*This update will be short and sweet, because it’s VERY late. Andrew was deployed when Berend turned 15 months, and B was not sleeping great, so I had very little free time to work on things like blog updates.*

Hitting 12 months is a huge milestone in our house. We apparently only produce high needs boys, so the first year is a lot of work! But those months after the first birthday? Amazing! Don’t get me wrong… Berend is still very needy, clingy, and easily set off. But the start of communication, learning to walk, and all the curiosity is just so much fun. I love this stage SO much!

Age: 15 months on 15 August 2019
Weight: 24 lbs 5 oz
Height: 32.99 inches
Teeth: 14
Clothing Size: 18 months and 18-24 months
Diaper Size: size 4 and one size in cloth

Milestones: walking!!, putting things together (Easter eggs, caps on bottles, etc), throwing things, trying to comb his own hair, using utensils at the table, regularly signing “more,” “please,” and “all done” without much prompting

Likes: balls (throwing them, rolling them, kicking them), birds (and animals in general), being outside, walks in the stroller (finally!), playing at the park, playing at the play kitchen, baths, water play, digging in the dirt

Dislikes: car rides, having his diaper changed, having his teeth brushed, Mama walking away from him (even just to go to the bathroom or blow my nose)

Sleep: No major improvements with sleep. Berend dropped to one nap at 13 months, even though he probably wasn’t really ready. When we did our Midwest Road Trip 2019, he had several days where he dozed off in the morning with me, so I knew he still really needed 2 naps… but the fight wasn’t worth it. So we stuck it out with one nap.

Night sleep wasn’t great. I don’t track Berend’s sleep nearly as rigorously as I tracked Gerrit’s, so I can’t tell you any precise details, but by 15 months, Berend was nowhere near sleeping through the night. Waking every 2ish hours was very normal. I’m going to go out on a limb and blame some of the rough nights on teething, since Berend got EIGHT new teeth between his first birthday and 15 months.

Eating: Meh, food was hit or miss from 12-15 months. Breakfast was usually small: strawberries or blueberries with cereal (Cheerios or oatmeal squares) although he occasionally enjoyed pancakes or scrambled eggs. Berend usually just nibbled lunch. Dinner was usually fairly successful. Berend is not a big fan of meat, unlike his brother. He will chew meat, but he usually spits it back out. He likes roasted veggies (mostly carrots), most fruits, cheese, and pasta/rice. And he definitely has a sweet tooth. He always wants Gerrit’s fruit snacks, vanilla cupcake Goldfish, and cookies/candy.

Berend is still nursing all the time. On his picky days, I assume he’s nursing for food/drink, but a lot of the time, I think it’s mostly comfort. Especially at night.

Mommy Update: Well, when Berend turned 15 months old, we were just a few weeks into our first deployment. So I was tired, frazzled, and just generally stretched thin. But we also had a lot of family time leading up to the deployment, and that was wonderful.

Memorable Events:  Toward the end of June, we started our road trip north to visit family & friends in the Midwest. We didn’t rush it, since both boys are high energy, and Berend hates car rides. We did not stop at fast food restaurants… sit-down meals were the way to go! And LOTS of stops at parks and playgrounds. Even though it takes longer, it’s a lot more enjoyable to take our sweet time, and the boys love it.

Our first stop was in the Madison, WI area, where we met up with a couple of friends from college. It was a pretty quick stop, and we were off to Shawano, WI to stay at Andrew’s grandparents’ cottage at the lake. Both of Andrew’s grandparents have passed away, but the family still owns the cottage, and it was important to us to bring the boys there.

After a couple of days at the cottage, we headed to my sister’s house. As well as lots of time playing with cousins and catching up with some friends from high school, we went out for conuts with Mimi & Papa! We also just walked around Two Rivers.

After that we took the car ferry over to Michigan for a few days! We got to visit with my grandmas, and the boys LOVED their time by the water.

On our way back to New Mexico, we stopped at Meramec Caverns in Missouri!

After we got back to New Mexico, we basically just tried to have a lot of family time before Andrew deployed. His parents came out to spend some time with us too. After he left, we basically went to every base event we could! The boys had their first Ferris wheel ride at Cannon Appreciation Day: 

We had kind of a whirlwind summer, but it was really fun seeing Berend make that transition from baby to toddler. He got to meet LOTS of family and friends of his parents, he did his first big road trip, and he really started to show his personality!

Berend, happy 15 months! We love you to bits, and you are the perfect blend of sweet and sassy. You can ALWAYS make us smile, and we all love you so much.