Dawson's 15 Month Update

This week was Dawson's 15 month check-up with the doctor. He now weighs 24 pounds and 8 ounces which puts him in the 50th percentile for weight. He is 2 feet 9 inches tall which puts him in the 90th percentile for height. Overall, his appointment was uneventful because he is doing everything he should be for this age, and I didn't have too many questions for the doctor. He did, however, have to get one shot while he was there. At his 18 month check-up he will have to get several shots, because I have postponed a lot of them until that time. Since he's not in daycare, his doctor has been great about letting us do the shots when we want, within reason, which makes me feel great because I've been reading about all of the risks which are reduced by waiting longer before getting the shots. Unfortunately, though, the shot he did have to get, the Tdap vaccine, gave him a nasty little site reaction, and we had to take him back to the doctor yesterday to have it looked at. I wasn't worried about this shot because he has had it before, and this was the last one in the series. I'm not sure why he had a site reaction to it this time, but he did. He's on some medicine now though to help it to go away. He had fun in the doctor's office though getting lots of attention from the doctors and nurses.
At 15 months he can successfully sort the square, circle, and triangle in his shape sorter with a tiny bit of help. He continues to LOVE to read, and he will bring you book after book to read to him. He loves for you to sit cross-legged on the floor and let him sit on your lap while you read to him. We're excited that library story time is starting back up after a month break, since he also enjoys having books read to him in a group setting.
We have been working on coloring with crayons, and Dawson now knows what to do to color on paper. He is not always interested in coloring though, and sometimes he enjoys carrying the crayons around more than actually coloring.
At 15 months, Dawson is also a great helper! :) He has seen me sweep and dust so much that any time he sees a broom he HAS to have it to push back and forth across the floor. He thinks it's the most fun! He also loves for you to give him a wash cloth or rag so he can go around the house "cleaning." He uses the cloths to wipe everything including his high chair, chairs, tables, walls, and Bentley! The whole time he is "sweeping" or "cleaning" he looks at us for praise. I love it! I hope he will always continue to be my little helper when it comes to cleaning, so I give him all the praise he wants! :)
Dawson continues to be a good eater, but does have a picky day here or there. In addition to oatmeal and pancakes which John and I are worn out on after making them all the time for the past several months, Dawson has finally decided that he will accept a couple of other foods for breakfast. He will eat Cheerios in milk now. He also now loves cinnamon raisin wheat toast which is nice because it's much easier than pancakes!
Fifteen months has proved to be a very affectionate age for Dawson. He loves to hug us, and he will just randomly quit playing to come give us a hug. He also loves to give kisses and blow kisses now too.
In addition to all of the words Dawson has been saying, he has now added "no" and "clock" to his vocabulary. He has also learned to shake his head no, which he thinks is hilarious.
Dawson is slowly transitioning from 2 naps to 1 a day. As Dawson's schedule changes, we're also preparing for John's schedule change this week. We are so excited to have weekends together as a family again. Dawson continues to bring us so much joy, and is a ton of fun at 15 months!
Enjoy the pictures below!

Above: Dawson in his playroom at 15 months old!

Above: Dawson and I decided to color on the driveway with
sidewalk chalk.

Above: This is some of Dawson's scribbling on the driveway.

Above: Dawson enjoyed running around with

the chalk in his hand more than actually

drawing with it.

Above: Dawson after he made his first mark

with the chalk. He was excited about it!

Above: Dawson's newest thing is that if you

ask him where planes fly he points up like this

and says "up."

Above: Dawson playing.

Above: Dawson wanted to get in his toy box to play. Daddy

decided to let him get in to play before bath time. :)

Above: Dawson LOVED being in the toy box.

Above: Time to get out and go to the bath tub!

Above: I got Dawson half way undressed to

get in the bath tub one night this week, and then

he took off. He found his pacifier which he's only

allowed to have when he's in the bed, and then he

hid in the laundry room (only for a few

seconds before I went in there).

When I walked in the laundry

room and saw him he pointed at me as if I were the one

in trouble! He's so funny!

