Look how much I've grown...15 months

Here we are at another milestone in D's life, as far as the pediatrician is concerned anyway. D had a successful visit to the doctor today for his 15-month checkup. He was so brave and didn't even cry when the doctor looked in his ears! He did cry a little bit though when he had to get three shots. D is still not talking (except for the infamous first word, which, by the way, has not been uttered since), but the doctor isn't concerned at all since D is very interactive with us. Although D is still hanging out at the bottom of the growth curve for his weight and height, he is steadily growing, which is good enough for the doctor and good enough for us! Here are his stats:

Length: 28.5" (5%)

Weight: 19 lbs 7 oz (5%)*

Head circumference: 48 cm (75%)

D loves to walk. He is getting so much better at it and doesn't need to hold up his right arm for balance as much any more. He can bend over (more like squat, actually) and pick things up and he can even stand up on his own without pulling up on anything. D loves to read his books, especially the ones about animals and body parts. He also likes playing "stack them up; knock them down" with anything that he can stack up and knock down. Another favorite is identifying body parts - his latest favorite is "knee" and we are working on "chin". He still enjoys carrying golf balls and/or ping-pong balls around and throwing them on the kitchen floor. He is learning how to go down the stairs the right way (aka NOT face first). D also has his first pet, Butter. I tied a string to an old butter tub and he enjoys pulling it around the house....especially if I put something inside the tub (blowing your mind??). The cheesy grin featured above is a new thing too. I say "SMILE, SMILE, SMILE" and he walks around with the cheesiest grin you've ever seen. It's pretty funny.

*Even though he's not exactly 20 lbs, the doc said it was okay to put him in a front-facing car seat. We bought him a big, deluxe, plush, recliner of a car seat; and traveling has been so much more pleasant since! Case in point: We drove to Tremonton for Thanksgiving (details forthcoming) which is a two-hour drive, and D only had to watch ONE measly 30-minute Baby Einstein DVD (on the 2" portable DVD player)! That says a lot for his newfound vehicular freedom.