My, what a month we've had! First things first, you are now a full fledged walker! You're most stable on bare feet and hardwood floors, but you're getting better on grass and sand (even though you look like a drunken sailor). To add to this effect, you haven't quite realized the importance of looking where you're going and often trip over things (like KG). You were chasing a bird at the park one day and walked right off the edge of the sidewalk and fell into the sand. After this happened twice, you learned your lesson. Since then, there have been less falls and you're also getting faster. You're so confident with your skills that you now like to up the difficulty by putting on my glasses or placing a bucket on your head (have I mentioned that you're a little comedian).
After going through all of your pictures for last month's blog post, I decided that we couldn't wait any longer to get your haircut. Daddy called and made an appointment with Frank (the barber who cut his hair for the first time). He was also a good friend of your grandpa Hacker. On the morning of May 12 we drove out to Woodbury for this momentous occasion.
You sat really still at first...
but after a few minutes your curiosity got the best of you and you kept trying to look at what Frank was doing. I fed you a pouch, which bought us about another 30 seconds...
Then, daddy sat in the chair and held you so Frank could finish up.
I was really impressed by what a great job he did with a wiggly little toddler. If I had tried, I'm pretty sure you would have lost an ear! Best of all, you didn't lose your cute little curls in the back (they've just been reigned in a little)!
The rest of the day was spent running errands and getting the house cleaned up for our Mother's Day brunch the next morning. You had a runny nose and a little cough, but were your normal busy little self. Grandma White was going to babysit that evening because we had dinner plans with your great-grandma Hacker. I was changing your diaper before we left when I noticed that your belly and neck were pulling in and out with each breath that you took. You were also wheezing and breathing faster than normal. I immediately called the nurse line and they told us to take you to the emergency room. Daddy and I were so scared! We decided to go to Children's Hospital, even though there are several hospitals closer, and I'm so glad that we did. We were there for over three hours and worked with several wonderful nurses and doctors. Everyone was so nice and did such a great job helping you and making sure that you weren't scared. In fact, the only time you cried through all of it was when daddy and I had to stop you from playing with something that you shouldn't. You were such a brave little guy! All of the doctors and nurses were impressed and thought you were so cute. They called you a "happy wheezer" and said that if any of us had the symptoms that you had, we would be curled up in bed miserable. It hardly slowed you down at all!
Playing in the waiting room.
Long story short, they diagnosed you with an upper respiratory infection and reactive airway disease. It's very similar to asthma, but they don't call it that unless you have several episodes (we're hoping that doesn't happen). They gave you a nebulizer treatment, which helped immediately. Since your breathing and wheezing improved so much they decided that they didn't have to do an x-ray and (best of all) that you wouldn't have to stay overnight. They sent us on our way with our very own nebulizer, albuterol, and antibiotics (for a little ear infection that was starting in one of your ears). It was the most wild Saturday night we've had in a while!
For the next several days we had to do three nebulizer treatments per day, which required you to sit still for 15 minutes, while wearing a mask, and breathing in the medicine. It was a nightmare since you do not like to sit still!! We even tried distracting you with cartoons, but not even that worked... Luckily, at your follow-up, we were told to do it only as needed. Whew!
You got over your sickness pretty quickly, but I thought we were going to have to take another trip to the ER earlier this week. I was taking a shower while you were napping when I heard you start to stir. I quickly finished my shower and, about 5 minutes later, went in to get you. Much to my shock, there was blood all over you, your bed, and even on the floor! You were standing in your crib, perfectly calm, which almost made me more freaked out... I picked you up and tried to figure out where the blood was coming from. At first it kind-of looked like you had a bloody nose, but then I realized the blood was coming from your mouth. When I finally got you to open your mouth for me I saw that the little piece of tissue that attaches your upper lip to your gum was torn! Oddly enough, I did the same thing when I was a toddler (again you have inherited clumsy genes) so I figured it must be a somewhat common thing. It stopped bleeding pretty quickly and, after a little internet research, I learned that there's nothing they can do to fix it and that it's no big deal. Again, whew! Besides those incidences, we've had nothing but fun this month...
Because you were so sick our annual Mother's Day brunch was postponed one week. It was so nice to celebrate with everyone. You have some amazing grandmas and great-grandmas!
Later that afternoon, we went to the Minneapolis Sculpture Garden. You enjoyed walking around and climbing on the sculptures...
...and chasing your shadow down the arbor path.
We had such a warm spring that lots of the flowers in our garden have already bloomed. You find them very fascinating and want to pull them all out of the ground.
I've been trying to teach you to be gentle with them and to smell them. At least you're catching on to the sniffing concept...
We took another trip to the Minnesota Zoo a couple weeks ago. We hadn't been there when it was warm yet, so we were able to see a lot more animals. The only down side was that it was over 90 degrees and you wanted to be carried a lot of the time. Daddy and I were very sweaty! Your favorites that day were the brown bear and leopard (who you tried to wake up by pounding in the glass).
