22 months!

Another month, another update. This month our big adventure was a five-hour road trip to attend my cousin's wedding reception. Andrew was so good during the drive. Somehow he slept most of the way there and about half of the way home. The rest of the way we kept him entertained with a steady stream of Wiggles songs. The wedding reception itself was hard on him, partly because it didn't start until past his bedtime. About an hour in, the poor kid was sitting on Daddy's lap, leaning back and sucking his thumb, and quietly saying "woo hoo" over and over. LOL! We ended up leaving by 10:30. And we paid the price. His sleep that night was horrible and he was up for the day by 4:00 a.m. It was nice to see everyone, though, and I made promises to come back soon.

What else? He had his first meeting with the hair clippers. He sat quietly and calmly on my lap the entire time the stylist was working. I have a hard time adjusting to his short hair after every cut — he looks so much older. I look forward to when it grows out just a bit. Still, he's pretty darn cute. Just look at that face!

Andrew at 22 months: He's going through a very shy phase, apparently. It takes him a few minutes (but just a few) to warm up to visitors to our home. Sometimes he'll say "hi" or "bye" to strangers in public places, but only if he's secure in my arms or in his stroller. He won't walk in public places at all. If I try to put him down on the sidewalk, for example, he refuses to take a step and cries for me to pick him up. I took him to the park one nice day and he wouldn't let me put him down. I don't get it. I hope it's something he grows out of soon. It makes me kind of sad.

Eating: Some days he eats more than I think possible and some days he eats very little. His current favourites seem to be pasta, yogurt, goldfish crackers, cheerios, and applesauce. That's about all that he will eat reliably. He doesn't seem to like cheese anymore, whereas he used to flip for it, and he no longer loves his veggies, either. He does still love his milk, thankfully. He often chews stuff up, spits it out, then puts more of the same in his mouth, chews it up, spits it out, etc. Very frustrating. I found a way to prepare his oatmeal so that he'll usually eat it -- mix it with half a banana and a half-teaspoon of molasses (a Wee.licious recipe). We also had some success with Wee.licious's spinach smoothie, which is awesome!

Play: He is all about the cars. He kept stealing dinky cars from daycare, so we finally caved and bought him some of his own, including three Cars cars, and they are now his favourites. He has a FP garage/ramp that he can play with for ages. We're starting to read more regularly again, which makes me very happy. He still loves his monkey, but he doesn't feel the need to carry him around anymore... because instead he likes to have a car in each hand when we go out. He does still love monkey when he's really tired or upset. He loves to climb up onto our bed and jump and flop around (with me as spotter, of course).

Cuteness: Sometimes he asks what we're doing ("Whayoodoin', Munny?") over and over. I just love his little voice. He's also been saying "wait a minute" and "hold on." Today he kept saying "Listen. Hear that? Owls!" Not sure what's up with the owls, but it had me cracking up all day.

I may have gotten overzealous with the classes this spring. I guess I was just so sick of being cooped up indoors all winter that getting out every day seemed like a great idea. So, starting in April, we have swimming on Mondays, "creative playtime" on Tuesdays, and storytime at the library on Thursdays. He's still going to daycare on Wednesdays and Fridays and still doing very well there. It's going to be a busy and fun couple of months.

Read more...

21 months!

Wow. Twenty-one months. I can hardly believe it. Neither, it seems, can Andrew! (Naw, really he was showing me his delicious "cheekies.")

Andrew at 21 months: Playful, short-tempered, funny, smart, affectionate (sometimes), intense. The usual. Unfortunately he's still obsessed with TV/videos, which is something we really need to work on, as it's the source of many tantrums. I'm hoping that when spring comes we'll spend a lot of time outdoors and it'll be less of an issue.

Eating: Andrew's doctor had been concerned for a few months that he wasn't gaining weight well enough, and he was dropping off on the percentile chart, so she finally referred us to a pediatrician just to make sure everything's okay. By the time the appointment with the pedi rolled around, little Andrew had somehow gained two pounds (to 24lbs, 3oz) in two months! That brought him back up to the twentieth percentile, and the pedi said he's fine. So there's one less worry for this mama. He's still not a great eater, but I'm much less stressed about it since the appointment.

