28th month

This may be the first monthly update I have done on time in a long time! I am pretty proud of myself. :)

- Games: He started to play a few games. He does not necessarily grasp the concept, but he thinks it is fun. When he plays hide and seek, he will close his eyes and count and let you hide, then sometimes he will look for you, sometimes not. Then if it is his turn to hide, he just runs out of his hiding place (typically in plain site) and laughs when you are done counting. "I spy" is another one he will play for hours if you let him. He understands that you take turns and he is sure to tell you when it is your turn. He is pretty good about finding whatever the other person "spys", but sometimes when it is his turn, he says the color first and then tries to spy it. And lastly, "Ring around the rosy". He gets this one, as it is pretty simple, but it is not a favorite of mine, I get dizzy SUPER easy, wonder why that is?

- Imagination: I am sure I have said this one before because watching him play and use his imagination fascinates me. He can take any inanimate object and make it come to life. Some of the most common story lines involve eating/biting something or someone; rescuing something/someone; some form of ocean life or dinosaur that makes loud noises; flying; running; fixing someone/something that is hurt (doctor kit).

- Clean up song: Will randomly clean up all of his toys and try to sing the clean up song. I attribute this one to Kara. I will do it with him every now and again, but I think she makes it a game every time she is here.

- Favorite things: He got his first jigsaw puzzle at the Zoo and he will sit and help you "make the picture" almost always until it is done. He is particularly loving his tent upstairs again, he has made it is "doctor" tent. He made Daddy get in there one night and fixed him all up with medicine and kisses after he poked him in the eye with a snake (smile). Swimming or any pool time (a separate post on this one to come). Toy Story anything. He also likes to practice his alphabet in sign language. He knows through "E" really well but knows through "I" with some help. Anytime he makes a shape with his hand he says "what letter is this?". Kara has been teaching him.

- Language: This month, like every month, he has surprised me with how much he is communicating with us. He absolutely knows what he wants to do and does not want to do and he tells us about it. Daddy asks him every night when he gets home what he did that day, I have to prompt his memory a bit, but he will tell him. Although he does not like to be put on the spot, so don't expect too much next time you see him. :)

This also includes him becoming a tattle tale! Be careful what you do and say! He told Daddy what his fathers day present was before he opened it; when we go to the store he tells on Da and points out the chips that he gets; etc.

He calls me Mommy more than Mama now. I still prefer Mama, but what do you do?! He uses "you" in place of "your"; "You hair is messy"; "You turn"; "lets get in you car". Which brings me to the latest, he says "lets" all the time now and for some reason I think that is so cute! "lets play with my times", "lets do it", etc. He also insists on knowing everyone's names including all of this friends Mommy's names.

- Sleeping: sleeping awesome! It is rare that we wakes up before 8:00, but typically about 8:30, and sometimes 9:15! Then still takes a 2 - 2.5 nap and gets in bed at 8:00. He is in a better mood when he sleeps this much.

27th month

A few things from the past month:

- He 'burps' after every drink he takes. Not real sure where he learned this (if anyone wants to confess, please do). He thinks it is funny. We have tried telling him no, but have since moved on to ignoring him. What do you do?

- Potty Training: a little lapse since we have come back from our FL trip (blog to come on that), but overall, still about 90% done with pee-pee.

- Fits: Good news first - the fits of getting out of the bath have stopped! YEA! Bed time fits are still 50/50, but I suppose it will be that way for years to come. Fits in public have shot up this month, awesome. Newest fits are when we get out of the pool, going to be a long summer.

It seems to work (sometimes) when we talk him through it before we stop whatever we are doing. If you start to say "no whining..." he finishes it "no crying, no fussing". All with a smile on his face. Although he still sometimes does it. Just part of this age I guess.

- Things we hear often: "I want to take a bathtub"; "I can't like that"; "me do it"; "no don't get me"; "its not nite time"; Me: John what do you want to eat? John: "papcanes" (pancakes) or "chicken and fres fries"

- Current favorites: Toy Story (we can't wait for June 18th when Toy Story 3 comes out!) movies and toys; drawing; reading; finger paints; being outside; swimming

- He loves to sing! He wakes up singing, he falls asleep singing, he sings in the car, while playing, in the bath, EVERYWHERE!. His current favorites are 'old macdonald', 'twinkle twinkle', 'muffin man', 'you are my sunshine' and 'abc'.

- When he is really trying to tell you something, he will take his time and give you this certain look, but he will look you in the eye and keep repeating himself until you understand. I love it.

- Everything seems to be getting easier when we leave the house. No more high chairs at restaurants (unless it is a long meal), or sippy cups, I rarely bring a change of clothes (which will bite me one day), no strollers, or toys. We just get in the car and go. Now, of course, long trips are a bit more involved, but overall, i have this under control.

