Stats: 21.1 lbs at the pediatrician's last week, He's wearing mostly 12 month tops and we've graduated to mostly 6-12 month sized pants. If he grows much taller we're going to have some real issues because the 6-12 month pants are almost too short so we can't roll them at the waist anymore to help make them tighter. They are still way too big for him and we've started hunting for baby belts. Along those lines he's still in size 3 diapers thanks to a nonexistent butt and the tabs still almost overlap in the middle. He's still wearing his size 4 shoes but we're going to need to go up in the next few weeks.
Conversations: Well unfortunately his most favorite word for much of last month was of of the four letter starts with "s" ends with "t" variety. While we may not have the cleanest language we do try to be careful about what we say around him but I guess we need to be more careful. Obviously he doesn't know what it means so we'll call it his favorite sound because I think he likes the way his tongue feels against his teeth. He definitely draws it out with multiple syllables in his best redneck drawl - "She ee it". We're trying to "reroute" the word and have tried "See it", "Shoes" or "Sheep" with some success. He'll at least bring you shoes if they're around when he says it now. He'll sign now for "more" and "please" which have been good additions. His "all done" sign also has a new nuance because he'll use it when he's all done because all the food is gone but also when he's just done. Trying to figure out the difference has led to some wasted food but I think he's starting to get it. We've been trying to get him to sign drink for when he's thirsty but that doesn't seem to be taking. Wordwise, his favorite word is "nana" and the chorus of nana, nana, nana can usually be followed all the way into the pantry where he'll grab the first banana he sees. If you're not quick enough he'll even take a big bite out of it peel and all. His second favorite food is cheese and when he sees it he'll say "Cheee". Our favorite word has to be "yum-yum". He's always enjoyed eating and after every bite/sip he'll say "yum, yum, yum". Not sure where he picked that up but it's really cute. What's not so cute is the "Uh-oh" that prefaces every drop of food/cup/toy etc. We've been working on reinforcing the concept that it's not an "uh-oh" when you do it on purpose but so far we're not getting anywhere.
Accomplishments: He's steady enough with his walking now that we've been able to move the baby gates to only block the stairs. Of course with free run of the downstairs, he quickly figured out how to get into all the kitchen cabinets so another round of baby-proofing went into effect. He's not quite running yet since he doesn't really pick his knees up but he can scuttle pretty well. He loves to get going and will yell at you over his shoulder to chase him but you have to go really slow or you can try to lap him and get him on the next pass. He's not going to be winning any dance contests unless they're for "white boy dancing" but he does love to "dance" now if music plays from his toys or on the TV. This mostly consists of just swaying and flailing his arms around but he seems to enjoy it.
Attitude: We're like a broken record in this department - still happy and smiling at least 80% of them time. He has his basic cranky period every night between dinner and bedtime but with a little distraction or a good game of peekaboo all is right with the world. While he's always been overly friendly, I'm not sure I would say he's extra affectionate with hugs and kisses but that seems to be changing this month. Whether it's all the sick time or less nap time, he's been much more cuddly this month and we've been trying to soak up all the snuggles he'll give. He'll come hug us on the leg now and is always trying to hug the dogs and will lay his head down on your shoulder to rest when he's sleepy. If you ask for a kiss he'll lean his cheek into your face or will half way blow you a kiss. My favorite is at bedtime when he smiles up at you and sighs a very contented baby sigh.
Transitions/Milestones: We have been out and about a lot these last two months. To give Scott some time to take care of life stuff, he's been taking Josh to morning care at our church. We thought it was a great way to start socializing him with other kids and he seems to enjoy it. Everytime we go to pick him up he starts crying when he sees us. I guess they have better toys. We've also made weekend trips to Chicago, Ann Arbor and Richmond. While traveling with a squirmy toddler is a little more difficult than it was in his infant days with some careful planning around naptime and some Blue's Clues on the Ipad we made it all in one piece. While we were in Virginia we made our first and hopefully last trip to the ER when J woke up with a temperature of 106. Whether he had pneumonia or a virus it left us with a very sad baby. On the flip side of that for more than a week he just wanted to sleep and he is finally able to put himself to sleep at night. He'd been doing great for naps for the last two months but he still had trouble at night. Now we can read a book, snuggle and rock for 15 minutes or so and put him into bed with his books. He'll cry sometimes but nine times out of ten will fall asleep without any other help. All of this while dropping the bottle for good has been a much easier transition than we thought it would be. His excitement about the bottle was second only to his excitement about his pacifier but we just stopped offering it for drinks and bedtime and it's like he hardly noticed. We're find with him using the pacifier for awhile longer but lets cross our fingers that he takes that in stride as well.
Favorite Toys and Games: Boxes and buckets are still favorites this month for empyting and filling but the kleenex box was found to be even better. Luckily with all the colds and allergies going around between the three of us we have plenty of boxes to fall back on. Balls that he can "throw" and roll that can go in and out of the buckets are also increasing in popularity. While we were in Virginia he discovered Aunty Em's dancing Frankenstein from hallmark last year and had a blast watching it stagger around the floor. So once we were home I made a trip into hallmark for this year's version - the hokey pokey skeleton that flips in and out of his pumpkin. He loves pushing the button so much that the poor skeleton very rarely makes it all the way through his routine but sometimes he'll get distracted dancing and will let it run through. For other Halloween props we got a dancing broom at Grandin Road last year that cackles like a witch and spins around. If he has a safe distance he finds it highly entertaining but if it comes to close to him it's quite scary. Even if he is a little nervous about inanimate objects that suddenly move he has no fear for doing flips, climbing on and sliding off the furniture and games where you pretend you're going to drop him. When he gains another inch in height, I think we're going to go through another period of the constantly bruised forehead like he had when he started walking.
Things we love: We love watching his personality develop while things are still so simple to him. Little things like washing under his chin or playing peek a boo will set off fits of giggles that leave him gasping for breath. We're also loving that we finally ventured into our new basement to create a winter "babypalooza" of play space. Josh has loved having all the room to run around in and with some garage sale finds his play space is starting to rival the one at the church.
These months in pictures
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