Shepherd: 15 months!

Shepherd turned 15 months old last weekend, and there are so many things that he has been doing or saying lately that I have to write them down! I haven't been fast enough to capture everything on video, but there are a few cute clips at the bottom of this post. 

First words:

• Ma-ma-ma. He definitely knows who I am! He has been making the ma-ma sound for a while, but one night at dinner my head was turned away from him because I was talking to Harper. He just kept going "ma-ma-ma", so I turned to look at him. He grinned and laughed, as if to say, "Finally, you heard me!" Then it became a game. Anytime I looked away, he'd say "ma-ma-ma" until I looked at him again, and then he'd laugh. It finally clicked! Sometimes he even shortens it to "Ma", but I'll take it!
• Dada. If he sees Andrew from a distance, he will get excited and point at him while saying "da-da-da". Otherwise, he tends to call him "ma-ma", his favorite term of endearment. 😍
• Ball. Everything that is somewhat circular in shape is a "bah" to Shepherd. My hoop earrings, polka-dots on a shirt, blueberries, walnuts he sees on the ground. It's almost like playing a game of "I Spy" with him, because when he says "bah" we all start looking around to see what he has spotted. 
• E-yay. Not only is this his favorite duck's name (E.J.), but this is what he calls my phone or Andrew's iPad because we have pictures of E.J. on them. As if the sole purpose of our devices is to show him E.J.'s picture.  
• E. This one letter can say so many things. E can mean "eat", "cheese", or even "cheers" if he wants to tap your cup with his. He will also say E when pointing to a stick on the ground...I guess he means "tree"?
• Aaaah. When Shepherd is thirsty, he will make this whispery "aaah" noise like he is absolutely parched. It is adorable and definitely communicates that he wants a drink!
• More. He isn't actually saying the word yet, but he now does the sign for it! We've been using the sign with him since he first started eating solids, but he didn't start using it on his own until a couple of weeks ago. We were eating dinner, and he had finished what was on his tray. He started doing the sign for "more" and grinned when I repeated "more" and put more food on his tray. Now he uses it regularly! Just more proof that he is a little sponge who observes and absorbs everything.

Developments:

• Teething: Shepherd has been very busy teething lately, and he has at least 10 teeth that I can see: his 8 front teeth (4 on top, 4 on bottom), one of his canines, and another one on top about halfway back. He is still drooling and gnawing on his fingers like crazy, so I know he's working on more that I can't see yet. He's teething in the same crazy way the older kids did, in no predictable order! We bought him his first toothbrush and toothpaste, and so far he likes to let us brush his little teeth (a.k.a. poke around inside his mouth while he chomps down on the bristles). 
• Climbing: This boy has no fear and will climb on anything! His latest trick is crawling into the bathroom and climbing onto the ledge so he can reach the bathroom counter. Then he grabs my electric toothbrush, turns it on, and laughs. (video below!)
• Rough-housing: Shep loves to wrestle and climb on us, especially on Ryder and Harper. We are also trying to teach him the meaning of "gentle" because when he wrestles he loves to smack us on the forehead playfully. It's not too bad unless he has a toy in his hand!
• Waving: He hasn't quite figured out the timing yet, but he will wave hello or goodbye when he hears a car go by. When the flies were bad a couple of weeks ago, I was saying "shoo, fly!" constantly, and using my hand to shoo them away. Now every time Shepherd sees a bug, he makes a 
• Hugging and kissing: If we ask Shepherd for a hug, he will put his head on our shoulder and either hang onto our neck or pat us on the back. Kisses pretty much involve him coming straight at us with his mouth wide open. He has been known to lick us too!😂
• Pretending: While playing with his toys on the floor, Shepherd will occasionally just lie down and smile at us until we say, "Awww, goodnight Shep!" Then he will sit back up and play for a bit until he decides to lie down again. He has such an imagination and sense of humor already that it cracks me up!
• Almost walking! The other day I watched him take a step from Harper to the closest cabinet without holding onto anything. Andrew had him outside two nights ago after dinner and said he took two steps on his own to get to George (his Giraffe toy). He loves to practice walking now while holding onto our hands, and his little legs are getting so strong! No more wobbling around like he's had too much to drink. 😝

While strolling one evening, Shep called out "ball" when we passed the apple tree. I handed him a small apple that had fallen on the ground, thinking he'd just hold it like he usually does. This time though he chomped right into it and looked at us and smiled. I think the apples are still a little too sour because after one bite he didn't try again. 😂