You also loved the fossil find.
On Memorial Day, we went to grandma and grandpa White's for a barbeque. You ate lots of blueberries and watermelon and played with grandpa's cymbal. He's encouraging you to be a drummer. You seem like a natural!
Other than that, we've been enjoying lots of time outside. You LOVE playing at parks, however these outings have become a little stressful for me. You're no longer content swinging or letting me hold you down the slide. Instead, you want to dive headfirst down the big slides and climb way too high on structures that are not safe for a mere one year old. The park has become a bit of a battle- I'm constantly chasing you around and taking you away from unsafe situations (while you're kicking and screaming)... As a result, we've spent more time playing in our own backyard with age appropriate toys and activities. You seem to like it almost as much as the park and have started pounding on the backdoor several times throughout the day to let me know you want to go outside.
I'm blown away by how much you're learning. You try to do pretty much everything you see see Daddy and I doing (which is not always a good thing). You even "help" me around the house by loading the dishwasher, wiping up spills, and watering the flowers. (Not really, but you try).
You've also been laughing more, but usually at your own antics. You continue to amaze us each and every day. I'll leave you with a little demonstration of a few of your tricks (try to ignore the weird noises coming from the crazy lady who's attempting to make you laugh)...
I seriously can't believe that it's already May and that another month has flown by. Bring on summertime!! April was fun, but a little hectic because daddy had to travel a lot for work. You made some big progress with your walking. You can now stand up independently (without pulling up on something) and can take up to 10-12 steps on your own. We even caught a little on camera (finally)!
You've also continued to improve your stellar climbing skills! I turn my back for 30 seconds and I find you in situations like these:
Yes, the bookshelf is bolted to the wall.
You can also shimmy yourself up to standing in your high chair and in carts (even when buckled in). (As I've mentioned before, baby-proof does not equal Jax-proof). I almost had a heart attack the first time this happened when we were shopping at Target. I turned around to put something in the cart and when I looked back you were turned around and standing on the seat with a huge smile on your face! I (on the other hand) was not very happy because you could have very easily fallen out! When I tried to make you sit back down a tantrum ensued... All subsequent shopping trips have been super quick or done solo.
According to my estimations, you are about 23.5 pounds and 32 inches tall. Your legs are getting soooo long! I'm still squeezing you into your 12-18 month clothes, but the sleeves and pant legs are definitely a little short. The 18-24 month clothes fit better lengthwise, but they're pretty baggy (oh, the problems of being tall and skinny). Your hair is also growing like crazy and I'm slowly coming to the realization that it will need to be cut sooner, rather than later. As much as I love all your curls in the back, the hair in the eyes is making you look like a little rag-a-muffin!
Over the past couple of months you have become so interactive! Everyday you're understanding more and more of what we say. You can point to your nose, eyes, hair, and teeth. You splash your hands up and down when we say "bath." You can find the "blue ball" in your playroom, as well as the letter s! You hold up one finger when we ask how old you are. You also clap, wave, kiss, hug, and high-five. You even point to your diaper and say "ugh" when you poop. You're a technology expert and have figured out how to play music on my iphone and talk to Siri all the time. We often do face time with daddy when he's traveling, so when he's at work you take my phone and scream "da-da" into it in hopes that he will appear on the screen. It's hilarious! You babble all the time, but it's hard to know how many words you're actually saying. Mostly, you just say the first sound of a word- you say sh for shoe, du for duck, etc... Daddy and I are very impressed and love showing off your "tricks" to our friends and family (although you usually don't perform on command).
Easter was on April 8 this year. I couldn't resist getting the glitter bunny ears out again. You tolerated them for about a minute before tearing them off. Luckily, I was able to snap a pic!
The Easter bunny brought you a climb and slide play castle, which you love! You figured out how to climb up the wall and the slide immediately and prefer to go down the slide head first...
You've also mastered the slide in you playroom:
We've been spending a lot of time outside- going for walks and playing at parks. You even took your first dip in a lake!
You and Chris had a great time splashing around, but you didn't know what to think about the sand. You kept wiping off your hands and feet on Chris (as you can see in the third picture). Thankfully, your friend didn't seem to mind... Since this was an impromptu "swim," mommy wasn't really prepared for a wet and sandy baby. We had no towel or change of clothes- ooops! I'll definitely have to keep those things on hand this summer- lesson learned! You went straight into the bath when we got home.
I'm so excited for summer. From the little tastes of it we've had this Spring, I think we're going to have a blast!
I debated whether or not to continue the monthly check-ins or to just blog as fun occasions and milestones came up... Well, a whole month has passed with many notable happenings (at least in my opinion) and I have yet to blog about any of them. So, I have decided that the monthly check-ins will continue. I wouldn't want any little memories to slip away!
