Adventures of a 15 Month Old

Having a 15 month old has got to be one of the most fun, most frustrating times in a parent's life.  I adore my crazy little man, even though we have days where I'm quite sure we both feel like leaving the other in a muddy puddle outside.  (To borrow a saying from my lovely three year old cousin Haley.) 

It's amazing to watch this little person figure things out and become such a little man ... especially when I look at pictures from only a year ago and remember the cuddly little lump he used to be.  Some of his latest antics include:

• He now will blow kisses ... but they come from his forehead.
• If you pucker your lips, he will give you his forehead.  I think he's got his lips a little confused.
• Can tell me what several animals say, but by far his favorite is the snake. 

•  Mac loves the car mat.  I love it too.  He crawls like a maniac all over it while humming like a car.  I think his hypothalamus is now well taken care of.
• If one person gives Mac knucks, he then must distribute the knucks evenly to everyone in the room.

•  He doesn't watch t.v. much, unless it's Baby Einstein's "Neighborhood Animals."  Then he points, claps, giggles, gasps, squeals, barks, and attempts all sorts of words and noises.  I'm not sure if he's getting smarter or not, but it lets me cook dinner, and for that I will agree that the creator of Baby Einstein is a genius.

•  Mac freezes if someone unknown grabs him.  He seems to go for the t-rex approach; if you don't make any sudden movements, they can't see you.  Especially when little girls grab him.
• He is also developing a bit of a backbone ... when someone attempts to snag something from him, instead of collapsing in a heap of tears, sometimes he will rip it away and say "No no no!"  I'm relieved to see him standing up for himself, but I certainly don't want to raise a punk. 
• Mac likes to fling boogers.  Isn't he a little young for that?
• He seems to be learning all kinds of words, but signing has definitely stopped all attempts at saying the basics. "Food", "water", and "more" I never hear.  But he does sign and say "night night" and "done".  Along with that there's probably twenty other words he mumbles through.
• He thinks ducks say, "Moo".
• He loves to throw things and jump while saying, "Two, two, two!"
• For breakfast he gets eggs, fruit, yogurt, and some kind of bread.  He will keep a piece of toast or bagel to the side and carry it around for the next two or three hours.  He doesn't eat it, won't throw it away, and generally hollers at me when I try to take it from him.
• He can do this puzzle completely on his own!  I absolutely love watching him twirl the pieces to get them in just the right spot.  This, more than anything, makes me feel like Mac is not a baby anymore.

But then I pull out his baby swings for our friends' little ones and he does things like this, and I then I decide that he is most definitely still my little baby.