15 Months: Banana Man

Little Dude still has a very limited vocabulary: Mama, Dada (used interchangeably), Kack, Og (both of these are used for a variety of animals and objects), and Nana. He loves bananas, and even more than the fact that he loves bananas, I think he gets great satisfaction from the fact that he can successfully name an object. He picks up fake bananas and clutches them to his chest, the whole time chanting "nana", "nana". We have a few board books with pictures of fruit in them. He loves to turn the pages and be surprised each time by his beloved "nana". I think the year between one and two is one of the fullest in the life of a child. While the first year is primarily focused on physical milestones, the second is when their minds and personalities really take off. Little Dude is growing and changing so much. Yesterday I needed to change his diaper, so I went in the bedroom to get a clean one out of the dresser. He followed me in there, but didn't come back to the living room with me. After a minute he emerged from the bedroom carrying a diaper. He had opened the closet door and grabbed one out of the package. He does the same thing with his shoes (and our shoes) when he wants to go outside, and the other day he came into the kitchen, pointed to the fridge, and then grabbed a yogurt when I opened the door for him. Even if he can't say much, he understands a lot and wants to do as much as he can to participate in the world around him.