!6 Months

Dawson loves to be read to as we all know. But now he will bring a book up to you and say/sign "please". It's stinkin' adorable. Now he has to be sitting in your lap. Not in front of you, or beside you, or on the ground between your legs. He has to be on your lap. Cutie.

Quick + Curious = This photo.

Pure. Joy.

I love so many things about this photo. Daryn took it while I wasn't home so it gives some insight to what goes on while the boys are in charge. You can also see Dawson's new obsession in the background: trains. Or "Choo-Choo" as D calls it.

Don't think this one needs a caption...

Hard at work...

The boy is a boy. A little man. A small human. And darn cute in all three categories.

What a fun age. I say that each month I think, but it really gets better each month. He is (most of the time!) a joy to be around. I love being his mom. :)

D is talking SO much and is picking up on so many things. He repeats everything and has an insanely great memory. My new favorite word of his "bum-bah bee". To be able to communicate with your child is so much fun. Something I've looked forward since the moment he was born.

At 16 months, Dawson...
- Sleeps (usually) from 7pm to 7:30am
- Naps for (roughly) 3 hours in the afternoon
- Knows all Abc's and can count to 10 (but starts at 2 because he used to us starting him off at 1)
- If he could be pushed around in his Cozy Coupe Car in the house all day he would be the happiest little man around.
- Can shoot baskets all on his own in his basketball hoop from Christmas
- Loves to make silly faces and make Mom and Dad laugh
- Doesn't so much like the church nursery...
- Looks out the window to find any moving vehicle: cars, trucks, snow plow, garbage trucks, mail man...
- Considers Mickey Mouse (Mowse) and Elmo (Mel-mo) his buddies
- Every morning when Dawson wakes up and we go in his room to get him up he has to introduce us to all of his stuffed animals in his crib. "Beh-awr", "Bow Wow", "Mooose", "Ooh, Ooh, Ahh, Ahh".
- Requests to climb up and down the (all) stairs
- Remembers peoples names and faces when we see them
- Holds his hands together when we pray and says "Men" at the end.

A-B-C's

15 Months

At 15 months, D is full of character and personality. Independent, reserved, smart, curious and a bit of a ham. It's so fun to watch his little mind spin.

GG (Grandma Judy) got D this really cool picture frame for Christmas that has the description of his name. It was oddly fitting of what we already know of him at 15 months... 

"The better the joke, the merrier he is
he helps others see the best in bad times
if a road has not been traveled, he travels it
takes time to look at the sunrise
goes in accordance with truth and fact
when he raises his voice -- look out
has a strong conviction of exploring new things
keeps him going"

He is constantly on the go and eager to find out how everything works or what things are. Lifting anything in sight and very aware of his surroundings he's great entertainment! ;) Walking the isles of Target last week he was pointing and very loudly asking me "Whoo iz dat?" Over and over and over. At least people found it funny instead of intrusive...? Haha.

The kid is a total spounge. We'll sit down to read books and I'll ask him what things are on the page and very often he'll repeat them back to me "bike, tree, baby, car, clock, boots, coat, etc.". In past blog posts I've mentioned how much D loves letters. So it would make sense that currently his favorite book to read right now its Dr. Suess's "A, B, C' book. I was reading it last week and he started to say point and say some letters back to me. So we went through the whole book and he correctly named about 20 of the letters. My jaw was on the floor. I am amazed at how much he can remember. We have foam letters in the bathtub too and he can make the connection to which letters are which even though they are different colors and font. The kid gets smarter and cuter every day, which I'll take as a good sign! ;)

At 15 months, Dawson...
- Weighs 25lbs (65%)
- Is 33.5" tall (99%)
- Head measures at 48cm (99%)
- D grew 3" in three months which is crazy. And explains for the clumsiness increase. I noticed he'd been falling much more lately and now I know why. His balance can't keep up with his growing!
- Sleeps 12-14 hours each night (7pm to some days as late at 9am!)
- Takes one afternoon nap that is about 3 hours give or take...
- Obsessions: Letters, cars, balls, bath time and brushing his (7) teeth
- Talks a lot. A lot. Repeats the last word of most our sentences. Says or attempts to say most anything...starts the word off strong but the of the word trails off quickly
- Is starting to say people's names and remember them next time he seems them.
- Three cutest words he says? Cookie, baby and bear. I've got to get a video up of him saying them...

Looking out the window watching Dad shovel our driveway.

Just waking up from nap time...

D's favorite time of the day...

