Zen at 15 Months

Zen has developed quite a little personality. He's quiet around strangers, staring at them with his big brown eyes. He's a little wild man at home. He leaves no stone unturned as he sets about the systematic destruction of the neatness of the house. His goal is to go from room to room, taking things off of every table, clearing every shelf, and unloading every cabinet and drawer. He's also quite pleased with himself as his ability to climb and to reach higher and higher is developing. He takes every opportunity to sneak into his brother's room if the door is open. He is starting to figure out how to get himself undressed. Shoes and socks are easy--they get flung off during every car ride and several other times during the day. The other day he got his t-shirt off, and if he's not wearing pants, the diaper is history!

Zen's our tough boy. He loves to wrestle with Dad and Zion. Last weekend Ben spent the night on Saturday, and he and Zion spent a good hour including Zen in their running/chasing/shooting game. Yes, this is the same mom that cut all the guns off of Zion's toy soldiers when he was 4, and who didn't even allow squirt guns unless they were shaped like fruit or animals...sigh.

Zen started speech therapy several weeks ago. He is quite proficient at getting what he wants from us through a series of pointing and expressive noises; the speech therapist is teaching him sign language. They've ruled out any physiological or cognitive reason that Zen isn't talking yet. He's just a "late talker". Zen is picking up on the sign language very quickly, especially when he sees how excited we get when he uses a sign.

Our favorite part of the day with Zen is right before bed, when he becomes a kissy, huggy, adorable little ham. I think he knows that it's harder for us to put him to bed when he's acting that way. We all sit in the living room and watch him perform--catching and throwing a ball (his favorite thing), wrestling with his stuffed animals, and dancing. The other day, my friend Wendy commented, "I can't even remember a time when Zen did not exist." It's funny--it's getting harder for me to remember those times as well! Enjoy the latest picture.