Toby: 14 months and 15 months

These past two months have been an absolute blur. But one thing is for sure, I have a toddler. An independent, walking, talking, and curious little toddler.

I can't get over how much of a little boy he is now. The other day he was just walking (yes, WALKING... ) around my living room and it felt like for the first time I saw a little boy. Who is this little man and what have you done with my baby?

At the risk of sounding like a narcissist, I really think my kid is smart. He's smart and thoughtful and happy. What more could I ask for?

So here are a few little facts about Mr. Mister:

 

Earning his keep

 

He is starting to develop a personality that's quite, (ahem) independent. He likes to do things all by himself. He likes to see how things work and he doesn't want help... unless he asks for it.

He's at that age where he is starting to give me stuff; a rock, a blade of grass, a crumb from a piece of toast. It's insanely adorable.

His language is out of control, his (vocal) vocabulary consists of: Mama, Dada, dog, Papa, kitty, bubbles, fish, all done, yeah, down, hot, hi, more, sit, thank you, love you, book, duck.

His signing vocabulary is also pretty extensive: Bird/Duck, All done, dog, more, cat, milk, dirty, book, Mama, Daddy, fish, food, again, help, ball, water, gentle, banana, airplane.

He's starting to take interest in things now. He's happiest when he's outside. He's obsessed with airplanes and animals, and he has also taken an interest in our garden. Nanny said he was pulling weeds in it the other day. He also loves machinery (tractors, cars, trucks, front-end loaders etc.) typical boy. He is quite nosy too.

He's still a fantastic eater. The days of bottles and purees have been gone for about 4-5 months now and he eats everything we do. He is not at all picky. The only things he has determined that he could do without are eggs and peas. Otherwise, he'll eat it. I'm talking, hummus, beets, pickles, beans galore, meats of all kinds, mushrooms, onions, watermelon, etc.. I will say his go-to items are avocados and fruits/veggies. Our garden has been providing us with a ton of cucumbers lately and he is loving this. I will admit he also has a sweet tooth, just like Mama and Daddy. He also has a penchant for ice cream (Sorry, kid, you got that from me) so because of this we're forced to go to the local ice cream shop at least 2 times per week. I'm proud to say he has never had fast food. Ever. And it's my goal to hold out as long as possible.

 

 

Burritos at Dos Amigos. He loves the mushroom burrito. No word of a lie.

He's sensitive and affectionate. He'll pet other children, he'll gently pet other animals. He'll grab your palm and put it on the side of his face and lean into it. Sometimes he'll stop whatever he's doing and he'll come over and just hug me or kiss me. He's off and on with "sharing" but some days he's really great at it, some days... not so much. He is always good at sharing food, though. He'll even feed you.

He understands the concept of "hi" and "bye." He'll even combine words. For instance, if we see a dog he'll say "Hi dog" or if Aaron tells him he has to go to work he'll say "bye Dada." It's insane.

 

 

Just chillin with Clifford. No big deal

He walks now. He's starting to attempt running. He has "jumped" a few times and he never crawls anymore. Month 14/15 is where he really started to get better at walking and it's now his favorite mode of transportation.

He's a climber. The other day I left the dining room long enough to put more water in his sippy cup and, I kid you not, when I returned he was ON THE DINING ROOM TABLE. I nearly dropped dead.

He has 8 pearly whites with more making their debut. He brushes his teeth twice per day. Notice I said "he?" I don't brush his teeth, he does. And he does a good job too. The only thing I have to do is sing Raffi's song about brushing your teeth and he'll do it.

He's still a two nap per day kid; early morning and late afternoon. He still sleeps right through the night. We did have to move him to nighttime diapers, however, because he's a great sleeper and he doesn't wake up for a diaper change. Thank goodness he doesn't poop in the night (he never has) so I only have to deal with a wet diaper in the morning.

He has his 15 month check up on Friday so I'm looking forward to seeing how much he officially weighs. I did check him on our scale last week and he was 23# even.