- goes in eating spurts where he 'can't' like anything and I hardly get any food down him, to eating anything and everything I put in front of him. I do my best and offer mostly healthy choices, but sometimes I finally go with what the Dr. said.... He will eat when he is hungry. He does choose healthy things on his own....case in point.... We took him for ice cream on memorial day and he asked for almonds in his ice cream in the face of 20 jars of different candies!

- still plays with your ear or face when he is cuddling with you. :)

26th month

The most memorable moments of this past month have probably been the development of attitude and fits. Fits and whining are in full effect! Unfortunately this also means that time outs are in full effect. Well, not all the time, we are still playing with different ways to calm the fits and/or avoid them all together. Some of the fits include hitting or yelling or outright defiance; those are fun. I realize this is just him learning/testing the limits, but man oh man does he know how to push our buttons!

One day he put himself in time out for hitting Daddy with a plastic golf club, it was pretty funny. Then he peeked around the corner and said "hi Daddy, sorry Daddy". Then of course he got to come out and play. Sometimes he has to stay in time out until he can say he is sorry, but he takes his sweet time. He will flat say "I can't say sorry" and stay in time out.

I try to remember these funny times and laugh about it, but I also pray every night for patience and strength, along with repeating "this too shall pass" several times a day.

A few other memories from this month:

- Favorite phrases: "I can't like it", "I don't want to go pee pee", "On your mark, get set, go", "I want to eat" (personal favorite, it warms my heart to see him eat a full meal), "Mama is a girl, John is a boy, Daddy is a boy"

- He asks for and remembers his friends can come over and play. At least 3 times a week he asks if someone is coming to play.

- he got his first little boy hair cut. I miss his long hair, and am trying to convince Daddy to let it grow back out.

- He can remember the most random things and tell you bits and pieces of the story. Like one day went to Grammy's office and she had a dinosaur book for him in the drawer. He will randomly say "Go to Gammy's office, get dido book and see chairs" Then he proceeds to talk about the horse statue that was outside of her window. It makes me think about how much he has been soaking in before I knew it and wonder if I was censoring his world enough?!?!

- Potty training is still 100% done on the poo-poo side, but still only about 90% on the pee pee side. He still dribbles and he will not consistently verbalize when he needs to go. We are staying strong and patient though. Today I am going to start a potty chart with stickers, if he goes a full week (maybe shorter at first) with sticker everyday then he gets a special toy/treat/activity. Actually these past 2 days have been really good, so maybe we have turned the corner.

- He will 'read' book to us now, I am going to try my darnedest to get this on video, but he always clams up when I bring it out.

- MUCH more social at the Little Gym and at play dates. He still is not totally comfortable if I have to leave the room, but no more tears or latching himself to my leg. I think maybe I am seeing a little bit of a sharing issue starting, but am trying to derail it before it starts. But, you know what, I am actually okay with this b/c at least he is being social and he has the opportunity to learn how to share.

Recent updates (25th month + a little bit)

It has been awhile since our last update, and I am going to do my best to post things as they happen. I am not sure what has happened over the last couple of months - they were here and gone before I knew it!


- The fits have started. I hate to admit it, as I was fooled into thinking we were going to skip this stage. I am still hopeful that it is short lived (I guess everything is in the grand scheme of things). The typical things that you would expect break him into hysterics. Mainly he does not much care for change or things not going his way. Right now, we can still just calm him down within a few minutes and move on. However, we have also had to pull out the time-out until he has calmed down. These are frustrating times for all three of us, but I am trying to look at it as opportunities for life lessons (okay, so it is not that easy sometimes, but it gets me through it.

- He has full blown conversations with us now. He will tell us about his day or what he sees. He tells us when he likes something or dislikes something. He asks us what we are doing or eating or watching.

- He loves to sing or be sang to. He knows the following songs: 'ABC's', 'Twinkle Twinkle', 'Old McDonald', 'Row Your Boat', 'Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes', and 'Hawaiian Rainbow'. He really sings them along with the tune, SO CUTE!

- Still loving his animals, but the newest obsessions is with fish and sharks. He has a little toy "cars" fishing pole that he loves. Daddy tied a small plastic shark to the end, so he can cast it and reel it in. He is really good with it too. Daddy can not wait to take him fishing.

- Still loving his books, we have progressed into short stories now more than his board books. He will sit and listen to longer stories. He loves two short story book in particular that his Uncle Chris, Aunt Adrienne and Cousin Tyler got him. One has a ton of short stories about all of the popular pixar characters (Nemo, Lightening McQueen, Toy Story, etc.); the other one is all about baby animals. Both are PERFECT for him.

