15 Months

Stats: 30 pounds (oh my!), 30 1/2 inches long, head- 19 inches

Likes:

Being Outside

Swinging with Daddy

Food- and lots of it!

ECU athletic events

Balloons

Any kind of ball!

Mother's Day Out

Dislikes: the vacuum cleaner, hair dryer, Dustbuster, being told "No"

James, I can't keep track of all the many changes that have been happening over the past month!  It seems like every time I turn around you have learned a new word or trick.  Some of the recent new words are hey, hello, daddy (finally!), baby, ewww, moon, butt paste (random but true), no (not so happy about you learning this word), and "weee weeee weee" (as in the little piggy nursery rhyme) .  I counted your words and right now you know and use about 20 consistently.  You love to look at pictures around the house and name your daddy and mama in them.  You like to "help" Mama by trying to put on your socks and shoes, stirring the food in the bowl while she cooks and taking everything out of the cabinets and drawers.  You have learned the sign for "please" and have figured out that when you do it you normally get what you ask for!  It's hard not to cave when you say "please" so nicely.  You can identify your head, hair, nose, ear, and belly.  You continue to love to be outside, dancing, and of course playing with a ball. This is such a fun and busy age, and we are enjoying watching you learn and grow. 

A few other memories from the 15th month:

We took a trip to the State fair- always interesting food options!

Watching the circus at the fair

ring toss

Checking out the animals

Feeding the giraffe. That tongue was long!!!

Fall Fun

We have been having all sorts of fall fun around here lately.  Last week when I picked James up from "school" he showed off some of his first crafts to me.  The teacher in me knows that he probably didn't do hardly any of it, but I'm still impressed that his teachers were able to get them done.  He is already more talented than his mom! 

Ghost feet

Sticker pumpkin

This weekend we decided to put our shoe boxes together for Operation Christmas Child.  If you haven't done this before go do it today!  Ryan and I first started doing shoe boxes together when we  started dating over 11 years ago, and it is one of our favorite ministries.  My MOPS group also put shoe boxes together as one of our service projects this year, but Ryan and I really wanted to start this tradition with James at an early age.  He seemed to enjoy "helping" put the box together.

Later that day we went to a fall festival sponsored by our church along with several others  They had all sorts of games, crafts, music, and food.  James proved that he is Louisiana born and bred because he LOVED the jambalaya!  How many other places have jambalaya at a fall festival? Probably not many! He was pretty funny to everyone around him because he would randomly stop what he was doing and start dancing to the music. 

Here is a little video of his first time doing the bean bag toss.

He had already gotten one piece of candy and went back for more- little pig!

The next morning was Halloween so I decided to make homemade pumpkin pancakes (I have been on a pumpkin kick lately) in the shape of pumpkins. 

That night we went next door because our twin neighbors turned one and had their party.  Then it was off to trick or treat. 

I have written before how Halloween is pretty different here, and this year it was crazier than ever!  Here are some of the things we were offered and given while trick-or-treating:: chips, chili, packs of playing cards, rings, movie-style popcorn, and of course tons of candy.  James was also offered the opportunity to "pet" a fuzzy spider, go on a hayride, and see the inside of a haunted house that someone had built onto their garage.  He was pretty mesmerized by it all!   The funniest thing is that when people would give him a piece of candy he would do the sign for "more".  Such a mess!

One of our neighbors hanging out by their fire pit

Gimme that candy!

Love those golf clubs

So tired

A year ago at Halloween I remember JT being SO fussy.  We could almost not even get him into his costume, and it was definitely not the easiest of times in our life.  So thankful for my happy boy this year!  What a difference 12 months makes!