17 months.

yesterday, my baby turned 17 months old.  whoosh that was fast.  i haven't done monthly posts for him since his birthday (and even his first year, i wasn't super awesome), but i feel like there is just SO much going on with him right now.  the language explosion is amazing and right underneath the surface.  just last night, jb was saying "that dude doesn't say much, but he understands EVERYTHING".  which is really true for him.  he is saying more and more every day, even if his articulation isn't fantastic yet, but his comprehension is incredible.  he follows multi-step directions and is usually really responsive when you ask him or communicate with him.  he's still a toddler, for sure, but surprisingly reasonable for a toddler.  ha.

physical/motor: hollis is a short duder.  i haven't measured him since his last doctors' appointment (and thankfully we haven't had one since his 15 month well child visit!), but seeing him next to other kidlets makes me notice what a shrimp he is.  ek grows just like that, too, though, so i am not worried.  she will not move an inch for nearly a year, then shoot up 4-5 inches in a couple of months.  he's also feeling denser when i carry him lately, so maybe he's primed for a little growth spurt.  his feet are still little empanadas and he's in a size 4/4.5 in shoes mostly because of his foot chub.  molars are all in (not fully, but through), and the front 8 are there too.  in terms of motor skills, he's trying to run/walk with purpose a little bit and it's super cute.  he's definitely more interested in the gross motor stuff right now, and has less patience with fine motor activities, though he'll give them a little bit of effort before getting super frustrated.

food/sleep: oh this baby and his sleep.  we've made some progress here, and i think that we have a lot of potential.  he has had multiple nights where he's slept past 6am, and he's consistently going down and staying down until at least 4:30, so that is great.  i am still nursing him before bed and in the mornings, and i think that is a huge part of why he's waking up so early.  i'm just not ready to wean him yet, and i'm ok with that.  before bed, we do bath and jammies, then i nurse him in the living room or ek's room, then we head into his bedroom for a couple of books and a song before lights out.  this routine is far superior to my nurse-to-sleep routine of over 15 months.  woops.  putting himself to sleep has been huge for both of us.
on the food side, hollis eats everything or nothing.  as with most things in his life, he is not ambivalent.  some mornings (at least two mornings this week), he will eat two whole bananas plus whatever other fruit or cheerios or whatever we put in front of him.  other meals (like dinner this past monday), he won't touch a thing and will squawk at you for daring to offer him food.  he's not nearly as adventurous/willing to try stuff as emme was/is, but we'll work on him.  and, honestly, i can't complain - he is still a great eater.  his preferences are: fruit, cheese, toast, any other type of bread, and stuff that is whole.  he gets annoyed when i break things up into bite-sized pieces.

likes/dislikes: the book thing.  ohmygosh.  hollis is obsessed with books and they are everywhere in our house.  everywhere.  he is especially fond of any book with a dog in it, or really any animals/noisemaking things (like trucks).  he's super into making sounds these days - animal sounds and vroooom especially.  he also loves drumming, splashing in water, trying to screw on bottle tops/sippy cup lids, being outside, climbing stuff, and balls.  emme is still pretty much his favorite person ever (although he really really likes me and justin too).  he loves to give hugs and kisses and is a super affectionate, cuddly dude.
he does not like: diaper changes, food he doesn't recognize, being strapped in to anything, being asked to sit down/sit still for meals.  he gets super focused on something and will definitely lose his temper if you try to move him from it or don't give it to him quickly enough (in the case of books he can't reach).

i guess hollis is really a very typical toddler - big emotions, big developments in a little body.  i think he's delicious and delightful and just about the most hilarious and adorable creature i've ever seen, but i'm probably a little bit biased.