Stopped to get some lunch after running some errands. I think D ate more sour cream then he did of his meal.

Gooo Badgers! Rose Bowl game day.

Dawson's "Cheese" face when he sees mom take out the camera.

Christmas 2011

Christmas this year was hands down the best ever. Ever. It was insanely busy (Laufenburg, Schulz Christmas Eve and Allen, Towns, Towns, Allen Christmas Day). Way, way too much in two days. Last year D just slept in his car seat through most of Christmas and the years before that we never had a baby so we should have planned for this year a bit better. Two busy days with late bedtimes and no naps makes for one cranky baby...(I am pleased to report that we've recovered however! :)

Dawson really got into the present opening and was able to recognize the things he was unwrapping and immediately wanted all toys out of the box and assembled.

It was such a joy to share the holidays as a family. It brings a whole new meaning and sense of excitement and I know that will only grow each year.  I can't help but think back to last Christmas and how little D was. And I am sure next year I'll look back on this year and be shocked at how yet another year passed so quickly...

Opening gifts Christmas morning

"Bow-wow-wow" that D got from Santa :)

Reading D's new book on Christmas monring

Lil' man...

Allen Family

Checking our his new movie "Cars" recommend by his good buddy Jackson. :)

It's a fact...

Fact: Ketchup is yummy.

Fact: "Ah-u-gah" has been integrated into the vocab.

Fact: Kisses are fun to give.

 

Fact: Cartoons are way more interesting when you have your pal beside you.

Fact: It's hard to not go cross-eyed looking at the cup while taking a drink.

Fact: Brushing your teeth is cool.

Fact: If D approaches you with book in hand, it's story time. (Note, don't be surprised if it's the same one you just read 5 seconds ago.)

Fact: Grocery shopping is fun when you've got cute date and a hot car to drive.

Little Man

It has been way too long since I've written about Dawson's happenings, I hardly know where to start. It's only been a about a month and a half since my last update, but I feel like he's already changed so much. This last month with Dawson has been the most fun yet. His personality is showing and his learning new things every minute. So much to share so here we go:


At 14 months, Dawson...
- Is walking! He took his first steps on December 2, a day before he turned 14 months. Daryn and I were in the kitchen and we had a little heart to heart with D to try and boost his confidence. We set up the scene with Daryn a few feet away from me and he took 6 steps to me with the biggest smile on his face. Ever since then he's been walking more and more each day. He is actually really steady, just still a bit timid. His favorite is still walking between people (because he loves the words/faces of encouragement!) but he's starting to take a few steps to reach to things. It's so funny to see him up on two feet! He's a real mini person now! :)

- Is completely obsessed with sitting in things. Laundry baskets, boxes, cupboards, pans. Anything. The other day I walked out into the kitchen after being in the bathroom for 30 seconds and he was sitting in the Tupperware drawer.  I would have loved to see how he got in. And yesterday he was playing in his room while I was picking up the kitchen. All of the sudden I heard this whiny noise that D makes when he needs help. I went to his room assuming that a toy was stuck or he couldn't open something. Turns out he was in our bedroom and had taken all the clean, folded laundry from the basket and tossed it on the floor so he could sit in the basket. And the whining? He wanted someone to push him around in the basket.



- A few weeks ago, Dawson and I were looking at his name stool pointing out the letters. It clicked in his mind that all letters are either "D" or "A". So the last few weeks anytime he see letters on shirts, signs, books, tv, stores, etc. he would shout "D" "A". It's so stinkin' cute. He's now added the letters "E", "B", "O", "Q" into the mix of letters. He can't pick out the actual letters, but he is making the connection.


- Can point to his nose and hair.


- Is taking one nap a day for 2-3 hours.


- Is talking SO much. New words D says: hot, nu-nu (for his nuk), GG (Great-Grandma Judy), bath, cheese, more.....he'll repeat a lot too, but doesn't always know what the words mean.



- Signs "all done" and "please"


- LOVES taking a bath...takes turns belly flopping all which ways and splashes until there is practically no water left.


- Loves to look out the window and watch cars drive by on the highway that goes past our house. He gets so excited sometimes he can't even get the word out. "Ca-ca-ca-caRRR". Too funny.


- Understands a lot. When I say "It's time for a bath" he crawls in the the bathroom and stands at the tub waiting for the water to start running. I'll ask him to go get a book in his room so we can read and he will.

- Is getting new teeth....at least two, but now I think it's up to three. The insane amount of drool makes me think it could be more!



It's so fun to watch him learn so many new things each day. He's one special little man...

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