15 Month Update

Do you see this picture? 3 months have gone by and look at how much bigger he is. It's so crazy how much our little ones change and grow in such a short time. Brandon had his 15 month doctor's appointment yesterday and is now weighing in at 26.8 lbs (79th percentile), is 32.5 inches long (86th percentile), and his head circumference is 19 inches (79th percentile). He has went down in the percentile for weight a little bit but has stayed in the 80's for height. I think this may be the first time that he is higher in height than weight which I guess means he is starting to lean out at bit. We are still in size 4 diapers and currently wear anything from 12-18 months to 2T in clothes (it depends on the brand). 

We have had an explosion of vocabulary during these past three months. Brandon can now say Momma, Dada, Uh-oh, Baby, Boom, Hot, Bird, No No, Nana (banana), Bye, Hi, Up, Night Night, Bunny, Hat, More, Water, Book, Block, and Belly. There are probably some more words but these are the one's we fully understand right now. He signs please, more, all done, and bath/wash. He put his first two words together a few weeks ago, Hi, Daddy. It was so sweet.  Brandon also knows some animal sounds for lion, kitty cat, cow, and sheep. He can point out where his belly, nose, teeth, toes and hair are on a constant basis (we are still working on ears and eyes). 

We are definitely able to communicate more now as if he cannot express in words what he wants he can at least go to it or point to let us know. Plus, it's great that he understands most of what we ask him. For instance, if I start singing Clean up, Clean up, everybody clean up, then he will start cleaning up whatever he last played with (so nice). Or, I can ask him to bring me a different book (he likes to keep the same two books on rotation and Mommy needs more variety in her life) and he will go to the book pile and grab another one he wants to read. 

Brandon's favorite things to do right now are anything water related, reading books, dancing, and riding his trike. If you play any music he starts shaking his little bon-bon all over the house. I cannot get enough of that.    He also really loves to play with his Melissa & Doug puzzles. We have three that he just loves to play with. He will take all of the pieces apart and lay them out then put them back where they go one by one. 

For the most part, he had hit all of his major physical skills before 12 months so not too much new is happening now. He obviously is running much faster now and likes to climb like no ones business but really, other than that, not too much new to report in that aspect. It seems he has really just been focusing on the verbal and cognitive things lately. 

It really is amazing how much they learn and grow in these first few years of life. Seeing all of this explosion of growth, both physically and cognitively, just reiterates to me the importance of being as active and involved with all aspects of his life as I can be. Gosh, I just love this little guy to pieces. 

Check out these two videos. The top is Brandon getting jiggy with it and the bottom is Brandon playing in the fountains/water jets. 

Insomnia

Insomnia has been kicking my ass lately. Not sure why but I just have not been able to sleep well for about a week now. I know part of my problem is the fact that I cannot shut my brain down at night. As soon as my head hits the pillow, my brain starts thinking about random things and moving a million miles a minute. I just have such a hard time shutting down for the night and I am not sure what to do about it. 
Part of the problem, I'm sure, is that I am constantly going during the day, always doing something, and I never get a chance to just sit down and think. Laying down for bed is really the first time that I get some peace and quiet and all of those thoughts that were waiting to come out do so all at the same time. 
Before Brandon, when this would happen, I would just take something to help me sleep. Now, that isn't possible since he still wakes at night. I guess I really just need to take some time during the day to just sit down and let my thoughts run wild instead of having them back up all day and then come rushing all at once at night. This is easier said that done. I don't know where I am going to get the time from since there doesn't seem to be enough during the day as is.
The below video has nothing to do with this post but just makes me laugh. This is Christopher, Nick's 10 year old son dancing to the Harlem Shake one night at our house. We were having a sort of dance party. He's hilarious and a good sport in letting me video this. Enjoy!

Harlem Shake from a 10 year old from Rachell Edens on Vimeo.

If You're Happy and You Know It...

So, this past weekend Brandon figured out how to clap.  We have been working on this for a few weeks and it finally clicked.  Before he would wave his arms up and down and slap his legs but Sunday, he just started clapping like he has been doing it all along.  It's so cute.  This little one is learning and changing more and more each and every day.  I feel like we are in the middle of a learning spurt (that's what I have named it) because everyday he is doing something new.  It is so much fun to watch him pick up new stuff everyday.

Brandon is clapping from Rachell Edens on Vimeo.

Crawling All Over

We are on the move.  He has been crawling for a few weeks now but this is the first time I have been able to get him on video.  Not sure why he is now deciding to do a one legged crawl.  May have something to do with the fact that he is continuously trying to stand up on his own.  Only a matter of time before he is off and running.  Enjoy :)

He's mobile from Rachell Edens on Vimeo.

Face Planting into Pillows

I promise we are not torturing him.  He loves this.  We probably did this for about 10 minutes while he laughed the entire time.  He is going to be sitting up on his own in no time.


Brandon face plants into pillows from Rachell Edens on Vimeo.

Conversations with Brandon

We have a talker.  Well, more like a babbler but he will do this all day long.

Conversation with Brandon from Rachell Edens on Vimeo.

Sleep Regression?

I think Brandon has decided to start the sleep regression a little early.  I decided to do some reading and found that for most this starts around month 4.  Well, we will be at month 3 on Thursday and the past few days Brandon has decided to wake up about three times during the night instead of the usual one.

Before Brandon would go down around 8:30-9pm and then sleep until about 2:30am.  We would get up and do a change and feed and he would be down within about 30 minutes and sleep til about 5:30-6am.  

NOW, not so much.  For the past few days he has been waking at 12:30p-1am, 2:30a-3a, 4:30a, and then up for good around 6:30-7a.  On top of this, Brandon has never really been much of a napper and now we are lucky to get 30 minutes here and there (if it lasts an hour I am amazed).


 I feel like we are back in the newborn stage where he was waking to feed every two hours.  I am hoping that this new sleep schedule is due to him possibly going through a growth spurt (we have just had to switch over to 6 month clothes).  Maybe within a week or two he will get back to normal becuase this cannot be the new normal (not that I have much say in that but here's hoping.)


Below is a video of Brandon doing what he loves. I call it flying becuase he will stretch his arms out like superman when he does it.  Super Cute!!!

Brandon flying. from Rachell Edens on Vimeo.

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