15 Months

So, Monk has his 15-month doctor’s appointment tomorrow and I wanted to do a little developmental inventory so that we have our thoughts in order when we see the doctor.

Monk is obviously huge and thriving. In fact, I’m a little scared to find out exactly what he weighs. He just graduated to Size 5 diapers today! Last week he was playing in the sandbox at the Tot Lot next to a tall-looking 23-month-old, and when he stood up, he positively towered over the child . . . He’s also as strong as an ox and is generally in very good health, with only an occasional little cold to worry about.

All of this is in spite of the fact that his food choices are currently pretty limited. He still can’t abide the texture of meat. Last week I made meatloaf and he spat it out in disgust, so Thor ate like a king for a few days. Monk also still expects to have his vegetables blended. He’s not at all motivated to put in the kind of effort it would require to reduce a piece of broccoli to a digestible consistency. Why be a sucker and chew your own food when you can get Mama to pre-blend it for you? Nor is he even slightly inclined to try using a spoon or fork for himself. When I put one into his hand, he will bat it away and complain. He loves feeding himself finger foods though.

The foods Monk will currently eat, in order of preference, are:

vanilla custard
watermelon
rockmelon/cantaloupe
mango
strawberries
hotdogs (organic, uncured)
pizza
cheddar omelette
blueberry waffles
cheese on toast/grilled cheese
ice cream (when he takes the first mouthful, he looks at you like you’re trying to kill him, but then he likes it)
yogurt
banana
roasted carrots
blended peas/corn (when he’s in the right mood)

Perceptual/fine motor skills/cognition: Monk is a pro at turning the pages of board books (and he now points to named objects like dog, ball, flower, etc.). He is a very curious little monkey and likes to figure out how things work. If given a crayon, he will slash away at a piece of paper in a hit or miss fashion. In Gloversville last week, he casually constructed an eight-block tower while zooming around cavalierly on his Pooh truck (Mama helped align the blocks just a little after he placed them). He is also very good at putting stuff in stuff.

Receptive language: Monk understands a lot of words and some phrases. There are probably many more, but I know he knows these: Mama, Dada, doggy, ball, light, fan, flower, pretty flower, butterfly, no, tree, sippy cup, botty, shoe, Moo (what a cow says), apple, banana, Cuddlepuppy, Macaco, close the door, throw the ball to ____, where’s Dada’s nose?, don’t eat it, don’t throw it, walkie, birdie, do you want to go outside? He also understands a lot of things in Portuguese.

Expressive language: Not much going on other than “Mama” and “Dada.” His use of “bah” for ball and “doh” for dog seems to be tapering off a bit, but his jargoning is getting very complex and there are probably all sorts of things that he is saying in his own little language.

Social/Emotional: Monk is a very happy, sweet and responsive little bag of cuteness, with a great sense of humor. He collapses in peals of giggles when he holds out objects for Thor and Thor takes them. I am hugely relieved that he finally started pointing last month and now he points up a tiny storm. In fact, I have a very cute picture of him pointing in the Boston Public Garden last week. I’ll post it tomorrow.

Gross motor: Monk is perfectly capable of walking but doesn’t feel like it just yet. Last month he was taking several independent steps at a time when we launched him into it, but now he has become resistant and will plant his feet on the ground and refuse to move if we don’t offer a finger for him to hold onto. Funny little monkey. Yesterday I heard some familiar complaining noises as I walked back to Petra’s from the station and found Monk planted in the middle of the driveway, where he had been for a full half hour, refusing to take a single step. Of course Petra, speaking solely in Czech, asked Harry to go up and help Max walk to his Mama, and Harry walked up and took Max’s hand and actually got him to take a few steps . . .