15 months.

Holden turned 15 months on August 1st. Today we went to his 15 month check-up. He weighed 24lbs.15oz (50-75%) and he was 33in long (90-97%). So he is tall. But we already knew that. He can officially reach the water spout on the fridge door and has learned how to make a puddle on the floor with the push of that spout. Along with soaking himself in the process. And he is into everything! He is now showing an interest in climbing and other fun tricks. Life has become a little busier at our home. Today at the doctors office, we were in the waiting room and he was playing in the toy area. A little girl, probably about 4 years old, came in with her mother and went straight to the toys. So Holden figured he had a friend. For the next 10 minutes or so, he became her shadow. He was right on her heels following her around and wanting to play with her. Then he started his silly peek-a-boo games. He would stand about 5 feet away and just stare at her until she looked up and smiled. Then he would act like his silly self. I and 2 other mothers were laughing along with his new little friend. But during his little games, my eyes welled up with tears 3 or 4 different times. And the only reason I can pinpoint is that I was completely overwhelmed with joy. He was doing his thing and making me laugh. And I just started thinking about how much Jeremy and I have laughed during the last 15 months. Just last night in Holden’s bedtime prayers, I thanked God once again for allowing me to be a part of this. I thanked him for creating my family in a unique way. I just can’t explain it. I feel like I did nothing, absolutely nothing, to form my family. Sometimes a human’s loss of control can create such a beautiful miracle. I mean, once we let go of something, look what God can accomplish. Holden is not the first evidence of this in my life, but he is by far the biggest.

Later at home today I watched as Holden pushed his big truck around the house fiercely. Yes, fiercely. He does nothing gently. And then I watched him practically sprint to his ball, fall to the floor with a bang, jump up and grab the ball again. And it was a reminder to me once again that he is no longer a baby. Instead he’s my little boy. And I know that makes some people sad. But each new stage, I love and I welcome. So again, I was overwhelmed and had more welling up of tears. I never knew what I would do with a little boy, but this one is sometimes more than my heart can handle.

Holden understands so much now. We have been watching Baby Signing Time on video and with it he has learned so many of his signs. It has helped much with our communication. On vacation, he told me on his own for the first time that he was hungry. We are making progress and I love that he can communicate with me in this way. He signs: eat, more, all done, please, thank you, cracker and milk. He is still quite the babbler and babbling most of the time that he is awake. The words he is saying clearly are: mama, dada or daddy, nana, poppa, cracker, ball, burp, baby. Words he makes a good attempt at are: shoe, milk, more, and others. He knows to quack like a duck and moo like a cow. Right now he thinks many of the other animals say moo also. We’re working on it. He is our entertainer. Let me rephrase that. He is THE entertainer. And it’s pretty much everywhere he goes. Just as you would imagine from the doctors office today. That is now life. He had rows of people on our planes (to and from Florida) in stitches because he was playing his games with them and working the crowd. He received quite a bit of attention with all of his tricks. Then as we waited for his stroller after each flight, I held him in my arms. As each person stepped off of the aircraft, he waved and said bye-bye to each face that passed. One airline employee said he was stealing her job. And this is my Holden. He has added so much joy to our lives and to those that fly Southwest Airlines. And there is a great big update on Holden.