Matthew at 15 months

- One morning after I had taken Grace to school, I told Matthew it was time to brush his teeth.  Believe it or not, he LOVES brushing his teeth and usually goes immediately to the bathroom, hops up on his stool and reaches for his toothbrush.  So I was puzzled when he turned the opposite direction and started walking toward the kitchen.  I decided to follow him and see what was up and to my surprise, he had grabbed the "tall stool" from the kitchen and had started carrying it to the bathroom.  I was amazed that he had the foresight to know 1) where the stool was and 2) that he would need it in order to brush his teeth.  However, I think one of the real reasons he like brushing his teeth is because he gets to stand on the stool!

- I decided to stop giving Matthew his pacifier to use during naps and the night.  Amazingly, he was slept through the night fine, however naps have been another issue.  I've been having to sleep-train him again for naps which means alot of crying at times.

- Matthew officially gave up morning naps.  He's also tried giving up afternoon naps for about a week, but I think it was a combination of 1) giving up the pacifier, 2) having a slight ear infection and 3) cutting teeth.

- Matthew has been showing lots of signs of independence lately.  In the mornings, he has been insisting on feeding himself his oatmeal with a spoon.  He has also figured out how to press the button to flip open the lid of his straw cup.  And he loves to spit when mommy tells him not to.  This has landed him in timeout a number of times already.  It doesn't help that his sister encourages this bad behavior at times.

- After time-out, when we say, "Matthew, no more spitting!  Do you understand?" He replies with something that sounds sort of like, "Yes Ma'm/Sir" in inflection and nods his head up and down!

- Matthew is starting to say "thank you" in sign language.

- One Sunday right after we filed into our regular seats at church, the sweetest little girl about Matthew's age came up to him and threw her arms around him and gave him a long hug.  Matthew didn't complain.  Then it was followed be another long hug!  Her mother came up to me and said, "It must be love at first sight!"  I have to say, it was one of the cutest things I've seen in a long time.

Stats at 15 months:
Weight: 24 lb, 13 oz (51%)
Height: 32.35 in (78%)
Head Size: 19.02 (79%)