How do I have a 15 month old?!

life with max at 15 months I howsweeteats.com

My snugglepuppy. I die over him.

This bug is still so incredibly happy. I have no idea how I got so lucky. SERIOUSLY. I still feel that way and it’s just so different from how I ever assumed I would feel.

He brings me so much happiness throughout the day, even when the days are stressful or sad.

My days are spent listening to him babble and talk and giggle. I love him talking. I love hearing him make conversation, I wish I knew exactly what he was saying all the time.

[He currently runs around the house screaming “purple” – somehow my mom taught him this word and it’s his favorite thing. It cracks us up.]

life with max at 15 months I howsweeteats.com

I still also feel super lucky that he is such a pleasant kid. I don’t always have him at home with me all day while working, but on days that I do, he does fairly well playing on his own for chunks of time. It’s wonderful. I do things to make it easier, like set out some of his favorite toys, let him go wild in the cabinet that holds all the pots and pans, set up a coloring station and what not, taking certain breaks – but he’s just so happy.

Yes, things are certainly more challenging at this age! He wants to run and play everywhere. He doesn’t like to sit still very long, so if we head to a restaurant, it’s usually at breakfast or lunch or the early bird special. Our trick for taking him out (we take him out to eat every weekend, at least once) is one my aunt gave us: don’t put him in the high chair until the food comes.

This works like a CHARM! We hold him on our lap while we order and pre-food, he colors or plays with a toy or reads some books. Occasionally we will walk with him, depending on the location. Once the food comes he goes into the high chair, is hungry by this time, and we all can eat at the same time. Not sure how much longer it will last, but it was great advice that we have gone by since he’s been big enough for the highchair.

With that being said, when he’s done, he’s DONE! When he wants out, he screams and yells and that’s that.

life with max at 15 months I howsweeteats.com

My favorite thing right now is how much Max loves to go outside. Multiple times per day he runs to one of the doors or windows and starts pointing and shouting to go outside. He loves to be in the yard and loves to RUN. It really stinks that right now it’s freezing and snowing again outside, but later this week I’m hoping it starts to warm up permanently because the fresh air does wonders for us both.

I love getting him outside to walk, run and explore at least once a day.

My only concern now is that he wants to walk and run so much that he might not want to sit still in his stroller for a long walk? (aka, my favorite thing.) But my plan is to go early or go around naptime.

life with max at 15 months I howsweeteats.com

Speaking of naptime, nope still doesn’t sleep through the night. But! I said to my mom that I can somewhat sense that he is enjoying sleep more. He can self soothe and settle himself back to sleep (I’ve watched it) and I can tell that we are on the brink of better sleep.

I’m over it and just completely used to not sleeping. The overwhelming exhaustion hits me once every few months and I have a complete and utter meltdown (this happened two weeks ago) – but once I get it out, it’s out. And I can survive again!

I think the (non)sleeping would be taking more of a toll on me if Max was fussy or not as generally pleasant as he is. It would be easier if I could sleep when he sleeps at night, but most of the time I need a good chunk of time (5 to 6 hours) to work at night. It is what it is and as long as I don’t go overboard on caffeine, sugar and crap eating, it’s manageable.

What blows my mind the most is that when I really need that “me” time, when I have to get out or just have a few moments to myself, it’s insane – because within 15 minutes or so I miss him. I want to be back with him. Is this crazy?

I honestly feel pretty crazy sometimes.

I can’t imagine leaving him overnight yet. I am missing out on things and opportunities and saying no to many things that could further my career (and/or social life – HAHAHAHA) but I just can’t imagine being away from him overnight. Now trust me, I’ve had great full days being apart from him, but there is just something so special about the nights that I love. I know that this time is so fleeting, will be gone in an instant and I just can’t give it up.

This makes me feel really uncool sometimes, but I think that it’s my insecurities coming back to haunt me. I know that pre-baby, I used to privately judge others in my brain when it seemed like they could never leave their child. And now I’m totally that person! I just didn’t understand it until now.

Eeeeeep I just love him so much.

life with max at 15 months I howsweeteats.com

One of the most fun things that is happening right now is that Max is taking swim lessons and I can’t even believe how much he LOVES IT. He has always loved baths, but I wasn’t sure how he’d act in a pool for 30 minutes straight.

Turns out, the big smile never left his face the entire time. He was dunking his face in and giggling and trying to blow bubbles. He loved “jumping” (aka, walking to me) off the side of the pool into the water and kicking and splashing. It is so much fun and I can barely wait until summer when we can swim often.

My little fish! I’m hoping that Eddie can come one of these weeks and get some pictures of us, otherwise it’s basically impossible to snap a picture since I can’t take my phone into the pool. Plus, hello, do I want to be that obnoxious person? (< yes I do.)

life with max at 15 months I howsweeteats.com

Foods!

Max still likes to eat. A bunch of you have asked if he has entered the picky toddler stage or the “surviving on air” (ha) stage. I haven’t seemed to notice a general pickiness yet, but I did start noticing shortly after he turned one that he began eating less at meal time. Nothing else really changed, it’s almost like he started picking at bites that he wanted to eat. That could also be because I was giving him more food or more options, but that’s all I’ve noticed so far.

And yes, he’s pretty great at eating everything, but he also has days where he wants to eat nothing and days where he throws everything on the floor and thinks it’s HILARIOUS.

Spoiler alert: it isn’t! But sometimes it is.

After my last update I started taking some photos of breakfast and lunch to share with you, but the lighting in our kitchen is so awful (and we often eat early before it’s light out) that I couldn’t stomach the photos! Here are some ideas of what he eats for breakfast and lunch. For dinner, he eats what we eat (within reason, i.e. no overly salty food, no spicy food, etc.)

breakfast:

scrambled eggs + cheerios + bananas (or whatever fruit is in season)

oatmeal with blueberries, touch of pure maple syrup

banana + spinach + blueberry + yogurt + almond milk smoothie

spinach + cheddar omelet, berries

bananas spread with peanut/almond butter, full fat greek yogurt

lunch:

AB+J on sprouted grain bread, full-fat greek yogurt, strawberries and blueberries

broccoli and cheese mini quesadilla, peas, cinnamon apples

avocado toast, turkey slices, cucumber rounds, goat cheese

whole wheat pasta, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, hummus

grilled cheese on sprouted grain bread, pickles, black beans, dried figs

He absolutely loves chicken and things like meatballs or burgers, so sometimes he will have that as leftovers for lunch. His favorite food is an orange, and he always get that as an afternoon or after dinner snack. He could probably eat TWO whole oranges a night if I let him. He also loves anything bread-like or carby and will eat that at pretty much any time if given to him.

life with max at 15 months I howsweeteats.com

And that’s fifteen months! I can’t even stand that time is going so fast, but at the same time I am so happy I’ve thoroughly lived and enjoyed every moment with this boy. Am I missing anything? Thanks for loving on my little bug! P.S. you can find our 15 month favorites here.