16 months

"This month, your formerly wobbly walker might just break into a run; he may also be climbing himself into a ton of trouble, so double-check your childproofing efforts — he can reach a lot more stuff than he could just a month ago. And just to confuse parents more than ever, some toddlers this age are terrified of strangers and dogs while other tots are virtually fearless, which could lead to danger. (Good news: There are tactics for dealing with both extremes.) At mealtime, be prepared for erratic eating habits: He gorges himself one day and eats next to nothing the next, rejects foods he used to love, or never slows down enough for a proper meal. Your picky eater might get picky about his high chair as well, clamoring to move to the big table with you and Dad — so consider a booster seat if he seems ready to make the switch. Don’t be surprised if your toddler shows a strong preference for you over everyone else including his father; flattering, yes, but not practical or fun for Daddy. There are several strategies to try to minimize “mommy-itis,” including making yourself scarce sometimes so Dad can step in and showing junior that you think Daddy is competent (“Wow, Daddy makes great pancakes!”) and fun (“Look what Daddy built with your blocks!”) In other news, Mr. Make-Up-His-Own-Mind may decide he suddenly hates the bathtub (you might just have to climb in there with him, armed with soap crayons and a new fleet of plastic boats). Teething may crank up the crank factor, so be ready with simple soothers (a chilled teething ring or a partially defrosted bagel work well; brandy or any type of alcohol is a definite no-no). Finally, bring on the books! You can plant the seeds to grow a love of reading long before your toddler knows his ABC’s."
--whattoexpect.com

Andrew is now:

• easily feeding himself with a spoon
• beginning to be able to drink from a regular cup
• following directions
• climbing
• bouncing to music
• matching all his shapes to the holes they go in
• using his toy screwdriver correctly with the toy screws (no idea how since I don't think we've ever shown him)
• running
• will bring his shoes over to yu and try hard to put them on until you put them on his feet
• brings you your shoes
• Has 12 teeth
• says/ has said "Mama", "Mom", "Dada", "Dee" (for the toy 'D' in his barn set), "Ligh" (Light), "In-Doe" (Window), "Baw" (Ball) and "Lo" for 'Hello'.

He had his 15 month check-up the other day. He is 28.2 lbs and 32". He is doing well, but the pediatrician recommended going to a speech pathologist. At first I was really uncomfortable with it but the more I think about it, the more I want to go. It's obvious Andrew knows HOW to speak, can form some words and is understanding words so I think a bit of instruction and help from someone on how to encourage him to speak more would be really helpful! 

Well, that's about all for now. TTFN! <3

St. Paddy's Day and owies

Well, I have again gone way too long between posts. Oops :-S

We've had another busy few weeks. Jesse is working extra, I've had a series of doctor's appointments (still have 5 left in April and May), and little man and I are in the middle of colds.

I am finally getting around to getting everything up-to-date. Had my annual women's doctor appointment, dentist appointment which turned into 8 more appointments.... my teeth have suffered since having Andrew lol..., had a Primary Care appointment with blood tests- all came back perfect so now just waiting for women's doctor lab results and then I have a dermatology appointment next month as well. And then I shall be done!

BIG news-- Jesse got into Grad School here at USF!!!! SO proud of him, I knew he'd get in but I think he was not so sure (he was crazy surprised/ excited when he found out).

In just under a week now we fly to Minnesota for two weeks!! I'm getting so excited to have a mini vacation, see some cool peoples and we're all especially excited for the wedding!!! :-D Also really looking forward to Andrew seeing his grandparents more-- it's crazy how much he's changed since they were here in January!

Well, we had a very low-key St. Patrick's Day. Just went to a festival downtown which was so-so. We are looking forward to making a day of it next year when Andrew is more interactive. Here's a few pictures:

This past Friday night (of course while hubby was working a shift) we were hanging out in the living room, me sitting in the middle of the room, Andrew walking around, Spongebob in TV. And while watching the TV the poor little guy misjudged the distance between him and the TV stand, fell forward and hit his lip and head on the way down. He had an instant bruise on his head, and his tooth had gone through his lip-- it was hanging on by one small piece of flesh and the blood was flowing. I of course got to him as he was falling so I couldn't stop it but after a quick call to Jesse we headed to the ER nearby (thank goodness my mother was around at the time).

We stopped the bleeding before we left, and he got in pretty quickly but he needed two stitches which meant debriding/ screaming and crying, irrigation/ screaming and crying, a numbing shot/ screaming and crying and then being strapped to a board and held down by three of us while the doctor started stitching which meant SERIOUS screaming and crying. I somehow made it through without losing it. Andrew fell asleep during the second stitch, and once he was done he curled up in my lap, got his dose of codeine and passed out for about 45 minutes through his vital checks and until his daddy arrived. 

