Fifteen Months

Dear Campbell,

A couple of days ago, you turned fifteen months old. Since you turned one, many people make it a point to tell me they can't believe you're not a baby anymore. I usually keep my lips sealed when I hear comments like these, because you are absolutely still my baby. You always will be, no matter what number is assigned to your age. My sweet, little baby.

My how you have grown big boy! You are now walking and running and climbing and chasing every second of every day. You are literally on the move from the moment you wake up until you fall asleep at night, and it's so exhausting and beautiful and exhilarating to watch. You are so independent, and I love it. You are very happy to play by yourself and get into trouble on your own. Even when we are out at a friend's house or in a music class with strange people, you are still not afraid to leave my side, and I'm so happy for that. You check back with me every now and again, and sometimes you give my legs a hug and shout, "Mama!" but then you get back to it. Love this about you.

You're eating and sleeping habits haven't changed much. You go through phases of picky eating and eating like a horse. You are mostly taking one nap (from about 12:15-2:45). You are usually in bed around 7:15 pm and up around 7:00 am. All of this of course changes when we're dealing with teething or illness, both of which have plagued our house this past month. You had your first ear infection (double ear infection, might I add!) which scared me quite a bit. Your fever got up to 103.5 and you were just not yourself. Luckily it took about 24 hours and you were feeling like your little monkey self again.

You continue to meet milestones and impress your dad and I daily. You are a talking machine, and truthfully I don't even know how many words you say, because it's a lot. Your favorite and most common ones are: Mama, Dada, wa-wa (water), cah (car), Mo, Maizey, s-yoo (shoe), ha (hat) and Issy (Izzy).

And, some of my personal favorites that you say: peee (play), soo-soo (cereal), boo-boo (blueberry), haw (hot -- this goes for anything that an adult is drinking!), qua-qua (duck), cow, no (more like 'new'), dow-dow (downward dog). And the one that makes your dad and I chuckle daily, is when you want to know what something is, you get super excited and really loudly you say, "OOOh, wa dis?!" (Oh, what's this?!)

You know what sounds several animals make, and you can identify several objects upon sight (baby, cow, duck, train, shoes). You can stack a couple blocks and MegaBlocks to build things. You still love to read books and play with wheels, but your new favorite hobby is putting your barn animals onto or inside of different vehicles. You've also discovered magnets and love putting your magnetic animals all over the washing machine.

You're very attached to Mo, and I'm trying to limit your contact with him to your bedroom. Of course when you were sick, you got Mo 24/7, but I'm internally a little scared of you walking down the aisle at your wedding carrying Mo. So, you're on a Mo diet, and you've been very adaptable about it!

We moved you up to size five diapers (which, really are a little too big), you're wearing mostly 18 month clothes, and you're wearing size 5.5 W shoes. You're my big boy, and I love it! We saw Dr. T yesterday, and she was so impressed with you. You weigh 26 pounds (90th percentile) and are 31.5 inches long (between 50-75th percentile). She was so impressed with your "advanced speech" as she labeled it and said you're going to be a very smart boy, which we already knew! You checked out completely perfect and healthy. The only concern I asked her about was your refusal to drink more than a sip of milk. She was not the slightest concerned and said to keep trying, so we will, but you're not lacking in nutrients at all, my dear!

You are truly the sweetest little boy I have known. You are very sensitive, and you don't like to be corrected. You are a big mama's boy and love to be held and kissed. You have a really funny sense of humor and love playing games like peek a boo and tickle monster. You are SO ticklish! You love chasing Maizey around, and she has learned to love playing with you, too. In fact, you started giving Maizey her toys in hopes that she'll play with you. You are an excellent sharer (especially for your age) and rarely take toys from other children. You will watch someone closely if they are playing with a toy you want, and then usually you wait for them to put it down before you move in for the swipe. You also rarely cry when someone takes a toy from you. You definitely got your flexibility and laid-backness from your dad. I know all of these things will change as you learn to test boundaries, but I'm loving the fact that you can go with the flow and move on when life hands you lemons. Keep doing that, Buddy, it's so important.

Campbell, it's pretty obvious you are turning into an incredibly smart and loving little boy. Your smile lights up the room, your laugh is contagious, and your sensitive soul is admirable. I tell people all the time, if I could pause time, I'd do it right now. You are just so perfect. I love you to the moon and back, to bits and pieces, and a whole big bunch.

Love always,
Mommy