16 months old.....almost

I figured I might as well go ahead and post about Gavin's 15th month since I will most likely be overwhelmed with the looming tax deadline and packing for our trip to see Aunt Jenn on the actual day.  One of my Baby Center emails said that the 15th month was the month of milestones, and I would have to agree, at least in the talking department.  Gavin will now pretty much repeat any word that we say to him.  But he has also REALLy expanded his vocabulary of words he can use in context.  I am pretty sure there will be a few more by Monday but this is the list that Clay and I came up with last night.
Block
Box
Baby
Door
Teeth
Shoes
Book
Tickle
Bite
Tractor
Blue
Purple

His skills with a regular fork are also vastly improving.  However, all of the sudden he has become concerned with not making a mess with his food.  So he frequently says this word that sort of sounds like bite but not quite when he wants me to come and help him get his food on the fork.

I have been trying to work with him on waiting.  Instead of knocking all the blocks over as soon as I put one on top of the other, I am working with him to wait until I get done and then when I count to 3 we can both knock them over.  I am also making him help me build it back and not just enjoy the knocking over part.  I am happy to say it seems to be working although Clay doesn't enjoy the same success with this as I do.  Probably because Gavin can tell how much more it bothers Clay when he knocks his creations over.  Clay is usually actually building something and I am always just putting random blocks one on top of the other.

At the beginning of the month Gavin and I went to visit my Dad in the hospital, he had a minor heart attack so he had to stay a few days after they put 4 stints in.  So me and Gavin made the trek to T-ville to provide a little comic relief.  Gavin did not disappoint and was acting just like a 15 month old, running, screaming, sticking everything in his mouth, and constantly touching things you told him not to.  My Dad thought it was hilarious, not sure about the nurses.....  Gavin had just finished almost ripping some cabinet doors off of their hinges from banging them, when my brother walked in.  David picked him up and it was an immediate change in Gavin.  I think the Lord must have instilled my brother with some sort of super human baby whispering abilities.  Gavin didn't make another peep and within a couple of minutes of him and David sitting down together, Gavin was dead asleep on his back on David's lap.  It is the darnedest thing I have ever seen!!

The next weekend we went out to some land Clay has been managing and got to ride around with him on the golf cart checking all his trail cameras.  Gavin had a big time getting to ride around out there and then pulling up plants in Clay's food plots for the deer.

Gavin's comprehension of how things work is really growing also.  One day he will get so frustrated and scream because he can't get something to work the way he wants, and then the next day poof, he will figure it out.  It is really neat, you can almost see the gears in his head turning.  Of course we think he is the cutest and smartest little boy EVER!

Next week Gavin and I are taking our first plane ride together.  I have flown hundreds of times probably, but NEVER with a super squirmy toddler who unleashes his fury whenever he is made to sit in one place for too long (5 minutes or more).  I am hoping and praying that he will exceed my SUPER low expectations for behavior in public like he usually does, but just in case please say some prayers for both of us and all of the other passengers.  Also be praying for Clay because he has never been away from Gavin this long, and I bet he will miss us both like crazy, even if he gets to hunt the whole time we are gone :-).