Progression as we near 15 months

We have been slowly but decisively moving forward over the past months on various levels. Teeth Boeta has 8 teeth now, and we seem to be in a little break for the last week, while the canines are preparing for their onslaught, by all accounts some of the toughest teeth, time will tell. We also started brushing teeth about 2 months ago. Health No issues there, but for the occasional diaper issues that co-insides with the teeth breaking through. We have been very lucky not to have any real issues with our son. Play He plays for long periods on his own, if needs be, and has developed the skill to keep himself busy. We have the attitude that a new toy should be frustrating at first, because it means he needs to figure them out, developing new skills. This last 2 weeks saw him figuring out a few toys and how to play with them, which was great to see. He loves stacking now, this keeps him busy for a while, and throwing the various sizes of balls, which makes different sounds is also a fun exercise. We still have winter weather, and this breaks our hearts at times, as we can see he wants out, we allow him out when we can. Other activities that he enjoys is singing, dancing, waving, turning in circles, walking backward. Pushing his cars around and working them through tight spaces is also a new fun thing for him. We have been including him in cleanup duties as well, making a game out of it. He also likes closing doors with appropriate celebration after each event – clapping hands. One of the games in the morning is that he closes the bathroom door (baby proof foam wedge inserted so it does not totally close), then daddy knocks, asks "who is there", open the door, on which account the laughing boy closes it in his face. Repeat game… Language He has added a few words to his repertoire, and showing he knows the meaning of it as well. Mostly Afrikaans. "Is die see", meaning "it's the ocean" is a favorite as well as car, coming out as "ghar". Recently he started referring to the ball as "ba". Also "tata" which means "good-bye", which is accompanied with an appropriate wave. So, things are developing nicely enough in that sense too. Personality This is very early, but we have the feeling that he will be a sensitive little boy, possibly introvert, which is no surprise as we are both of similar allocation. We feel it is important to mention as it will also have a direct impact on how we handle him and ourselves in front of him. Being too loud or overbearing, especially without notice, seems to set him back in his shell for a bit, until he feels more comfortable and then he can become the toast of the party. Daddy is very similar in new situations, so again, maybe not a surprise. Physical development Boeta started walking a week before his first birthday. Since then he has more control over his balance, adjusting fairly quickly, most of the time and has become a runner, keeping daddy on his toes. His strength in pushing stuff and carrying toys has also increased while the little hands continue to get stronger in pulling levers, he could not do a month ago. He now crawls when he wants to or when he needs to gather a ball under the table. He loves playing the wheelbarrow game, where daddy lifts his legs and he has to walk on his hands. Food We started giving him more grainy food from about 10 months and this has developed over the past 4 months to a point where he is having lunch on his own now, for the most part. There has also been a definite shift from tasteless (to us) non salted foods to foods with either fruit added or other flavor providing additions, including salt. We started including him with our dinners from just after 12 months, this has become set routine now. At about 13 months we started giving him some bits of our plates too, which he loves. This has also ushered in the aim of preparing better and diversified foods for us, including him in the thinking. On Friday, daddy made "meatballs", but sticking with the idea, the meatballs were 1/4 size and made from Pecorino and Tomato based sauce with organic whole wheat linguine pasta. 1/4 size meatballs Dinner for mom and dad, but with ingredients that Boeta also enjoys, like the pasta, mince and peas. (Red Wine for Adults only) Filed under: Family, Parenting, toddler, Uncategorized Tagged: 14 months, boy, development, Family, food, language, Parenting, personality, play, teeth, toddler