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Niko is fifteen months old. Oh my GOD I KNOW what is with babies and getting older? He’s also gotten more ~~dangerous~~ in some ways (managing to reach any knife that’s not in the knife block, climbing up stepladders, trying to launch himself head first over the back of the couch) but is still scared of other things (swings, grass, water on his feet unless he’s in the bath tub). He’d managed to grow a luxuriant crop of golden curls, which my father in law snipped off in a scream-drenched orgy of terror and regret. Actually, I regret nothing and it’s nice to have a kid who doesn’t have food stuck in his hair or hair in his eyes. I mean, literally, it would get in his eyes and he was constantly shoving it out of the way. Niko kept grabbing at his head for a few days after the hair cut as if to say “where is my hair? It is so different!” but I think he’s glad it’s not tickling his ears anymore.

I don’t know if he’ll ever grow curls again. However, my mom and my mother in law both have curly (or at least wavy) hair, and when Nesko’s hair is short it’s straight but when it grows out it forms into sausage curls. And that 1/3rd of my hair that fell out grew back in curly. So who knows! My youngest brother had short hair almost his entire life, then he grew it out into a glorious mane of dark blond spirals. Nobody knew he had curly hair until then.

Anyway, let’s do a milestone check, shall we?

Most Kids Can Do:

Plays with ball

Yes. He loves balls. He grabs them, throws them, chases them, retrieves them, and kicks them. He also likes when you bounce a big soft ball off his head or face.

Uses three words regularly

Nanah is “banana,” “bye bye” I’ve gone over before, “bapa” means “thing” or “look at that thing!” “wao wao bapa!” is “dog,” “hwee hwee bapa!” is “bird,” mamamam is food/eating, ‘mah is “ne ma” or “no more, all gone, empty.”

Walks backward

He does this sometimes just to do it. Other times he does it to get a running start to launch himself at the couch.

Half Kids Can Do

Scribbles with a crayon

We have those tadoodles things which are chunky triangular crayons in a weeble-wobble kind of plastic shell with a goofy face on each one. He scribbles and also makes dots. And he tries to bite and eat the crayons.

Runs

Like the wind. The clumsy, easily distracted wind.

Adopts “no” as his favorite word

Actually, no! He does say “nehnehneh” sometimes when he really doesn’t want something, and he’ll turn his head if you try to mess with his mouth and he doesn’t want you feeding him/sticking fingers in there/brushing his teeth/trying to remove a choking hazard. There’s some “no” head shaking which is short and sharp and very different from his goofy expansive “shaking his head back and forth while grinning because it’s funny.” But he’s pretty easy going still. Knock on wood.

A Few Kids Can Do

“Helps” around the house

Yes! He puts things in drawers (like, say, my flip flops and his pacifiers), puts toys in bins/boxes, and is in love with the broom.

Puts his fingers to his mouth and says “shhh”

Words cannot express how effing adorable this is. However, he doesn’t do it, probably because we don’t model that at all.

Jumping ahead a bit, he climbs (stepladders, furniture, and apparently he can go up stairs. Nesko’s seen him do it.), gives kisses, takes his shirt off, and while he’s not eating WITH a spoon, he’s eating NEAR a spoon. He’ll pick up food in one hand, hold the utensil in the other, put the food on the utensil, grin at everyone so we can appreciate how clever he is, then pick the food up with his hand and put it in his mouth. If he has something soft and wet (cereal, mushed food, mashed potatoes, pudding) he can dunk the spoon in it and convey it to his mouth, but it’s not really eating-with-a-spoon yet, and also sometimes he misses his mouth and hits his ear. I don’t even.

He also sings.

Nesko swung by a yard sale and picked up a finger puppet stage and a bag of finger puppets (plus two hand puppets). Niko’s become attached to a little lamb fingerpuppet (possibly becase it’s got a soft but firm plastic chewable head) and walks around with it on one finger, talking to it and singing to it, sometimes giving it little kisses and sometimes chewing on it.

You can see more recent photos of Niko if you check out my facebook album here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=221298&id=749556564&l=0f5c12cca3 . It should be visible to everyone.