Teething and sleeping: He's been teething, big time. Lots of drool. Thankfully it isn't disrupting his sleep. In fact, he's finally sleeping through the night again, most nights. He's been waking up too early for my liking, but I can live with that. One of his canines broke through last week, and I'm sure the others aren't too far behind. He's well on his way to a full set of beautiful chompers! Which reminds me... my dentist said he should have his first visit when he turns two, so I should probably book an appointment. He is NOT going to like that one bit. (But then what kid does?)

Special moments: Andrew was sitting on the change table after a bath, and we were playing with the towel and having a little giggle. Suddenly he reached out and hugged me and said, "Awww. I love you, Munny," completely unprompted. Oh my goodness, I just about cried. Another day he grabbed my head with both hands and pulled me in for a rare kiss and said it again: "I love you, Munny." Wow. Bliss.

Read more...

20 months

Hm, the last month has been pretty uneventful. We're tired of being stuck indoors so much and already looking forward to spring. Andrew was sick a lot. Had another ear infection. Hasn't been sleeping terribly well (with the exception of a few stellar nights).

Andrew at 20 months: He is a walking, talking sponge, learning new words and "tricks" every day. His hair is always sticking up. He's finally starting to fit into size 18 months pants.

Teeth: Looks like I haven't mentioned teeth since he was 16 months old, when he had 10. He has his bottom molars too, now, for a total of 12 teeth. I'm thinking he got them around 18 months. Right now we're struggling with brushing them. I've been pretty slack till now, just letting him chew on the brush every night, but my fear of rotting teeth has finally driven me to hold him down and do a quick and dirty go-over while he screams and thrashes and flails. "It would be so quick and easy if you would just let me do it," I tell him. I'm not happy about it, but I don't know what else to do.

New Tricks: One night a couple of weeks ago, he was playing with his abacus and counting. DH and I exchanged impressed glances when he got to four and were downright gobsmacked when he kept going till ten! Where did that come from? He's getting better and better at identifying shapes but as far as I can tell still has no understanding of colours.



Miscellaneous: I'm thrilled that I can now give him crayons and he will actually attempt to colour with them instead of just eating them. It took him about five minutes to graduate from colouring on paper to scribbling on the wall — yikes! He also loves stickers. There are tiny stickers (Cars stickers, of course) all over the house. He rips them and then brings them to me all devastated, saying, "Oh no, broken." He's also very polite, saying "thank you" and "sorry" and, less often, "please." If he falls he comes to me with a scrunched-up face saying "hurt." I kiss his boo-boo and he carries on with his business.

Just look at those eyes. And those lashes are to die for!

Read more...

19-ish months

I suppose I should be posting a review of 2010, or maybe some resolutions/goals/wishes for 2011, but I'm feeling pretty ho-hum about that whole deal, so I'm just going to get back on track with a monthly update post.

Andrew at 19 months (and 11 days): Well, if you looked closely at my boy today, you'd find a bruise on his forehead from when he fell off the change table last week, a scrape on his forehead of unknown origins, bruises on both his thighs from the times he got his knees stuck in the crib slats (trying to climb out??), red rashes/blotches on his skin that I think are eczema... Basically, he's a mess. But despite all that, he's still adorable. Not that I'm biased.

Food: The terrible eating continues. Thankfully, no matter how poor his eating, he's always eager for his milk. He's slipping in the percentile charts, though, and his doctor is concerned enough to refer us to a pediatrician for some testing to make sure there's no underlying cause. She says she's just being cautious and doesn't expect there to be anything wrong. If it is determined to be a nutritional problem, we will then be referred to a nutritionist. Ugh. I feel really crappy about this, like I haven't been trying hard enough to get him to eat better.

Sleep: Slightly improved over last month, but he's still not sleeping through the night with any consistency. When am I going to get my good little sleeper back?

Loves: Above all else, he still loves cars and trucks, and he got many new ones for Christmas that will no doubt keep him occupied for hours on end. He also loves TV and YouTube videos and the movie Cars. I am dismayed by his obsession with the computer and TV screens, but we give in to his entertainment demands far too often. We must work on that. He loves his bedtime bottle (which I know I need to eliminate soon), and he loves pizza and "candy" (those Gerber juicy treats things). I am so embarrassed that he even knows those words, but alas he does.