We had your 1 year check up the Monday after your birthday.You weighed in at 22.5 pounds (46%ile), 31.5 inches long (91%ile), and your head circumference was 18.25 inches (50%ile). The doctor said you are a very healthy little guy (she did hear your heart murmur again, but said it was harmless). You had to get two shots, as well as a finger prick, and you didn't even cry! The nurse couldn't believe how brave you were. She said she wished all babies were as easy as you...
You may have been easy at your doctor appointment, but this month has been total chaos. I felt like I had no idea what I was doing! To begin with, your sleep completely derailed. Most mornings you were up and ready to start your day between 4 and 5am (after several wake ups throughout the night). You also would rarely nap for more than 30 minutes at a time. This led to a very sleep deprived family (reminiscent of the first two months of your life). On our way home from a play date one day, during this time, you were so over tired that you fell asleep in your car seat. You were still sleeping when we got home. I didn't want you to lose a moments rest, so I got into the seat next to you. We hung out in the garage for about 30 minutes before you started to stir. When you woke up you were in the best mood I had seen you in for a while...
Are you kidding me with that little smile and those big brown eyes!
Sleep issues weren't our only obstacle this month. To spice things up even more, you decided that mommy and daddy were no longer allowed to spoon feed you. This means that we went from a few finger foods here and there to all finger foods in the matter of a week!
We also had to wean you from 4 bottles of formula a day to 3 sippy cups of whole milk. (Your previous schedule of eating at 6, 10, 2, and 6 was out the door). Thankfully, you had figured out the straw cups already so it wasn't hard to wean you from the bottle. (I'll admit that I still feed you at least one bottle a day, though, just to fulfill my cuddle quota). You also didn't really seem to notice the difference between milk and formula- phew! The challenge has been figuring out a new eating/sleeping "schedule".
After struggling with this all month, something magical happened- your second bottom molar broke through (which brings the total to 10 teeth). Viola! A new schedule just kind of fell into place. I also started playing white noise during your naps and at night. Since then, most of your naps have been longer than an hour and you're back to sleeping about 11 hours at night. I'm not sure if this is a coincidence or not, but I feel pretty stupid for not trying it earlier (hello, white noise=baby sleep 101). You have a bad cold and fluid in your ears at the moment, so sleep has been a bit off again, but here is what our new schedule looks like (on a good day):
6:45am: wake-up
7am: milk (6-8oz)
8am: breakfast
9am: nap
11:30am: lunch, milk (6-8oz)
1:30pm: nap
3pm: snack
6pm: dinner
6:30: bath, pjs
7pm: milk (6-8oz)
7:30pm: bed
In between all of that eating and sleeping you are on the move- exploring every nook and cranny in our house or at the park or anywhere else we might be. You continue to take a few independent steps here and there, but are not quite walking yet.
This constant "cruising" has led to an endless array of bumps and bruises (as well as holes in the knees of several pairs of your pants). Curiosity and clumsiness are not a good combination. Just a couple days after you turned one, you got your first black eye. (The scab on your chin is from a previous run in with the floor).
Dad and I went out for dinner to celebrate your grandma Hacker's birthday and Auntie Nicole and Tim babysat you. Apparently, you were showing off your climbing skills and slipped on the baby gate (of all things) and bumped your eye. They felt so bad, even though we assured them that it was NOT their fault. Your newest is a scrape on the corner of your mouth that you got from falling on the coffee table (maybe you shouldn't have pulled the cushions off). Just recently, you learned how to pull yourself up onto furniture. You especially like climbing onto the little rocking chair in your play room and riding it like a surf board. This is the attitude you give me when I tell you no.
I know, I know, I'm the "fun police" (those are dad's words), but I would really like to prevent any broken bones. I'm all about safe fun- like rides on the big rocking chair in your bedroom.
Our warm winter has turned into an early spring. In fact, it was 80 degrees on March 17 (the earliest 80 degree day on record)!! We spent the afternoon at grandma and grandpa White's and brought you to the park that I used to go to as a child. We called it the Elephant Park because back then there was a giant elephant slide. The park has been updated since, but it was still fun (and a little strange) to watch you play there.
On another very warm March day, we walked around Gold Medal Park and St. Anthony Main in Minneapolis. You loved crawling in the grass and even seemed to enjoy our patio refreshments afterwards.
We had another little reunion with the girls from our New Mamas class to celebrate your first birthdays!! It's incredible how much you have all changed! (It's also much more difficult to get a group shot because none of you like to sit still for long).
May 24, 2011
March 11, 2012
Dad and I are constantly trying to find ways to make you laugh because nothing is ever funny to you twice. The other night, just before bed, dad hit comedy gold. I'm not quite sure where he got the idea to shoot blocks out of his mouth, but you found it to be quite hilarious (or you were just deliriously tired)...
This month has definitely had some challenging moments, but it's moments like those that make it all worth it.
