Merry Christmas!

This year, we made our annual pilgrimage to Ohio for Christmas.  I think you had fun, buddy.  I think you had a wonderful Christmas.  Goodness knows we had a wonderful time watching you.

Within 5 minutes of arriving at Grandma and Grandpa's, you had already raided Grandma's "stash cabinet" and found this wonderful drum to play with.  

You loved playing with your uncles old waffle blocks.

You were fascinated with any telephone...especially this one that lit up and made fun noises. 

You loved turning the television off when people were watching anything but Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. 

You loved being pushed on the waffle block car.

Wheeee! 

Kale chips were a hit. 

We cuddled up and watched our nightly Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

You loved sitting in your high chair with your feet on the tray. 

Unwrapping presents was the most fun part.

Except for maybe the boxes...

Daddy got new pajama pants.

Mama got new pajama pants.

Even you got new pajamas!  (But you refused to stand still for a picture)

You loved playing the pots and pans at Grandma and Grandpa's, too.

Santa came.

You were more than a little excited.

"Official" Christmas picture...don't ask me about your fascination with shoes.

You received so many fun presents!

It took forever to open them because you insisted on playing with them all immediately.

Or reading them...

We watched the Mickey Mouse Christmas parade...you were very excited by Mickey (and nothing else).

Then we went to Granny and Grandad's where you were clearly shocked by the prospect of more presents.

Merry Christmas, buddy.  We love you so much!  We can't wait for next year.

13 Months!

Age:  13 Months

All your non-bib pictures had a drooly shirt.  Oh those teeth, buddy.

Favorite activity:  Pulling off your socks.  Good grief, child!  We go in to get you after your nap and your feet are bare.  I went to clean up your room the other day and I found 6 pairs (!!!) of socks UNDER your bed.

Honorable mentions:  I finally got your felt board up (for an evening).  To my shock, you LOVED it (and not just because you could eat it).  Right now, I'm trying to figure out how to put it up, but it's coming!

This circle is delicious!

Least favorite activity: With your cold, you hated us using the bulb syringe to clean out your nose.  Ohhhh, how you hated it.

If I fits, I sits.  The kitties taught me that.

Milestones: Baby's first cold.  :(  We spent one very sad weekend getting you well.  Luckily, you seemed to bounce back quickly.  Mama, however, needed a z-pack.  You're worth it though, buddy.

Words:  You say, "Hi!," "Peas," (please) "kitty", "me-me," (Mickey), "baby," "Mama," and "Daddy."

Signs:  "More," "all done," "eat," "change," "please," and we're working on "milk" and "thank you."

Sleep: Unless your teeth are bothering you, you sleep like a log at night.  Let's continue that, mmk?  Naptime is hit or miss.

Best Moment: Every night when I walk in the door, you do this amazing sighing "Hi!" and run over to hug me.  Plus, you give hugs on command.  A-mazing.

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

Worst Moment: You cried through your entire 1 year well check.  We really have no idea why.  Dad thinks it was a combination of lack of food, nap time, and leaving toys before you wanted.  I'm worried you're afraid of the doctor.  You've been to the doctor once a month for the past three months and each time you got a shot (flu shots, sorry).  Add to that a bunch of shots that make me very scared and it was a very hard morning.

Eating:  You are eating just about anything and everything we'll give you.  We're phasing out the prepackaged Gerber meals and you're eating what we're eating.  So far, you seem to love it.  

Mmm...felt is tasty.

Favorite Food:  You love your vegetables.  Peas, green beans, carrots, you name it, you love it.  Pass the veggies, please!

Teeth:  We know you're getting your two bottom molars and a tooth in the front.  You've been pretty miserable this month.  I'm sorry buddy.  It will be over soon.

Fun with Felt

We visited with some friends for Thanksgiving and while we were there I spotted a piece of felt hanging on the wall with shapes.  It was such a fantastically simple idea that I knew I could pull it off.  Mama is craftingly challenged.  You should know this now.

I spent a week cutting out shapes, letters, and numbers.  We went to the craft store the Sunday after Thanksgiving and I left with no sheets of felt.  Crazy crafting ladies!  Last weekend, I braved JoAnne's again and got the felt for the board part.

I worried that you wouldn't quite understand what to do, but I was wrong.  You LOVE your felt wall.  I need to work on keeping the felt ON the wall, but for the hour it stayed on tonight you were fascinated.  Daddy is going to help me with the felt panel.

I can't wait to do more fun things like this with you, buddy!

Chatty Cathy

You have done some really amazing things in the last few days, buddy.   Daddy and I have been using baby sign language with you since you were about six months old.  We started easy with signs like "more."  Over the past few months, you've picked up on several of the signs.

You have mastered "more" and "all done."   I think that you believe "more" is only used in conjunction with food, but we're working on getting you to branch out from just using "more" for food.

In the past few weeks, your signs have taken off.  You now sign "please," "change," and just today "thank you!"  I must admit, "change" is hysterical.  It doesn't look much like the correct sign for change, but Daddy and I know that's what you mean.

I'm going to attempt to get video of you doing each of your signs, but you're a wily little weasel and you don't sign much when I have the camera out.  Maybe I need to work on the sign for picture?

At Target today, you rode in a big cart facing forward.  I think you liked it.  You barely moved the entire trip.  Instead, you looked around at all the cool things around you.  It was nice seeing where you were going instead of where you'd been, wasn't it, buddy?

Baby's First Cold

Check another milestone off in the baby book: Baby's First Cold.