Vocabulary: I'm glad I counted his words when I did, because I certainly couldn't count them all now. His newest words include "cowboy," "dinosaur," and "race car" — what a boy. He's putting words together now, coming up with things like "wash hands" and "brush hair." He surprises me every day. OH! He now calls me "Munny." So funny!

New Tricks: Let's see. He can identify all 10 shapes in his shapes book as we go through the pages. I think he's just memorized the book, though, because he doesn't seem to know them outside of that context. Still, memorizing a 10-page book is pretty neat, I think. He also pipes up with a few of the lines from his newest favourite, The Paper Bag Princess: he knows when the dragon says "Go away!" and when Elizabeth says "Wait, wait!" and when the dragon says "Oh, yes." He will also try to sing along to the Wheels on the Bus ("all ... TOWNNNN") and loves Old Macdonald's "ee i ee i oooh." Oh, you know how I mentioned below that he was giving me real slobbery kisses? That only lasted a day. What's up with that?

Miscellaneous: My kiddo now says "good" when he eats something he likes. He's earnest about it, too. If it's really good, he leans toward you and makes eye contact before issuing his happy verdict. He's also said it, however, after putting the grocery cart chain (the one that connects the carts before you put the quarter in) in his mouth, so I guess I shouldn't mistake it as a compliment on my cooking.

If he's asking for something and you're not giving it to him fast enough, he stops whining and tries a different tack. He gets in your face, makes eye contact, and says, "Oh, hi!" in his cute little voice. Like maybe we just weren't hearing him. Whining/crying promptly resumes if the answer is still no.

Read more...

18 months!

Okay, so I'm a little late with this. It's been a busy week since he turned 18 months. I still can't get over that — 18 months. My baby is a year and a half. Amazing.

This month: The three of us have been sick on and off all month, so we've been lying low. Mostly just for the sake of making the purchase of his costume worthwhile, for Halloween we took Andrew to a trick-or-treating event put on by the businesses on the picturesque strip of Main Street in a neighbouring town. Unfortunately we had to carry him and he sucked his thumb the whole time. I'm sure he'll enjoy it more next year! (See adorable costume pics in post below.)

In other news, he started going to daycare two days a week. Actually, he returned after a two-month hiatus — long story, but we were thrilled that they were able to take him back. He adapts so well. They have nothing but praise for him. He eats and sleeps for them far better than he does for me.

Food: My boy is officially a terrible eater. He likes something one day and won't touch it the next. Sometimes he won't even eat his favourites (e.g., grilled cheese, pasta, berries). Often he eats very little. There was one weekend when he ate only a bit of cereal and a small yogurt cup. All weekend. I was beside myself with worry. My parenting books all reassure me that this is normal toddler stuff, that even though he might sometimes seem to be subsisting on air, he will not starve himself. It is my job to continue to offer a variety of foods and not to attempt to force-feed him, thereby giving him food-related issues that might haunt him for the rest of his life. Oy.

Sleep schedule: I thought Andrew was settled into a terrific pattern, but this month has been erratic. He often woke up at 5:00-5:30 a.m. and as a result needed two naps during the day. On the rare occasion when he slept in until a much more reasonable 7:00 a.m., he was able to have one nap, but that nap was never longer than an hour. He's also been waking and needing to be held at least once in the night, but like I said, he's sick and teething, and at his 18-month checkup the doctor found the beginnings of ear infections on both sides. Poor monkey. Things have been getting better this past week.

Loves: Any Youtube videos that involves animal sounds or trucks. My boy loves his trucks. He also loves playing in his crib: we're supposed to throw balls in to him and he tosses them back out. This will go on for quite some time.

Vocabulary: We have definitely experienced the vocabulary explosion people keep talking about (see list in post below). He has new words every day. Sometimes he'll say something, and we'll wonder where the heck he picked that up. He's very entertaining. He likes to say "knock knock" but doesn't yet know how to finish the joke. We'll say "Who's there?" and he'll either just say "knock knock" again or he'll say "Wherzeee?" (Where is it/he/she?) Funny boy.

