Nicknames: J, munchkin, little bit, sweetness
Temperament: Toddlerhood is definitely on the horizon. He is so much more engaged in what goes on around him this month and he tries to pay attention to everything at once. He'll be playing with one toy and something else across the room will catch his eye and off he goes. He's still quite the social butterfly and he loves to smile and laugh with anyone who will stop to give him the time of day. The poor lady next to us at the pizza restaurant the other night hardly had a chance to eat because he was trying so hard to flirt with her after she smiled at him. Moments of frustration are also becoming a little more frequent when he realizes he can't get to where he wants to be or communicate what he wants but overall he's usually laughing and enjoying himself.
Stats: about 19.5 lbs and 26.5 inches
Looks: I have to look harder and harder now to see his old baby face. Thankfully the chubby cheeks, pudgy finger dimples, squeezable thighs and chunky feet still leave him with plenty of places to love on. His hair is getting lighter and while it's still thickest right on top, the sides and back are filling in. In fact, he's about to need his first haircut since some of it now curls over his ear and down his neck. He's two top teeth are still working their way in and for now he's got a pretty big gap between the two. The toothy smiles make my day but the biting when he's blowing raspberriest on your arm is less than appreciated.
Accomplishments: He has pulling up and crusing down to an art form and with any small thing to grab onto he can work his way across the room and back. He's not standing yet on his own but he is balancing with very minimal assistance. I think if he got distracted enough and just let go he could do it but so far he's too chicken and will just sit down instead. He has been able to walk on his own behind his dinosaur walking toy as long as it doesn't get going too fast. He does great going up the stairs and doesn't need any help at all to make it to the top but of course we still stay with him because sometime he forgets and tries to sit down in between steps and he doesn't remember there isn't a step behind him. When cruising can't take him where he wants to go he can crawl at lightening speed and he will climb over anything in his path. He still spends about half the time in his army crawl but he's up on his hands and knees more and more. In terms of communication he's definitely talking with purpose in the midst of all the babbling. The Saturday before mother's day he started saying mama and based on a lot of positive reinforcement on my part he'll say it to me directly. Given my over enthusiastic response he'll also say it now anytime he's hungry or sleepy or just wants something but it still makes me smile. He'll also look at his bottle and say baba but the rest of his sounds are pretty nonspecific. The "no's" maybe starting as well as he loves shaking his head but he doesn't seem to associate it with the word no quite yet.
Things he loved the most: For a baby who had a slow warm up to solid food, he now loves eating. He pretty much just eats table food now and if he sees you eating anything he'll head straight for you with his mouth open like a bird until you give him a taste. You name it, he'll eat it but pancakes, fruit, avocado and chicken are perpetual favorites. He also loves climbing over anything - toys, dogs, blankets, our legs, stairs, the couch cushions or anthing else in his way. He'll hoist himself up to the top and then giggle as he slides down the other side. This could be dangerous.
Things we loved the most: His constant delight in the smallest thing around him. It certainly makes us pay attention to life details we just skipped right by before. His latest giggle inducer is the sound of some words. If we say "bop", "gumbo" "achoo" or "'scuse you" it sets off fits of laughter every time. I guess some words do sound funny.
Things he could do without: These last few weeks he developed a complete aversion to being in his crib. He had slept great there since coming home from his surgery and was taking two naps and sleeping almost straight through the night in it until about two weeks ago. Now you put him in his crib and he starts screaming even if he was sound asleep. This last week we've been almost completely napless but when he finally does pass out at night he sleeps without waking up which hasn't been a bad trade off. We've got all sorts of theories from separation anxiety to teething but we know it's just a phase. Now just to see how long it lasts.
Things we could do without: While we're not happy about the refusing to fall asleep in his crib, the crying it out technique is not for us at least not for now. He's never been a baby who cries for no reason and so we're just not used to him crying and not trying to fix it. For the few times we tried it these last few days it did nothing to help with the problem and he got himself so worked up each time there was no way he was going to sleep. So for now, we'll continue our rocking and snuggling to sleep when he needs it. Maybe if he can't fall asleep on his own before kindergarden we'll try it again.
Item/toy he loved the most: Computers, the Ipad, our phones and the remote control are probably the most desired toys but he has mean parents and we don't let them be playthings very often. He still loves his Einstein activity table and his rolling dinosaur. Anything that he can crawl over like the stairs or the dogs is also high on the list.
Items/toy we loved the most: Well, it's not exactly a baby item but our new cordless shark vac has made life with a crawling baby (and 4 animals) so much better. It does a great job with all of our hair tumbleweeds to keep the floor cleaner.
Item we all hated: Well the crib has not been popular this last week.
Sitting still is hard
OK fine
Some time with Bruce
Surprises: I am perpetually shocked by how much he can eat at one sitting (and how long he'll keep some food chunks tucked in his cheek for a later snack). Given how reluctant he was to try solids initially, it is amazing to see what and how much he will eat now. He'll still eat some pureed food but he's almost exclusively on table food since whatever is on our plate or that comes on a fork is infinitely more interesting. The other night for dinner he ate an entire banana, half a kiwi, two scrambled eggs, about a quarter cup of puffs, half a piece of pizza and 6 ounces of formula. I don't think I could eat all of that at one time. We're starting to get a little nervous about our grocery bill when he hits the teenage years.
Momentous events of this month: We had a fanatastic Easter with a visit from Nana and Grandad and our first trip to the museum. We rounded out the week with a great first family vacation to Smoky Mountain national park. The weather here this last month has been crazy. We had almost three times as much rain as normal in the month of April and we've had lots of tornado scares, but the weather finally cleared last weekend for a trip to the Cincinatti zoo. It definitely lived up to they hype of being a very kid friendly zoo and I'm sure we'll be going back.
Things we're looking forward to: I amazed that in four weeks, we will have a baby who is an entire year old. I'm really not looking forward to him not being a baby anymore, but it's amazing to watch him grow and learn and I'm sure the toddler experience is going to bring new joy. We'll be traveling to Texas for a long weekend to celebrate my dad's birthday and it will be great to mark the baby's milestone birthday with family around. While we won't quite be in our new house by the end of next month, we're moving out of our rental in about three weeks. Evidently we don't know how to move very smoothly so we're going to be nomadic for about two weeks. Given how stressful our move was last year though this is just a drop in the bucket and we're really excited about our new house.
More pics from this month
Driving the fire truck
Playing in the park
Ready for hiking
Climbing
Out in the woods
Packing paper is so fun