Saturday morning, you were simply not yourself.  You were whiny and clingy and every once and a while you would cough.  We spent the day playing and Mama did some cooking/baking.  Daddy and I figured your five (5!!!) teeth that were coming in were bothering you.  Though, the coughing made me nervous.  It's the same deep, chest cough that I get right before I get pneumonia.  Your entire face would turn red and it would scare Mama half to death.

After spending a sleepless night getting up with you coughing, whimpering, and otherwise just being miserable we called your doctor.  The next morning, you didn't want to play, you didn't want to read books.  All you wanted to do is sit with me and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  That is not my baby.  Something was definitely wrong.

Yesterday - Sick day
Sitting with Mama watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse makes me feel a little better.

After talking to the nurse, she suggested we run a vaporizer and give you some honey to help with the cough.  Um, no to the honey (Mama is just a bit cautious).   I needed to run some errands (and a wild vaporizer hunt) and while I was out I found some cold tablets made by the same people that make your teething tablets.  I figured, why not?

Those are magical tablets.  We could tell an immediate difference in your coughing.  We spent yesterday resting, watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and getting better.

Daddy reports that today you were much better.  Much less coughing and much less clingy.  Judging by the state of the living room when I got home, you're on the mend!

Today - On the mend
Shhh, Mama...Sid the Science Kid is on.

Now...no more tv.  For the month.

Duh, Mama

I've been struggling with the Christmas tree decision.  My logical brain knows that we're going to be traveling for Christmas so we're not going to be here anyway.  If we put up a tree, it's going to be a month of "No, sir!  Don't touch!"  On the other hand, it's Christmas and my Wombat needs a tree.  Your Daddy is wonderful.  He'll do anything I want, all I have to do is say the word.

So I compromised.  I got my small fiber optic tree from my classroom (and took our large, sad tree from last year to replace it).  It's small enough to fit on the dry sink in the living room which means you can see the tree, but you can't actually touch it.  You were fascinated when I turned it on this afternoon.  You spent several minutes slowly walking up to the dry sink to get a good look at it.  Then you'd tiptoe backwards.  Then you slowly walk back up to it.  It's not perfect or exactly what I had in mind, but you're happy and that makes me happy.

-------------------

For weeks, you have been saying, "Me-Me."  I just figured you were saying a variation of Mama.  We'd go through all the vowel sounds.  "Ma-Ma, Me-Me, Mo-Mo, Moo-Moo"  Nothing.

Today, I finally got it.  Granny and Grandad gave you a set of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse toy organizer.

It looks like this...

You decided to get beside the organizer (a clear no-no).  Granted, you figured out that you are not allowed to move the organizer.  Then you were looking at the pictures of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy.  You pointed to the picture of Mickey Mouse and clearly said, "Me-Me!"

Oh. My. Gravy!

It finally clicked.  You haven't just been saying a variation of Mama.  No, you've been saying Mickey!  Once again, I'm so proud.

That's my boy!

Big Day

You had a very exciting day, Little One.  First, you finally mastered the sippy cup.  I've been giving you a sippy cup every once and a while since you were 6 months old.  You simply didn't get it or care to get it.  I, being the worrier that I am, worried that we'd have a huge ordeal when it came time to eliminate your bottle.  After today, I'm more optimistic!

Last night, we had what equates to a knock down, drag out fight over the sippy cup rule.  Mama's sippy cup rule is "you have to sit when you drink."  You don't have to sit with me, but you must be seated. No wandering around with a sippy cup in your hand/mouth.  I've read too many articles about children falling and hurting themselves that way.  Your teeth are bothering (you're getting 2 bottom molars) you so you enjoy chewing on the soft spout.  You wanted to wander around with your cup.  Every time you'd stand up, I'd take your cup.  Cue the meltdown.  As soon as you'd sit, I'd give it back. Eventually, you understood that you had to sit in order to have your cup.  Then you were perfectly happy.

I have about 8 different types of cups.  Soft spout sippy cups, hard spout sippy cups, take and toss sippy cups, cups with straws, cups with handles, Mickey cups, plain cups, you name it, I think I have it.

Today, I grabbed a soft spout sippy cup made by the First Years.  Of course, I only have one of these cups.  We're also slowly transitioning you from formula to whole milk.  I tried just switching it and you were unimpressed.  Going from warm formula to ice cold cow's milk was just not your cup of tea.  I hate milk so I feel your pain (I'm losing brownie points with Great Grandpa Robert in heaven having said that).  So we've been doing three fourths formula, one fourth milk.

Funny story.  I told Daddy to do it that way, meanwhile I've been doing half and half without thinking.  Whoops! 

For whatever reason, it clicked.  You finished almost all your breakfast/lunch and then ran off to play.  Huzzah!  I was so proud.

Then, I asked you if you wanted to eat while showing you the sign for eat.  You grinned at me and signed "eat" right back to me.  I whisked you off to your high chair so you could eat.  We'll add eat to your list of signs.  We're currently working on "up" since it breaks my heart for you to sob at my feet until I figure out you want picked up.  I also throw in "please," "sleep," and "kitty" just to mix things up. The fact that you're communicating is very exciting.  It's been a year of one sided conversations and now you're letting us know you understand.

You are enthralled with your birthday balloons.  You love to carry them around the living room shaking them back and forth like a punching ball.

Speaking of letting us know you understand.  On a whim while you were playing today, I said "Robbie, can I have a hug?"   You dropped your toys, toddled over to me, and threw your arms around me.  It was amazing.

Oh, and you love this singing Christmas penguin.  I'm currently trying to teach you to sign "more" when you want us to activate him.  Right now, you just bring him to us, put him in our lap/drop him on the floor, and screech until we start him.  Ohhhh the screeching, Little One.