15 Months

Elijah Joseph is 15 months old today!  While it seems impossible to love this little guy any more than we already do, miraculously enough our love for him continues to grow.  We are so thankful to the Lord for this precious gift that He has entrusted to us and cherish this sweet time in our lives.

Here are a few 15 month updates:

-Elijah is starting to understand so much more cognitively!  He has a rapidly increasing vocabulary and it seems to amaze me every time he understands a word that I didn't know he knew.  Just today we visited one of our neighbors and she asked Eli to show her his tummy.  He then proceeded to pull up his shirt and pat his tummy...which we'd never worked on before!  He can point out his head and his ears well and is starting to get his nose, too (although he sometimes still points to his ears when you ask where his nose is).  He is definitely adding multiple new words to his vocabulary daily. 

-Eli is getting more vocal as well.  His favorite word is still dada, but he also says mama, uh-oh, no no, da for dog, and a phrase that sounds surprisingly like "all done."  My favorite new thing that he does is when I say "Eli, what does the dog say?" he always responds with "oh, oh, oh" ...which sounds more like a monkey sound, but it is cute nonetheless. :) 

-Pointing is still Elijah's primary means of communication.  He can be quite the forceful pointer, and if you are not "guessing" right about what he is pointing at, he will emphatically continue to point until you acknowledge the proper object.  When I hand him his desired object (assuming it is not the knife I use to cut up his food that he points at frequently) he gets a huge smile on his face and happily explores the new object. *Oh, and on a side note Elijah now loves banana!  Lately, this has been the breakfast of choice and has even superceded yogurt!

-Elijah is all about cause and effect.  He will play the "I'll 'drop' this on the floor so Mommy will pick it up" game as long as you will let him.  He loves the "Pop goes the weasel" toy that we have and gets never ending joy out of repeatedly springing out that little weasel from behind his bush. :)  He also loves playing hide and go seek, or as we say "Where's Eli?"  Today, he was "hiding" behind the sheer curtains and I knew to come and "find" him when I heard an excited giggling coming from the front dining room.  He gets such utter delight from flinging back the curtain when I ask where he is and "surprising" mommy by revealing himself to me. :) 

-Eli is now extremely mobile and quite the proficient walker.  He is pretty quick too and seems to be on the verge of running...or at least it feels like it if you are the one chasing him.  He is getting good at walking on uneven surfaces and taking steps down while standing upright.  Sometimes he will still grab my hand if it is a bigger drop, but he is getting much more confident in this area. 

-Elijah's sweet personality continues to develop and along with it a fun imagination!  He will play little pretending games with me, and whether or not he understands it or not at this point, he is happy and amused all the while.  I love when he will run up to me and give me a big hug; I can never get enough of my sweet Eli cuddles (although with an active boy these get more rare).  Eli loves to play and laughs easily and heartily!  I love hearing his big ol' belly aching laughs over the silliest little things.  He is such a fun little guy to spend my days with and I am so blessed with the opportunity to stay home with him.

While this list could go on and on, I will end it for now.  Toddlerhood is such a fun stage and I am truly so blessed to be a Mom to experience the joys of raising this precious little boy.