15 months

Oliver is 15 months old today and he gave me a gift. When I was getting ready to leave his school this morning he decided to "kiss" me. Granted, the mouth is open and there are some teeth involved, but it's very different from when he is trying to bite my shoulder. He wanted my cheek and insisted on "kissing" me three times. It was way too adorable.

He said "dad" a few times this morning, and was rewarded about a minute later with a phone call from CD himself. Of course, he clammed up with the opportunity to chat with dad presented itself. At least I think it was "dad" (that Oliver said, not on the phone -- I know it was CD on the phone since the ringtone was God Save the Queen) and not "dog". The two are very hard to distinguish.

New word for the day: OUTSIDE! He hears this one a lot, mostly when we're telling Penguin or Chewy (despite the fact that he can't hear us) that they need to exit through the dining room into the backyard. Tonight when I told Penguin to go outside after dinner Oliver shouted, "owside! owside!" and ran to the door.

He was also again trying to say his name. He lacks confidence but he's getting the first two syllables out, sort of. I am giving him lots of encouragement.

Diaper changing and clothes are becoming major challenges. Oliver thinks lying on his tummy on the changing table, pretending to sleep, is the most fun thing one can do up there, other than grabbing your penis. (Yes, he finally found his equipment and now grabs it at every opportunity.)

I can't wait to take him to the doc next week. Could do without the shots but I'm eager to see what he weighs and if he is taller. I don't expect him to have made any drastic strides percentile-wise, but I am curious to see if he really was mis-measured at 12 months, suddenly dipping from 50th to 25th percentile. I'm not at all worried. He's a healthy and happy little boy. We never expected him to be starting center on the basketball team. Both of his parents are vertically challenged so the bar is set rather, um, low.

Finally, a quick update on our reading project. We are nearing the end of chapter 10 of The House at Pooh Corner. I think we will skip the poetry and start a new book later in the week. Three months for two complete books of Winnie-the-Pooh seems pretty good to me.