Above: All of the flowers in our landscape have

been blooming beautifully all spring and summer.

We have enjoyed them all season, and John

has done a great job keeping the flowers blooming

and the grass looking good. We brought some of

our knock-out roses inside to enjoy yesterday, and

even Dawson loves looking at them.

A Little Bit of Everything

We had another fun week spent playing! Although, it has been in the triple digits nearly every day here this week, we have managed to take a few walks and give Dawson a little time to play outside. As you can see from the pictures below, most of the time he has been allowed play in the backyard has been in the evening when it's slightly cooler.

Also, this week we purchased Dawson his first potty! He is very interested in the potty, although, we've not successfully used it yet. We know that Dawson is a little young, but we mostly just want him to get used to seeing his potty and what it is. Already, we can ask him where his potty is and he will go point to it.

This week John taught Dawson how to blow kisses, and it's SO sweet! I have not captured it on video yet, but hope to soon! Dawson is so proud that he can blow kisses, and I think John was equally excited with how quickly Dawson copied him and learned!

On Wednesday, Dawson had his friend Jack over to play. They were most interested in playing with trucks and eating goldfish crackers. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the two boys playing, but maybe next time!

Dawson has also become interested in riding on Bentley this week. Yes, riding our 13 pound Jack Russell Terrier. Dawson has started going up beside her, lifting his leg, and trying to get on her like he does his ride-on toys. Bentley doesn't run away or even growl. She just stands there waiting on me or John to rescue her. Thankfully Dawson has not succeeded in riding the dog, but he hasn't stopped trying! He's also turned into a little monkey this week! He has started climbing on EVERYTHING! We're trying to show him that you don't climb on top of toys and boxes, but he still thinks it's funny!

Dawson is 15 months old TODAY! We take him to the doctor this week for his 15 month check-up, so I plan to blog his 15 Month Update sometime after the appointment. Unfortunately, he's due for a couple of shots at this appointment, but hopefully it won't be too hard on him.

Look for his 15 Month Update coming soon, and enjoy the pictures below!

Above: Dawson mowing the backyard one evening.

Above: Dawson running with his bat in the

backyard.

Above: Dawson with his bat on the back patio.

Above: He's fast! :)

Above: "Dawson, what can you hit with your bat?"

(only kidding)

Above: Dawson shaking his tree we planted in May.

Above: Dawson and Bentley not ready to go

inside for the night.

Above: Dawson reading a book!

Above: More of the same book.

Above: Dawson attempting to hide in the playroom.

Above: Dawson in the playroom.

Above: "Dawson, where does the gas go?"

Above: Silly face in the cozy coupe.

Above: Dawson playing with his truck from Lolly and Pop.

Above: so funny!

Above: My sweet boy!

Above: "Look, no hands!"

Above: Slightly silly.

Above: Crusing along in my automobile...

Above: Dawson checking out his potty

for the first time!

Above: No, it's not a drum! :)

Fire Trucks and Fun!

This week was Huntsville's National Night Out sponsored by Target, and we went and took Dawson. Last year when we went, Dawson was only 9 weeks old. This year he enjoyed the evening A LOT more! They have police cars, the swat vehicle, fire trucks, animals from the Huntsville Animal Shelter that need to be adopted, a band, and food. Dawson was interested in the big fire truck with the long ladder, but when a firefighter asked if Dawson would like to get in the truck he chickened out! :) He did have fun looking at all of the fire trucks and the gauges on the sides. He also had fun dancing to the band who was there playing music. He also loved looking at the two dogs that needed to be adopted. He kept wanting to go stand by their cage and just point to them over and over again saying, "doggie!" He really does LOVE animals. We had a fun evening at the event.

The rest of the week we just spent time playing together in the playroom, coloring, and taking walks in the neighborhood. I've posted some pictures below from our fun week. Enjoy!

Above: John and Dawson with the fire truck at

National Night Out.
Above: John and Dawson checking all of
the gauges on the fire truck.

Above: Checking out the side of the fire truck.

Above: Dawson and I in the back of an ambulance at

National Night Out.

