Today Tommy and his pal, Jack, who is just two weeks older than our little man, played together at our local mall. Jack’s mom, Natalie, and I didn’t plan for it to be orange shirt day, it just happened that way!

Tommy cruises past Mommy during tonight’s pre-dinner stroll at our neighborhood park. We pulled him up the hill in his little red wagon; and though he had fun going for a ride, he streaked down the path as soon as we got to the park. He loves the feel of his own two feet exploring the world.

As for how those two feet move, he no longer walks…he jogs everywhere with the cutest little gait. James and I laugh that we now know exactly what is meant by “the pitter patter of little feet.” All through the day we hear quick little stomps around the house. Sometimes he just runs in place and I imitate him, which makes him do it with even more gusto. It’s great exercise for both of us!

No, not the constellation…Tommy has a newfound love of dipping his food in all kinds of sauces. Here you see him coating pizza in ranch dressing (which, if you ask his Auntie Sarah, is the only way to eat pizza!) He also enjoys ketchup for his french fries/tater tots (Grandma Norma will like this!) and barbecue sauce for his chicken nuggets. He has a very healthy appetite and seems to have an adventurous palate for a 15-month-old.

Another favorite toy is our old telephone – anything with buttons to press, really. And he really likes the remote control Aunt Lisa gave him while he stayed with her last week.

I hope he doesn’t have OCD, ’cause this kid loves cleaning appliances. You should’ve seen his eyes light up when I got out the Swiffer the other day…

Here Tommy plays with his newest friend, Paige Breuer. Her birthday is just a few days (and a year!) after Tommy’s. They don’t have much to talk about yet, but I’m sure these two will be great pals.

Thursday Tommy turned 15 months old. We cannot believe how quickly he’s grown! He now runs where he used to crawl (new game: running when Mommy asks him to come to her), reaches up on top of the counter to get his own special container of Goldfish crackers and races up the stairs on all fours at lightning speed. The babbling is constant. Does anyone speak German? If so, we need a translator, because at times it really sounds like he’s sprechen sie Deutsch instead of English. Well, he is a Wedewer…

We took him to the doctor for a routine check-up last week and here’s an update on his vital stats: 31.5″ tall, 24 lbs., 10 oz. and healthy as an ox. What a happy 15 months it’s been for us, Tommy. Here’s to many, many more!

Tommy’d better be nice to his parents when he’s in high school…or else we may have to get this picture out in front of his girlfriend! Though this may be a little embarrassing, we’ve managed to keep him semi-modest for the Internet.

Lately the first thing he does when he gets out of the bathtub is bolt for his playroom (picture his towel flapping like a Superman cape behind him as he runs through the hall). He can’t get enough of toy cars and Little People, especially if being cute while playing with them staves off bedtime for a few more minutes.

Tommy attended a big birthday bash for his friends Carissa, Sadie and Taylor last weekend. Boy, did he have fun! The theme was jungle monkeys, and the little ones loved all the balloons and crepe paper vines…you could almost hear the rainforest! Tommy wore his favorite monkey shirt to commemorate the event (I swear he wears other clothes sometimes, we just always seem to snap his pic in this particular outfit!). Here we caught him with a mouthful of sweet party munchies. Yum!
And here’s a shot of Tommy with his friend Marshall, who is only one day younger than him. You can see these boys get some of their good looks from their dads (but mostly from their moms!).

Tommy hams it up as a little Indian chief in the woods of Southern California. This weekend we went to Pine Mountain Club to visit Grandpa Tom’s cabin and celebrate Ann-ma’s birthday. Tommy enjoyed exploring the wooded area and watching the blue jays eat peanuts off Grandpa’s deck. He studied pine cones intently, scraped the ground with a stick like it was a metal detector and just had fun in the cool mountain air.

His vocabulary is growing by the day. He now says “ga” for crackers (namely, the goldfish variety) and at his music class today he said bubbles (bub-ba) while the teacher blew the pretty orbs around the room. He can say “bye,” though it’s usually after we’ve left the person to whom he’s supposed to say goodbye. He’s working on “hat” and “hi,” too. But his true favorite continues to be “ball” in all forms. He points to balls in picture books and says the word whenever he sees something round. We’re having so much fun talking with him!