He has finally chosen a lovie. While Sophie giraffe was, is, and always will be his favorite, he's attached to Peter Rabbit. Not at all what I expected but, he drags the thing everywhere and won't sleep/nap unless he has Peter.

 

 

 

He is obsessed with airplanes. It's his most used "sign" and no matter what he's doing if he hears a plane overhead he will RUN to the window to look for it... then he'll excitedly sign plane over and over again.

 

 

I don't normally take selfies as I don't particularly care for them anymore but, this day we were standing on the porch and an airplane flew overhead. He began telling me an elaborate story about the plane (in his baby language) signing "airplane" like a mad man. I just kept saying "Yes, airplane. BIG airplane!" He was so excited!

He's a problem solver. He has discovered that if he can't reach something, he can use a toy to stand on. He has even gone so far as to tip over the garbage can and climb on that to reach something. Insanity.

He graduated Level I swim lessons. He's not eligible to begin again until he's 19 months old but you can bet we have him signed up already!!

 

I think that's pretty much all that covers the past two months. I am all about experiences for him so we've been really busy doing all sorts of activities. It's tough work keeping a toddler occupied and I love every second of it.

 

14 months

 

15 months

 

Summer Vacation 2013

We recently returned home from an 11 day vacation; 8 days of it spent in Maine. It was glorious. I love going to camp because my Mom is less than 5 miles away, we have continuous access to the lake, and we don't have anything by way of technology. While we do get phone service on our cells, we can't get internet or any social media. It's pretty glorious.

There were so many fun things we did but, for the sake of time, I'll sum it up in beautiful pictures:

Most of our mornings would start with breakfast on the porch.

Followed by a boat ride.

 

We went to the Skowhegan Fair. I have not missed one year of this fair since I was born.

Neither will Toby.

 

 

He wanted this ice cream bar but then was too distracted by the bear show to eat it.

Mama had to help him so it wouldn't melt.

 

Beautiful grizzly; just like the ones we saw in the wild of Alaska.

 

I love this picture. It's hilarious and I will probably use it for a future "Baby Talk" segment.

 

If you know my family, you know maple syrup is serious business. You'll note the winners of the Skowhegan fair for syrup tied. It's my parents!!

 

 

Yes, I buy the tiny little bananas versus the big ones for Toby. He loves the little ones.

We had an awesome lobster and clam bake for my mom, who just turned 60!
 

Toby helped Papa with some yard work at the farm.

We drove North to the Belfast area to meet our new (and delicious) newborn nephew, Wally.

While we were up in that area we went to see the Hope Elephants. What an amazing organization. I think I found my new charity. The work they are doing is truly remarkable.

 

My bestie and her children came down to Camp to visit. We hung out for the day and I brought her over to my parent's farm so the kids could enjoy the animals.

And below you'll see Papa and Toby playing with his new bike that Mimi and Papa got for him.

We also visited my Dad who was renting a camp a few miles away. My dad wears a fedora. He thought it would be cute to put it on my son. If anything, I can always retain this photo for blackmail purposes when Toby is a teenager.

Toby and Cuzzy Sarah on some rides :)

 

We also spent one day hiking Moxie Falls wayyyy up in Forks, Maine. We return there every year to the exact spot where Aaron proposed to me.

 

The hike is a little hairy but luckily my husband is so boss.

Random, but this rock looks like Moby Dick. No?

Where we are dangling our feet into the river is exactly where Aaron popped the question to me in 2008.

Do not adjust your bifocals. We have a "walker" on our hands.

 

My niece, Sarah, turned 3 while we were in Maine. We skipped over to Wilton on one of our days and celebrated her 3rd Ladybug birthday!

 

Complete with Piñata!

Isn't Sarah beautiful?

 

 It was an amazing vacation. I'm sad to see it end but, we still have a handful of trips coming up over the next 2 months to look forward to.