New Tricks: I know he has no idea what he's saying, but after a great deal of encouragement from me he now says "I love you!" He follows it up with a "muah" kiss that is entirely his own idea, so maybe he does understand a little. He also gives hugs by leaning his head on us and saying "awww." Mommy is soaking up the affection.

Read more...

17 months

I'm loving this age... for the most part. The tough part is the whining and tantrums. Already. I wasn't expecting it to be this bad so soon! Oh my gawd.

This month: Fall is by far my favourite season, and this year I've discovered a new reason to love it: harvest festivals at the many local family farms. Andrew and I have been to three so far and just might check out one more before the end of the month... and I have yet to get that perfect pumpkin patch picture! The kid just won't stay still for two seconds. He runs around saying "hi" to the cows and sheep, etc., and making his animal sounds. He loves the sandlot toys and the wagon rides and the straw mountains. So fun!

Food: I've been dragging my feet at the transition from bottles to sippy cups. A while ago, we switched to sippy cups for his afternoon milk, but he still had bottles in the morning and before bed. This month I switched his morning bottle to a sippy, and boy was he mad! Some mornings he still smacks the sippy out of my hand and won't touch it until he's in his booster seat eating his cereal.

Sleep schedule: We've pretty much completed the transition from two naps to one. He's been sleeping in until 8:00 most mornings and goes down for his nap around 12:30. It lasts anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours. Yay!

Vocabulary: Last month's "weee?" has evolved into "whezeee?" ("where is it?"). He throws his hands up in the air in the universal "I don't know" gesture and looks around for... well, most of the time we don't know what he's looking for. But eventually he'll "find" whatever it is and hold it aloft, pronouncing "day-dehr!" ("there it is!"). He fell in love with my mom's dog, Riley, when we visited last weekend, and at least five times a day ever since, he says, "Whyeee! Whezeee?" So cute! Last month's ubiquitous "ah-den?" has pretty much disappeared, replaced by "up" and "more" and "uh-huh" while pointing at something he wants.

New "tricks": I was so impressed when he brought me his alphabet book, turned to the "M" page, and said, "mama!" ("monkey"). Then he said, "aww" and hugged it. The boy loves his monkeys! Since then he has also started pointing out the train ("choo-choo!") and the bus ("buhh").

And he's started blowing kisses! I tried to teach him to blow kisses a few months ago but hadn't mentioned it in a while. Then the other day I asked him for a kiss and he put his hand over his mouth and made a smooching noise. Where did that come from?? And he says "night-night" on a semi-nightly basis. LOVE IT!

Read more...

16 months!

I decided that I need to start doing a monthly Andrew update post. On Tuesday he turned 16 months old, and if I want any more proof that he's getting to be more boy than baby, I need only look at this picture:

He looks so big!

This month: The last month has been kind of rough. Andrew had his first ear infection and a bad cold while teething his first two molars. I've never seen him so miserable! It was awful. And then, on September 8, Andrew's grandpa died, and the week following his death was hectic and chaotic to say the least. We were barely home and spent a lot of time driving, and as a result Andrew's schedule was thrown off significantly — and yet he was so good, and so happy, and brought smiles to many sad faces. I was so grateful for my boy, my little ray of sunshine.

Favourite foods: cheese, berries, bananas, pasta, ham, green beans, and carrots. He also goes crazy for wieners and ice cream (who doesn't??), but we try not to give them to him very often.

Sleep schedule: He's a pretty good little sleeper most of the time. He usually gets up around 7:00 a.m. (although sometimes as early as 6:00 a.m.) and goes to bed at 7:30 p.m. Sleeps through the night unless he's sick or teething. He still naps twice a day, 1-1.5 hours each time, although I think the transition to one nap is right around the corner. I hope that goes smoothly. Until recently he would go down without a peep, but ever since he was sick a few weeks ago, he cries briefly (often only about 10 seconds, occasionally a couple of minutes).

Established words:

• uh oh, oh wow, yay, and wheee! - I guess these are exclamations and not really words, but I had to include them. So cute!
• no - Typical toddler sass.
• hi & bye - Now said whenever he enters or leaves a room, sometimes accompanied by a wave. Also said over and over when he finds a door to open and shut.
  
