Ammon is 17 months!

 Ha ha! I climbed up here all by myself!

Tomorrow that is. . .
He has made some progress! These past few weeks, Ammon has attempted standing up by himself in the middle of the room unassisted. Then he usually takes 1-3 steps and falls back down. He also likes climbing up on his little play table and has learned to get back down after bumping his head a couple of times. He has also learned to climb down the stairs. But because he is so small, I keep worrying he will loose balance and tumble down them. yikes.

He is making more babbling noises. Nothing real substantial yet, but kind of sounds like "hi", "yes", "Jessica", "I did it" and "all done." He says them in a way that you wonder if he is really saying something or not. He seems to be understanding more too. He is pointing to his picture when we ask to point to the baby or Ammon. I'm hoping he understands his own name. It's hard to tell.
He's getting more vocal in one area for sure - every time he has a bowel movement. He screams and/or cries like he's giving birth. It doesn't matter if it's soft or hard. It hurts him. It breaks my heart to watch him go through it. I don't know what is up with his digestive track, but it's certainly not normal. However, he's already had a GI scan and it did come back normal when he was a baby. So I attribute it to diet? Just what exactly? I don't know.
So the last week in September we got in to see a Neurologist. He ordered two DNA tests and an MRI. The MRI and one DNA test came back normal. The last test is a Chromosome analysis. I think this is the only test that would be able to pick up Mosaic Down Syndrome, which is what I suspect he might have. The last I checked it was undergoing dialogue between doctors. So, the jury is still out on that one. I'm nervous about the news. I would love some answers. If it comes back normal too, then I'm back to ground zero and I've run out of resources for figuring it out.
Some people don't think there is anything wrong with him. If you are just around him, he seems normal. But when he is around his peers, it's so obvious he is behind. If it is MDS, then that would explain his low muscle tone which would explain a whole lot about him inside and out, but again - I don't know.
I just got called into the nursery. So I've taken Ammon with me. Today, we went for a walk around the church. I had to carry him of course because he can't walk yet. The rest of the kids were pretty competent in this area. And more than one are just starting nursery. He is eligible in one month. They've all been doing this walking thing for a while. *sigh* Not that I care that he is behind. It's just frustrating to see that and have no explanation and then have people tell me nothing is wrong with him. Really? It would be so much easier to say - he's got "_____" so give him a little time to catch up, please.
Besides being behind though, he is such a happy boy and brings us so much joy. He is kind of laid back and takes most things in stride. I absolutely love him. Sometimes, he climbs in my lap and lays his head on my arm or lap or chest and smiles at me kind of dreamy like. I know he loves me and I love him right back. I wouldn't trade him or what he is like for the world. I would just like to know if I'm seeing things that are really there or if I'm making it up.
I finally got his 1 yr old pics in the mail! So cute!