Mayer: 15 months

It has been a few months since I updated on Mayer. Last Thursday, he turned 15 months! This little guy tests every boundary and challenges me like his older brother never has. He is a monkey in every sense of the word, specifically a howler monkey. He loves to express himself, good or bad, by screaming. Before I tell you the next story, you should know that he is also a climber.

He likes to pull the chairs from Tate's table and climb on them. As soon as I put my camera down (because he sat down to read a book) and went back to what I was doing, Mayer quietly pushed the chair over to the bed and had started to climb on top of the bed. He is quick!
When he gets stuck, he starts screaming. Last week, I was helping Tate go to the bathroom. We called for Mayer to come into the bathroom with us to brush his teeth and he started screaming. Tate said, "Betcha he's stuck!" And sure enough this is where we found him:

The doctor's office has us fill out questionnaires online before well child visits. Two of the questions were regarding his speech: does he say 4 and 8 words other than "Mama" and "Dada." The answer to both questions is yes and no because he doesn't say "Mama" or "Dada!" His vocabulary is please, yes, doggy, cookie, me (and/ or Mimi), ball, these, yum and various sounds (moo/ boo, ruff-ruff, woo-woo, bawk). He signs more, all done, drink, apple, orange and I've recently discovered that when he points at his chest when he wants milk. That isn't the sign I was trying to teach him for milk, so I wonder if it has to do with nursing.

I have found myself falling into old habits, regarding his speech, by asking him yes or no questions. It is so easy because he will always answer. The difference this time around I is that have tried to incorporate what we learned when Tate was in speech. After I ask the question, Mayer will answer yes or shake his head no and I will model the answer or word I want him to say. So far it he hasn't responded with anything, but if he knows the sign he will use it. As a result, I have been trying to teach him more signs just to increase his vocabulary.

We have recently started using timeout as a discipline with him. He points at the timer, shakes his head yes and grunts at it, as if to say turn it off! It is so hard for all 3 of us not to laugh at him when he does that. Mayer has started hitting and testing to see what he can get away with. Tate likes to torment him just to hear Mayer howl and to see what he will do.

Mayer is so much smaller than Tate was at this age. He just hit 20.0 lbs this morning at his well child visit and he was fully clothed! He's only in the 5th percentile. He was about 31.5 inches.

We really struggle to get Mayer to eat... unless it is something sweet and then he is usually interested. At mealtime, we put him in the highchair and offer him the same meal the rest of us are eating. He may try it; then again he may not. He points at food and asks for it, but usually refuses when you give it to him or lay it on his tray. He wants to use a fork or spoon, but usually just to play. The doctor assured me we are doing the right thing and to keep trying. You never know what he will eat from one day to the next. It's incredibly frustrating, especially because I know he is so small. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm willing to try anything!