Jacob: 15-months-old

 My Jacob is definitely not a baby anymore. He is a climbing, running, outside-loving, mess-making, somewhat ornery, truck-playing, dirt-loving little boy! Oh my, how he has grown these past couple months! 

Jake is talking more and more and it is so fun to communicate with him. He didn't pick up sign language as well as the other two kids, but it's really not been that necessary since he can talk so well at such a young age. Although those outside our family may not be able to understand every word, this is his current vocabulary: Mama, Dadda, light, tree, bubba (for our cat, and now for every animal he sees), car, bubble, side (for outside), Bompa (grandpa), hi, bye (and bye-byes), tractor, Jesus, all done, more, please, drink (never have gotten him to say milk even though that, and water, is all he drinks!), shoes, ball, what's that, baby, cracker, eat, blankie, and I'm sure there are a few I'm forgetting! This boy is definitely going to be a great talker! :o)

 Over the last few weeks he has taken to climbing and will find step-stools and other objects to carry around the house so that he can reach something he wants (scary, I know!). And just yesterday, I walked into the living room to find that he had climbed onto the piano and had his knees up on the piano keys as he was reaching the picture frames on the top. Oh yes, I remember my dear Benny doing the same thing (although at a bit younger age). These boys sure know how to keep a momma on her toes...and give her a near-heart attack at least daily! :)

Jake has developed a lot of favorites lately. Here are some of them:

Favorite Blanket

 Favorite Activity: playing outside in the backyard

He frequently brings me his shoes and says, "Side, side!" when he wants to go outside...which is a lot. :) There is a second activity that is a close second for him: bath-time, with bubbles. And, lucky for him, bath time frequently follows playtime outside in the dirt. :o) And, seriously, hearing him say, "bubbles," (which he pronounces flawlessly) is just about the cutest thing I've ever heard!

Favorite Book

The truck book is the definite favorite, but Jake loves all books and will ask anyone that comes over and sits in the living room to read him a book by handing the person a book and saying, "Bu, bu!" And, speaking of trucks, does this boy ever LOVE trucks!

As often happens when children get older, he's also started to show more willfulness.  My nearly perfect (ahem :) baby is now a toddler with a mind of his own. :) One way this has shown itself is him stomping his foot when he gets mad. Yep, already. I think we can thank big brother for him learning that so young. ;o) Side note: I remember being concerned about Abby picking up bad habits from other children when she was an only child...but now my children pick up back habits from each other! Ha! Anyway, his foot-stomping, although wrong, is darn-right cute too... but I'm sure the cuteness will wear off as time passes! I don't have a picture of the foot-stomping, but here's a silly one of a habit he had that I *think* is wearing off:

Yes, he will just sit there with his finger in his nose...because it's a hole..and because his finger fits. Just lovely.

Another aspect of getting older is growing independence. Although I am so proud of his accomplishments, I also get so sad at the daily reminders that my toddler is no longer my little baby. We were at a local park a couple evenings ago and I watched as he climbed the toys and went down the slide all by himself! How did this happen so quickly?!?

About the only way Jake hasn't grown in leaps and bound is in size. He's my most petite child for sure! He is actually still in size 9-12 month clothes! In fact, we've run into babies that are nearly half his age that are the same size! Although I hope he won't be too small as an adult (he's tenth percentile for height and weight - yikes!), I'm enjoying his small size now and I'm thankful every time I see another woman lugging around a hefty toddler and complaining about her aching back!

Jacob is incredibly precious and him being 15-months-old has been so much fun! Between his wonderfully adorable facial expressions, his little voice with his budding vocabulary, and his silly antics, sometimes I find myself just staring and watching him, completely enchanted by him. Just look at that sweet face and tell me you wouldn't rather stare at him all day rather than do your work! :o)