• again ("ah-den?") - This is his general demand, meaning "gimme" or "up" or "I want." And sometimes he really does mean "again."
  
• mama - He uses this to refer to his beloved stuffed monkey, not me (see post below)!
• where ("weee?") - He'll hide something (not very well, of course) and then ask "weee?" with the classic palms-up gesture. Clever boy.

Newest words:

• cheese ("chee") - I'm not sure about this one, but I think that's what he's saying. He really loves cheese.
• bubbles ("buh-bo") - This definitely started while I was blowing bubbles for him the other day, but he seems to be using it to mean other things too (e.g. "toothbrush"??).
• ball - I've only heard this one a few times.
• more - New today! This will be a good addition to "again."
  

Teeth: 10! I think teething is harder on him now. He got his top molars at the same time he had his first ear infection, and that was really rough. I'm not sure how much of the screaming to attribute to which ailment, but I do know it went on for a couple of days after the doctor said the ear infection was almost gone.

Favourite toys: He loves anything with wheels, it seems, and they either go "rrrrrrrrrrrrrr" or "choo-chooooo!"

Read more...

Nine months old!

Wow, three-quarters of a year already gone. My little baby is no longer so little! He's crawling like a madman and pulling up and cruising with ease. He amazes me every day.

I thought his weight gain had picked up, but unfortunately that was not the case. His doctor recommended that we increase his solids intake dramatically. I'm feeling at a loss. He'll always eat his cereal and yogurt, but lately everything else is likely to be met with lips stubbornly sealed shut. Frustrating. I'll keep trying, of course, but in the meantime I figure he can eat as much cereal as he wants if it'll keep him growing!

Read more...

Eight months old!

My little Andrew is three-quarters of a year old! He can sit up by himself, and he's so close to crawling and pulling up and standing. And he has a tooth! He just amazes me every day. Whenever I look at him I just want to squeeze him and cover his soft chubby cheeks with kisses. And I do, several times a day. My darling boy.

Unfortunately he spent his big day still quite grumpy with his first cold, so we didn't do pictures. I'll do them just as soon as he's his happy little self again.

Read more...

Five Months Old and Babyfeeding Update

My sweet little boy is five months old! I say it every month, but I have to say it again — I can't believe how quickly time is passing. How has he gotten so big? He has rolled in both directions but is not yet doing either regularly. He's finally big enough to start really enjoying his exersaucer. He loves blowing raspberries. I love our little "conversations." So much fun.

On Tuesday we went back to the breastfeeding clinic we went to when he was tiny. I was not a fan back then, but this time I actually left feeling much, much better. Of course when we breastfed there, he ate quite well and displayed none of the issues we've been having. Little stinker. I pretty much knew what they were going to say: (a) he's frustrated with the slow flow from the breast; and (b) it's time to start solids.

Their advice for starting solids is a little unusual, I think. They say to skip baby cereal altogether. Don't puree anything; fork-mashing is good enough. Don't bother giving him one new food at a time; go ahead and try three new things in one day if that's what I want to do. If I still need to supplement with formula, I should give it to him in a cup — a real cup, not a sippy cup — instead of a bottle.

They assured me that it's going to be a lot of fun. This is our first attempt at mashed bananas:


He wasn't impressed. He pushed most of it out of his mouth with a confused "yuck" face. LOL I hope he gets the hang of it soon!

Read more...

One Month Old

My sweet baby is already a month old, can you believe it? He's about to outgrow this sleeper already. His daddy and I are sad about that — it's such a cute sleeper. What a silly thing to be sad about! I know there will be many favourite outfits in his future. But... he's already getting so big! Time is flying by.

This weekend we took Andrew to my hometown to meet the rest of my family — his grandpa and step-grandma, his step-aunts and step-cousins, his great-grandparents, and his many great-uncles and a few cousins. Of course everyone doted on him and called him cute. (Of course they said he's cute, but I tend to believe them. I may be biased.)

I know it's a bit early, but I swear he smiles and makes happy faces in response to his environment. The two of us had a lovely half-hour on Saturday morning during which I cooed and stuck out my tongue and made faces and he grinned and cooed and squirmed in response. I'm so in love. We're eagerly awaiting the first baby giggles.

Read more...