We picked up his pain meds and antibiotics afterwards and headed home around midnight (5 hours after arriving) and munchkin passed out immediately. This next two days were rough because I was super paranoid but he did great with everything (though he did get pretty upset when he saw syringes filled with oral liquids coming near him for the first day).

All in all, he was a total trooper, it's healing great, I'm hovering less and have now experienced my first truly traumatizing parental situation which will hopefully make any other emergencies a bit calmer.

Pre-stitches, waiting with daddy while I had a consult with my PCP

Anyhoo, that's all for now. TTFN! <3

Andrew at 9 months

**I wrote this last week but due to things I will discuss in the next blog post (writing it now) it's posting got delayed until now...

"Listen up, Mom, and you'll start to hear emerging baby speech patterns -- and get ready to be very impressed as your genius-in-training is soon able to follow a simple command (e.g., Give Mommy the cup).  He's also become quite the mimic, mirroring your facial expressions and echoing your sounds. Your little smarty-pants may now be able to roll a ball back to you and drink independently from a cup. Now's a good time to reassess your feeding routines to ensure you're establishing healthy eating habits, such as minimizing sweets and salt and maximizing veggies, fruits, and whole grains. Don't be surprised if your formerly easy eater becomes a choosy customer; remember, there are plenty of tactics to tempt picky eaters, so stay patient and keep trying. Another potential pitfall at the nine-month mark is a change in baby sleeping patterns, as some babies are ready to ditch at least one of their daily naps while others decide they're ready for playtime instead of bedtime at night. Stranger anxiety may emerge, as well as a firm attachment to a (desperately-needs-to-be laundered) transitional object. As for you, this could be a perfect time to join (or start) a playgroup. Your little one is quite the social animal now and you could probably use an empathetic ear (attached to a mom who knows exactly what you're going through)."
-whattoexpect.com

"I'm NINE months old?!?"

"AWESOME!"

...Well, he is doing a lot of the mimicking and understanding things! He hasn't had sugar yet so no sweets to monitor. We are really trying to wait at least until 2 years to introduce sugary things. So far his only real food aversion is chicken but I think it may be a bit dry so he can't swallow it as well. If you mix it into his potatoes he is fine.
No change in sleeping patterns, he is already over his stranger anxiety (it ended days before our trip home in August). No object attachment, still loves his naps...........

He is doing quite well learning to share - if you ask for something he will give it to you pretty quickly and though he does looks concerned for a few moments he soon gets bored waiting and finds something else to do. He definitely does get a big smile when he gets it back though haha!
He is getting to be a fussy man when you aren't feeding him anymore but I think that's the biggest thing we need to work on right now.

Andrew had his follow-up from his circumcision this week... he is healing great and our pediatrician says it looks perfect so nothing to worry about there! Also the pediatrician says our little man is doing great ALTHOUGH he has now dropped below the 25th percentile for weight and MAY have lost 4 ounces in the last 3 months (records showing he was 19.6 at 6 months.... in September he was 19, and at this appointment he was around 19.2) so we have been instructed to "fatten him up" haha! We now have to put butter into his chicken and formula into his morning oatmeal to give him some more calories. We have another check-up next month to see how that is working.
Unbeknownst to us, he already cut his two bottom teeth!!!! We thought MAYBE he was teething because he was slightly more fussy than usual (but his sleep schedule was a bit off as well) but nope I guess he was gettin' some chompers in! What a trooper. Looks like his top two teeth are about to pop out as well.

Jesse's mother came to stay for a few days before a conference down south here and we had lots of fun! Saturday evening she arrived, Sunday we had some additional relatives over for a visit and lunch, Monday we had an appointment and went out for wine tasting and trying out a new restaurant, Tuesday was an appointment and signing up for some music classes and Arabian Nights- kind of like Medieval Times but maybe a little cheesier. It was a lot of fun though, Andrew seemed to enjoy it too!

• Andrew is eating more just steamed vegetables than always pureed foods. 
• He is getting good at chewing/ biting off pieces of food
• He is drinking with a straw
• He has drunk out of a water bottle and glass
• He is ALMOST crawling, still doing the army crawl full force though
• Has officially outgrown the walker. He now puts his feet against the side and leans way over so he almost falls out :(
• Has tried yogurt, bread, pork, mango, kiwi, puffs and cheese now.
• Staying awake closer to 2 1/2 hours at a time and napping is getting the same way.
• Is not feeding himself yet unless it is a teething biscuit or his milk but will grab your hand and pull it to his mouth to be fed.

P.S. did you know the age for forward-facing infants has raised to 2 years!?!? We just learned this!

In other news, We are doing some shopping this weekend - household items and food tomorrow and then clothing on Saturday (big huge sale days at Macy's and Old Navy!!) and then we are going to go check out a pumpkin patch/ family fall fest! Sunday we will finally be returning to Church and may be having friends over. 

"helping" with the laundry ;)

Always on his tippy toes

Have a great weekend!!

TTFN! <3