Happy Fifteen-Month Birthday!

We celebrated your 15-month birthday by taking you sailing.  It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day and we drove up to Vermont and Harriman Reservoir for the second outing of our sailboat.  You were such a good sport and you actually only got a little crabby when we stayed out a bit too long and you were desperate for a nap.  You slept on the ride home and we got home a bit late, but instead of putting you right to bed (and you even tried to tell us that was what you wanted, since you turned on your sound machine and went straight to the bathtub), we took you on a short bike ride to see the magical fire flies that dance in the fields after the sun has gone down.  We were a little early on the ride out, but as we headed back home, the fireflies were out in force and it was beautiful.  There's no way to get a picture that could do it justice - the fields just look like there are little stars dancing around/above them.  Absolutely magical.  It's possible that you didn't really appreciate that magic last night, but I look forward to sharing that special moment with you some day.  After we finally got you to bed, your Dad and I had some ice cream to complete a perfect trifecta of a summer day (sailing, ice cream, and fire flies).

Today we had another summer day trifecta.  And probably kept you up a tiny bit too late - but you certainly enjoyed the evening.  We left home at around 4:30pm and headed down to South Deerfield on our bikes to enjoy some ice cream at the little shop down there (about a 1/2-hour ride).  Then we rode back toward home and stopped at our river spot and let you play in the water until about 7pm.  You have learned to love the water so much (or at least the mud at the edge of the water) that you cry when we take you away.  Bike ride, ice cream, river.  Two perfect summer days in a row.

Since I never posted month 14, here is that photo album:

And here is month 15:

On a side, note, Flickr has changed its formatting, and will display the photo sets as tiles.  They look pretty neat, but you have to hover your mouse over each photo to see the title and if there is any additional information in the description, the only way to see it is by clicking on the individual photo. Links below.

Month 14:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mountainpiratephoto/sets/72157634220784969/

Month 15:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mountainpiratephoto/sets/72157634220903997/

Comprehension

Suddenly you know what we're talking about. It's crazy. A few days ago when you were reading pre-bedtime stories, I asked you "Would you like some more milk?" I didn't really expect an answer, except maybe a smile or semi-clap. Instead you grinned and handed me your bottle. "Hit me with another, bartender!"

Two weeks ago, also at bedtime, you looked at me, grinned real big, and said "Dad-eee!" My heart grew about 4 sizes. Your previous only words had been "Hi!" and "Uh-eee". I'm hoping you'll figure out "Mama" soon, but I've been amazed at what you have figured out. You haven't used any more words, but, man, do you understand a lot. Comprehension is coming on fast.

Any mention of the word "outside" and you will toddle over to the gate on top of the stairs. "Can you please let me in?" and you'll open the gate (after I unlatch it). You'll close the gate behind me too. "Do you wanna go for a bike ride?" and you'll grin and clap, heading for the stairs. On the stairs you'll be sure we both grab our helmets, even if we're NOT going for a bike ride. Several times recently you've had us both out on the quad, wearing our helmets, just toddling around. Safety first!
You definitely get "Are you hungry?" and " Do you want to eat?" You seemed to have learned that you shouldn't play with electrical cords and the trash can, and are generally pretty obedient about that. (Thanks!) If we're sitting playing and I ask you to get something and bring it to me, you usually can (though you don't always choose to), even when I just use words and don't point. I'm at a loss right now for all the phrases you seem to understand (they increase daily), but it really is quite impressive.

Random other thoughts...
when you want something, you often clap, point, and say "Hi!" (variable pronounciation, but often "Hi-yeee"). Sometimes you spin or stick your head down on the ground (butt in the air), or almost run or  appear to be auditioning for minister of silly walks. It's random, but entertaining.

Your current likes
mulch (still), mud puddles, bike rides, rubber duckies, the buckets in the bath, dropping things down the storm drain grate (including a wiffle ball bat a month or two ago), the swing, wearing your bike helmet, the ball popper (you often run first thing in the morning to the living room to turn this on), your crayons (which you always try to eat), your percussion instrument set (which we have to take away when you start throwing them), your books (especially stacking your books, then restacking them somewhere else...you could do this for hours), the sandbox, cottage cheese, bread, wheat thins

current favorite books -
 Ni-hao Kailan, we just started the spot book (loved it the first time) and quiet bunny (loved it the first time), Pajama Time (at bedtime, of course), and the Charley Harper ABC book (in which you love to point to the different animals and make Mom tell you what each one is. We were impressed when you pointed to an elephant, we told you what it was, and then asked you "Where is the other elephant?" and you immediately found it, even though it is portrayed as  mirror image, not identical.)

you're as tall as most of the two 2-year-olds we see, and often bigger too. You walk kind of ostrich like, with your belly pooched out and a big booty to counterbalance, held on your massive thighs. It's pretty damn cute. Today you were really into a soccer ball and a mini-basketball that the older neighbor kids were playing with - you were following them around, trying to get a piece of the action. You actually made a few half-decent soccer-type dribbles with the basketball.

You've never yet been shy or bashful or afraid of strangers, or dogs.

You've had a bit of a rough month healthwise - you got a cold around Memorial Day after visiting Ella & Micah, which turned into an ear infection. When we gave you antibiotics, you had a drug reaction. Then a horrific diaper rash started, with blisters and everything. Life's pretty lousy when just peeing makes you cry out in pain. But it seems to be much better now (though not yet gone), and even though it looks like it might still be painful, you're definitely not letting it get you down.

You celebrated the end of classes here at Deerfield by promptly getting up 2 hours earlier than usual (6 am instead of 8 or 8:30) for several straight days, then going for 4am. That was fun. Part of that was the ear infection, but most of that was your general impishness.

You squeal with delight and make squinchy faces, you live your life con gusto, and you make ours so much more interesting. I hope that our summer is full of great exploration for you. We've already taken you on your first sailboat ride (Barton's Cove on our new sailboat, yet to be named), and you dug it. You stood up in the cockpit and the boom was still safely over your head (thankfully). You kept trying to reach out and touch the water, and mom had to hold on tight so you didn't abandon ship. i think you'll love your time at McCollum Lake this summer!

It's been a lot of fun...so much more fun than a year ago, when you were hazing us with your colic.
I can't wait to take you hiking in the white mountains in New Hampshire, and sailing some more, and Mom will take you to Yellowstone...it will be a great summer.