The Houston Family: 15 Months and More Pictures!

Sawyer had his 15 month check up yesterday and his stats are....

23 pounds (26th percentile)

33 inches (92nd percentile)

17 inch head (I believe close to the 50th percentile... can't remember exactly but it was near the middle).

So he's tall and skinny!! I really can't believe how tall he has gotten and even though he doesn't weigh much he still has some cute rolls on his legs and dimples on his hands and elbows. I hope those stick around for a while. And of course those cute cheeks! They are starting to slim down a little but they are still so much fun to kiss!

As I have mentioned before, our little man isn't walking yet. Well he's taken a few steps but prefers to crawl and boy can he crawl! It's been tough to keep up with him as my belly grows bigger. I find that when I run after him I end up getting a cramp or a contraction... neither of which are very fun!

His ped seems very impressed with how well he is talking. He says quite a few things these days some of our favorites being: brother, Cooper, belly, blanket, pretty and he's started saying momma more which totally melts my heart! He's even putting words together. He's started saying "hi" when he walks in a room but occasionally he'll say "hi dad" when he sees Skeet or "hi Callie" when I let the dog in the house. He says "what's that" or "where go?" as he lifts his little hands and opens his eyes wide. Totally adorable, I'll have to try to get it on film. He can point to some body parts and even say them as he points, like eyes, nose, mouth, ears and of course belly (belly button). He thinks it's fun to lift mom's shirt up and point to her (very stretched out and almost outie) belly button and then hurry and pull her shirt back down. He is also repeating names a lot and can say grandpa, Brenda, Callie and Piper quite well and on a regular basis. Others he will repeat but he doesn't know who they are.

This kid has the best personality. He is so funny and has the best facial expressions! He eats up the attention too. If you ask him to show you his muscles he'll flex for you and make the funniest face. He keeps us all laughing. Also, he can say "bye" but prefers to blow you a kiss when he's leaving. Sometimes, if he's in a giving mood, he'll even offer up a kiss on the lips. He really is a sweetie most of the time!

He is such a curious boy and we love to watch him try to figure things out. I want him to learn and be challenged but I don't feel like I spend enough time with him to actually see that happening. It makes me sad but we can already tell that he's pretty dang smart and we are so proud of him.

Sawyer has 2 molars on the bottom and it feels like one is coming in on the top. They were tough on us as he got an ear infection with each molar's arrival. The 2nd ear infection was very persistent and required a round of oral antibiotics as well as 3 antibiotic injections (which really hurt... it broke my heart). The good news is that those were his first ear infections ever but the bad news is that if he gets another as bad, we will probably be looking at getting tubes since we have exhausted most of our antibiotic options for that type of infection.

He also had a runny nose and cough that lasted almost 2 months and that didn't help the infections either. We knew it wasn't a cold and were beginning to worry that maybe he was allergic to Callie. However, before the Dr. tried a blood test to see what the allergies were, he wanted to try some Singulair to see if it would help his symptoms. Sure enough, about a week later everything seemed to clear up and Sawyer has been snot and cough free!! He is able to play with Callie without getting stuffy so we are hopeful that she will get to stay a part of our family!

Depending on the day, Sawyer can be a great eater and will at least try everything but if he doesn't like it on first taste, he usually won't let it back in his mouth. He was doing really well at eating all his food and not throwing any on the ground but as soon as the ear infections arrived the throwing came back. He loves to look me in the eye, grab a piece of food and chuck it as hard as he can off of his tray. He is definitely a stubborn little guy! His favorite is still french toast but he loves green beans and peas, snow cones, cheetoes, grapes, fresh peaches, watermelon, cheese, and pretty much anything that is sweet and not good for him. He got his sweet tooth from both his mom and dad. We need to be better examples to him but don't count on that happening until after Cooper is born!

He is still in 18 month clothes but can wear some of his 24 month stuff. He fits in size 5 shoes but never wears them. As much as I love buying shoes, I would live shoeless if I could (and if some of them weren't so cute) so I never remember to put them on him plus when I do, he just takes them off. I am sure once he starts walking that will change and of course as winter gets closer I plan on getting him used to wearing them.

He is still napping twice a day, which surprises me but I guess with a 6 a.m. wake up time, the little guy is tired.

He loves the water! We have taken him swimming a couple of times and to the splash pad in St. George once. He had so much fun. I hope to get a few more pool trips and maybe a splash pad trip in before Cooper arrives and before summer is gone. I love watching Sawyer have fun. It brings me so much joy that I want to see it all the time. I just wish I had more time with him to do fun things!

It has been a crazy, busy fire season and Skeet hasn't been home much. I can tell that when Skeet isn't home, Sawyer really misses him. I try to take him to see Grandpa as much as I can because Grandpa is his favorite, right after daddy! ( I like to think I come in 3rd... I hope that's the case) I love to see him get so excited when daddy walks in the door, even if he smells like smoke and is covered in soot, Sawyer still clings to him and cries any time I try to take him or Skeet tries to set him down. I love that they are so close and hope that it will be the same with Cooper. I think a boy's relationship with his dad is very important and I know that Skeet cherishes his time with Sawyer. It's been really tough on him having to spend so much time away from home lately. We really love the few hours a week we get to spend with him (if we get that much time) and we appreciate how hard he works all he does to make sure that our winters are comfortable and that we don't go without.