Time is a thief I would rob

We've hit that 15 month mark.  There's so many milestones Emerson's meeting and we just haven't made any note of it.  I think it's time to rectify that...and to add a few things just for fun.

First, these are no longer cluttering up the cabinets!  We stuck with the bottle a little past one year, but once I stopped pumping and we ran out of our milk stash, we had no problem letting the bottle go.  Whole milk isn't our friend yet, but we don't hate it either...more like indifference to it.  While letting go of the bottle doesn't make me very sad, I am a little torn over the fact that our last nursing session was yesterday.  

To add to the big boy tally, I've just finished reading Diaper Free Before Three: The Healthier Way to Toilet Train and Help Your Child Out of Diapers Sooner.

I wish I had started this book even earlier!  The more I learn about the Montessori Method, the more I like/agree with it.  This book's process has part of it's base in this method.  So, due in part to this book and in part by the success of  our wonderful friend Diana with her son Aiden, we've started potty training!

You're going to hate me for this pic one day.
 I know that.
But just remember I love you!  :)

We're excited about it, but taking it one day at a time.

Much to Bryant's exasperation, I was one of those mothers that hated to hear their child cry.  So much so that I would go in and rock him back to sleep when he would wake for far too long.  But I did get better and for awhile now Emerson has been getting to sleep (and back to sleep) all on his own.  Because of this, I was finally able to get a picture of Emerson visiting dreamland.

He likes to play for awhile most of the time, so there's an army of stuffed friends in with him.  They tend to be thrown out before he finally succumbs to the sandman, but as you can see our lamb (Mr. Wooley) ended up camping out for the night a little higher than normal.

But when dreamland is a distant memory Emerson is all about some playtime.  We've kept books in the living room, his room, and our office to read and to let him handle, but there came a time when he needed his own shelf in the living room. After one of my Harry Potter covers ended up separate from the rest of the book, we decided to save the rest and the Madeline L'engle books from certain harm.

This is how it usually looks

This is after Emerson has gone to bed

This is where we try a different approach

Emerson does love his books.  He also loves to climb.  We've recently discovered that almost anything can be used as a ladder!  Even falling from the dining room chair can't deter him now.

Our other new favorite play place...

  the car!  He's also discovered the coolness of the Bronco, but the car has an easier to push hazard button.

Everything is a phone now.  The camera, my voice recorder, the remote, anything we can find.  If they have buttons, that's just the icing on the cake.

Talking on Mommy's phone

...Just for fun...

at our 15 month check up
we did so well we're not going back until we're 2!

trying for a 15 month picture didn't work
like Daddy planned

There's never a bad time for Goodnight Moon!  

And finally, we've finished our last Kindermusik Sign & Sing class.  We have our regular class, but it's been fun to see both Ms Mandy and Ms Robin each week.  While we're talking quite a bit, we've really caught on to signing.  Emerson consistently signs light, down, eat, finished.  There are a few others he'll do, but not as often.

learning to sign lamb

with our friend Sam

with our friend Luke

Our last day!