Above: Dawson dancing to the band at National

Night Out.

Above: Our neighbors have a fig tree in their backyard, and

they gave us some figs they picked from it. I was not too sure

what I should do with all the figs we had, so I made this recipe

for Fig Newtons which turned out pretty good.

Above: We've been teaching Dawson to take

his dirty laundry to the clothes hamper, drop

it inside, and close the lid. He has been doing a

good job of doing it when we ask him to take

his laundry. As you can see from the picture, he

gets VERY excited about doing it!

Above: Dawson and I have been coloring a lot this

week. He always decides it is more fun to color on my

paper than his! :)

Above: All the little marks (top left corner) he colored

on the paper.

Above: Dawson being a ham while he eats.

Above: Dawson's "super-silly face."

Above: "Dawson, where is your cup?"

Above: "Dawson, where are your toys?"

Above: Taking a break to eat!

Above: Bentley's favorite place is under the

highchair. She runs over to sit here every

time Dawson eats to get any pieces he might

drop!

Above: Still eating.

Above: Another "super-silly face."

Above: "Dawson, how big are you?"

Above: Dawson (and Bentley) at lunchtime!

More Summer Fun!

We have had another busy couple of weeks here at the Zorio house. About a week and a half ago we took Dawson to the UAH duck pond, and it was a much different experience for him (and for the ducks) than when we took him back in May. This time he decided it was way more fun to chase the ducks than to actually feed or just watch them. When we first got there we had Dawson stay in his stroller and we pushed him around while we fed the ducks. He sat there nicely in his stroller watching the ducks come closer and closer. Then we decided he might like to get out. As soon as we let him out of the stroller he started chasing the ducks, many of which were the same height as Dawson! He had a great time chasing the ducks, and John helped him! :)
Then on Thursday, July 22 Dawson and I loaded up the car and drove to Tennessee. Dawson got to stay at his Lolly, Pop, and Uncle Logan's house for the weekend while I went to Charleston, South Carolina for a bachelorette party for my friend Lauren who is getting married next month. I had a hard time leaving Dawson, as usual, and I missed him so much! But Dawson had a great weekend. While staying in Tennessee he got to go visit his Nana and Grandad (John's parents) and his Great Mamaw (my grandmother). He also got to go on several walks each day around the neighborhood. While I was gone he started saying, "uh oh"! I had a good time in Charleston with my Sigma Kappa sorority sisters from UT shopping, going to the beach, and visiting. I was glad to get back to Dawson on Sunday evening, and Dawson and I were both excited to get home to John on Monday!!
This week we all just enjoyed being home together, and we took advantage of that by spending the majority of our time together in the playroom! Dawson loves books more and more each day and is constantly bringing us a book to read to him which I LOVE! He has also been more interested in his shape sorter again, and he can now reliably sort the square, circle, and triangle. He's even managed to get the heart shape in the sorter a couple of times. Dawson is still dancing to anything and everything that has music or has some sort of rhythm. This includes commercials, tv, radio, the fan, the washing machine, and the dish washer! He is also going through another phase where he likes you to ask him things to point out on his body. Now he will point to his hair, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and belly button. This week as also brought a new obsession....trying to pick up Bentley. Dawson is so interested in trying to pick her up which we don't allow. Poor Bentley just stands there like such a good dog and doesn't even walk away. Dawson is still loving the outdoors, and we go on at least two walks each day to allow him a little time outdoors in this heat. Dawson is at a very fun age and LOVES to play. We're enjoying every minute of playing with him! What could be more fun?!
I have posted some recent photos below. Enjoy!

Above: While John was at work one day last week

Dawson and I decided he needed some gel in his hair.

Check out this cool dude!

Above: Fixing Dawson's hair.

Above: John and Dawson at the UAH duck pond.

Above: John decided to help Dawson chase the ducks.

Above: More of Dawson chasing the ducks.

Above: More of Dawson trying to catch the ducks.

Above: Dawson trying to catch the ducks.

Above: Dawson trying to get as close as possible

to the ducks.

Above: Dawson pointing out a piece of food

that the ducks didn't eat.