking a ton (I'm pretty sure way less than Lucy was at this point, but I was told to expect that with my boy and with my second) but the main other words he says are momma, dada, ruff and this. He talks gibberish often, walking over to me, saying a sentence that seems to be as clear as day to him, but of course I have no idea what he's saying.

Other things he loves doing lately: riding around in his car, playing basketball, playing tball, playing/throwing with any ball, pushing the stroller (he'll even go over and put a baby in it), pushing the grocery cart, playing outside (this is probably his favorite thing, for example as soon as I open the door to load the kids in the car he takes off running for the street... it's a pretty fun game he likes to play...), chasing after or running from Lucy (they have really started to enjoy playing together this past month and it has been so fun to watch!), playing hide and go seek with mom, climbing on any and everything, sliding backwards down the stairs (actually he does this really fast, it's kind of funny to watch), and of course snuggling with mama while sucking his thumb.

I'm sure I am missing a lot - Hank has changed so much over the past few months, but one thing that has continued to grow is our love for this little guy. He is such a joy and makes us laugh daily. We love you so much Hanky Doodle!

Here's a few pictures to highlight what Hank's been up to the past few months...

Loving playing outside

I was doing something with Lucy upstairs and heard Hank clamoring around downstairs... when I came down to check on him, I found that he had pushed the kitchen table chair over to his high chair, climbed up onto the chair, and then climbed into the high chair. I came down and he was just sitting there giving me this mischievous look.