15 months old!

I'm still adjusting to the fact that I have two children. It seems like Dio's birth just happened. But then I see this little boy running around. He's losing his baby fat and his face and limbs are getting longer and leaner.

After spending a few weeks with his cousins, he's started to interact more with other children. He wants to be in the middle of the action at all times.

Like me, Dio's default look is serious and a bit somber. But as I tell people, "If he's not crying, he's happy. Even if he doesn't look like it."

We still get big smiles out of him sometimes.

Dio has 7 teeth and 3 more halfway in. He can walk and climb and throw balls and say or sign lots of words. I'm so glad that we do sign language--nothing hardcore, just a few Signing Time videos--because his words are fairly indistinguishable. But he usually signs at the same time he's speaking, so we usually know exactly what he's trying to say. We've been working on signing "please" because his usual way of asking for something is with a deafening shriek. Now he shrieks, then signs "milk, please" or "nurse, please." I'd like to keep track of all the words he knows or says, but it's getting to the point that I probably couldn't get caught up. Every day it seems there's a new word or phrase that he understands. Like the other day, I told Zari to sit down, and he plopped down right away and looked at me expectantly.

EC: He's doing pretty well going pee in the toilet or on the grass, if we're outside. He usually stands on the toilet seat, facing the bowl. Poops have been more elusive, since he gives very little advanced warning. And he poops all the time, at least twice a day and sometimes 5-6 times! He is really fascinated with pee and poop and loves to watch it be flushed away.

Sleep: Dio naps once in the early afternoon. He sleeps from 8pm-6:45am and rarely wakes up at night. If he does, he fusses for a minute or two and then goes back to sleep. He nurses before he goes to sleep, although he usually isn't totally out when I lay him down. He loves snuggling with his sock monkey. I'm glad I introduced it to him as a sleep aid. He hugs and cuddles it whenever he sees it during the day, and I imagine in the future it will help him bridge going to sleep without me (for example, when we have another baby and I can't always be the one putting him down for naps or bedtime). Now if I could just get Zari to sleep that well...she's been on a long streak of waking up 1-2 times a night and needing us to come into her room and help her back to sleep.

Siblings: Dio and Zari have good times together. Like blowing on each others' stomachs. He also likes to nuzzle his head between my breasts and blow bubbles. (Or farts? What are they called anyway?)

Don't get me wrong--life isn't always giggles and smiles. More often than not Zari is tormenting Dio and he is shrieking to be let go. She likes to tackle him and pin him to the ground. She will walk up to him out of the blue and push him over, and then watch him cry. She takes things away from him just because. And I get the feeling that she's doing these things on purpose to get a reaction from Dio--and from me. It drives me a bit crazy, because Dio is miserable and I feel like a broken record explaining that we don't hit people and Dio doesn't like that-- it makes him sad and please be nice to your brother. Sometimes I just have to remover her from the situation. We call it "taking a break." It entails sitting in a separate room--usually a nearby bedroom--until a) a few minutes have elapsed or b) she can show me that she's ready to get out and play nicely. I'm not sure of a better way to deal with deliberately mean behavior towards a sibling. She's 3, after all, and so I don't want to be making a huge issue out of normal 3-year-old behavior. In any case, I'm open to suggestions...

Vive le Canadian swim diaper.