Our Big Boy is 15 Months!

I love how this one turned out!

I really can't believe Hayden is already 15 months old. It has gone by so fast. He is literally growing up right before our eyes. So much has changed from 12 to 15 months, and I must say this is not exactly my favorite age. IT IS HARD! He is all over the place and has a little mind of his own. It would be an understatement to say we have power struggles around here! At 15 months I can best describe him as strong-willed. He knows what he wants and he will go to any and EVERY extreme to get it! We are always having to remind him who is in charge around here... he definitely thinks HE rules. And, he is SMART. So smart I let him get away with things I probably shouldn't just because I can't believe he thought to do it. Although it is definitely the hardest time for us so far, we are still loving every second of it. It is amazing watching him learn new things, and sometimes even slightly fun to have our little power struggles! I don't have a new height and weight for you yet(we go next week for his 15 month appointment), but I'll let you know when we get it! I do however have an updated list of his likes and dislikes...

What Hayden Likes:
- Stairs - He likes everything about them. Crawling up them, sliding down them, and most of all... throwing his balls down them. He will thrown them about half way down and then stand and watch them bounce the rest of the way down. Then of course he claps for himself(because that was a great accomplishment you know!), and goes and gets another one to do it all over again. You wouldn't think I would let him do this as much as I do, because it is super loud and not very much fun at all to clean up, but he LOVES it, so we do it over and over and over!:)
- Routine- He has always been big on routine and I don't think it will be changing. He still gets two great naps a day and sleeps through the night... so I don't mess with it! He's like me... he likes a schedule!:)
- Walking/running - Although he hasn't been doing this for long, you would think he has been doing it his whole life. He is all over the place, and he is FAST! He really gets to moving fast if he knows you are after him. It is really cute to watch him speed up, but very frustrating when you are after him in public! He also LOVES chasing Sydney, or better yet, getting Sydney to chase him. He will steal her treat from her and run from her so she has to chase him. So cute and really funny!
- Milk - LOVES his milk. We started on whole milk right around a year old and he has been loving it since day one. We have to be careful not to give him his full serving before his meal or he fills up that stomach with milk. He chuggs it!!:) He always loved breastfeeding and even formula, so it didn't really surprise me that he liked the whole milk, I just didn't think the transition would be quite as easy as it was. We were lucky! We still haven't given him chocolate milk or juice, but maybe soon! Milk and water so far(with the occasional sip of Mommy's drink, which he always loves... especially the sweet tea!)!
- Dancing - Now, he really thinks this is a big deal. Don't let me turn on Ellen... we dance for a good five minutes. He also dances to just about any of his toys that play a song. So cute! He only has about 5 moves and does them over and over, but boy are they funny. He loves music! I have got to get this on video, but I somehow haven't managed to do that yet. Soon... I promise!
- Chick-fil-A - Can you believe I let him eat this?!? I know, at first I couldn't believe it either, but he loves it. Most of the time he even eats 4 whole nuggets! Crazy huh?!? I really didn't think I would venture out and give him anything like this for a long time, but I did and he really likes it. Oh, and the ice cream! LOVES it! And really loves when I give him a sip of my sweet tea! He doesn't get much, but he asks for it over and over!:) I must say it is definitely the most family friendly place on the planet to eat. They are so helpful and have everything you could need for a child! Even the disposable placemats!:) We love this place!
- Talking - All day, everyday! Talk, talk, talk. Although you can only understand about half of what he says, he thinks you can understand it all! He talks so much I am certain one day he will have to go on vocal rest because of his vocal cords being so sore. But then again, maybe not... I've never had vocal rest!:)

What Hayden Dislikes:
- Discipline - Hates it. I mean, what child likes it? It is hard getting told no after all. He thinks everything he does is just perfectly fine. And he can lay on the tears FAST. And, out comes that famous pout of his that we all thought was so cute many, many months ago. Not quite as cute when you are trying to get him not to do something(well, it is still really cute, I just try to act like it's not, so it is easier to stick with my "no's")!:) Very smart that he thinks to put that lip out and bring on the tears I must say, but it doesn't always get him the result he wants these days!
- Going shopping with Mommy - How could a child of mine dislike shopping? Well, actually he doesn't mind shopping, he just doesn't want me to shop! And he definitely doesn't want to be pushed around in the stroller or buggy while I shop. Don't think for 1 little second I am going to be able to go in a store and shop with Hayden with me. He wants down and he wants to walk around. SO hard to deal with! He used to just ride around while I would shop, but now he wants nothing to do with it. He will ride in the stroller all day long(and enjoy it I might add) but the second it is pushed into a store he starts pitching a fit to get out. If I let him out he is perfectly happy. I guess he likes to "shop", but he definitely doesn't like for Mommy to shop! If the title read Mommy shopping with Hayden it would be on his likes list!! He will walk up and down the isles and even pick up things he likes, but all I can manage to do is chase him around and put things back on the shelf! Here's to hoping it's a phase...

What Hayden is not sure about:
- Food - Can you believe this? This is the child who used to eat so much I thought he was going to pop. I mean he still has days he eats a TON(any Chick-fil-A day!!!), but there are also days I think he is going to starve. There are days he is just not interested at all. He will always drink his milk, but sometimes getting actual food to get into that tummy is quite a task. Well, getting the food I want in his tummy I guess is a better way to put it. He will always eat the things he wants, but not always what I want him to eat! Right now we are on a banana kick. If I can't get him to eat anything I put in front of him, I just cut up a banana and down it goes. The entire thing. He loves them right now!
- The camera - Okay, I now see that the dreaded days are coming. "I don't want any more pictures Mommy!" is what he is trying to say when I pull out the camera! Yikes... what am I going to do? I mean he still doesn't hate the camera or anything, but it is getting much harder to get him to "pose" for a picture for me. I have to go to all kinds of extremes to get the shot! He is just too busy to stop for a picture!! Sometimes he will just smile away, but I would say more times than not he turns his head the other way. I think he secretly enjoys me chasing him around with the camera! I'm sure this will be moving from the not sure about list to the dislike list before long!:)

To celebrate his 15 month milestone we did what Hayden likes best... played and played and played some more. We were lucky enough to have a pretty day outside, which is really where Hayden loves to be, so that is exactly where we spent most of our day! Of course I took some pictures! Enjoy!

I got a little crazy and turned this pic into pop art!

Cool huh?!?

This is how I got him to let me take a few pictures...
see that camera lens cover in his hand?
He would chase me over and over
and put it back on the camera.
Whatever works right?!?

He was really close to getting me this time!!!
Please note his crazy hair in all of these
pictures. I guess it's time for another
cut! I mean, it was a little windy, but
nothing to make it look this crazy!

Not sure what kind of face this was. Cool picture though!

Cheese!

Like I said earlier... he talks, talks, talks.
Makes for an interesting set of pictures!