- I would list his favorite TV shows, but he actually has stopped watching TV shows. I normally would turn them on when I needed to get something done, but now, he will totally play on his own and entertain himself for up to 20 minutes sometimes(see imagination discussion below). He does love his movies though; favorites include: Toy Story (1&2), Jungle Book, Cars, Ice Age:Dawn of the Dinosaurs.

- His imagination has really started to show itself lately. He is sort of out of the 'baby' toys and is more into things that he can build stories around or play with. Loves to play with his Dr. bag, build tents with blankets, build his legos, fish with his fishing pole, etc. He will talk and narrate the story the whole time. I LOVE to watch him!

- A couple of bad things that have come along with the imagination discussed above is that he is having dreams that are waking him up at night. I will go up there and calm him down and he will tell me about it "orca whale doesn't fit in the basket" or "give me my phone back", etc. Another thing is that is has started showing fear of the most random things, one in particular - the wind! There for a few days he would go into hysterics, but we have managed to convince him that the wind helps the birds fly, it tickles the trees, and it makes Mama's hair look funny.

- And of course - POTTY TRAINING! A separate post to follow...

Happy 2nd Birthday Week: This month

Well, it is that time of year again! Today kicks off John's "birthday week". join me each day for a new blog entry.

Today will be the normal monthly entry of new milestones and memories for the 24th month of life:

- Had his first real sickness. In the past his colds have been minor and controllable with one dose of medicine. This month we had a doozy! 4 days of fever an awful cough and did not eat enough to keep an ant healthy. He is not a "vomiter", but there was one night that he repeatedly vomited until there was nothing left. This may have been the worst thing I have witnessed, broke my heart into 1000 pieces, but he was totally fine with it. As Carl would say - someone forgot to tell John he was sick! If it was not for the fever and the outward symptoms, you would have never known. He is a tough boy!

- Ordered him a bunch of 2T clothes for the Spring - still a bit too big. He is still in his 18 - 24 month size. But wears a size 6 diaper (the biggest they make). Something does not add up?!?!

- He learned my first name (thanks to Daddy) and has started to call out "Jamie" when he is in the other room and wants me to come where he is... hmmmm????

- Switched back from Johanna to Kara on Thursdays. It is going well, he has shown no signs of anxiety with it.

- Slept like a champ this month, sometimes until 9:00 in the morning and 3 hour naps every now and again. His nap has crept to 1:15 and sometimes later. He still goes down at 8:00 at night, but some nights we can still hear him rolling around until about 9:00.

- Dallas had a record setting sow storm this month with prime snowman making opportunities. Unfortunately, John was in the thick of his sickness and could not enjoy it outside. Luckily, he had not played in it before, so he did not really know what he was missing. Daddy made him a small snowman and put it on the front porch so he could look out the window at him....oooohhhh...so sad!

Okay, so this was sort of short as I am going to expand on other things in the upcoming posts.

23 months

A few things from this last month:

- My favorite age! He is so much fun and makes us laugh!
- In the last 2 weeks, I have seen a lot of change in his physical appearance. And that says a lot considering I see him every day. He looks more and more like a little boy in the face, he is taller and thinner (looks like a starved orphan when he wakes up in the morning), his hair is getting thicker, etc. (just crossed my mind that I should probably make sure his shoes still fit and that I am not cramming them in to a size too small, eek!)
- Although his language gets better and better every minute, there are a couple words he keeps in his language; "doot" = do it, "op" = open, "bay and Kayee" = Bailee and Kallie, "cap cks" = pancakes, "asslepas" = apple sauce, "bikacycle" = bicycle.
- Said his name for the first time
- Favorite things: Backyardigans, dinosaurs, animals, Diego, the park.
- Favorite word: mine
- Jumped from a standing position for the first time(both feet off the ground at the same time). This is a big physical development.
- He says 'sorry', 'thank you', 'please', and 'bless you'; although not always at the appropriate time and not without a little reminder from me sometimes. But nonetheless is super cute and melts my heart every time.
- Nothing really new with food or sleeping, he goes in phases with both.
- He is 'reading' books much more now. He has a great memory! But still loves to sit and have someone read the same book over and over and over and over....
- Two phrases we are trying to break "go away" and "get out", both of which come from Carl and I talking to the dogs... oops....

22 months

A few milestones and memories this month:

- Sentence explosion. We can have a limited conversation now. This provides for comic relief several times a day.
- Favorite things this month are Diego and Dinosaurs.
- His stuffed animals still make an appearance, but are falling on the priority list.
- Think he grew a little bit this month, as the 2T clothes I bought a few months back are starting to fit.
- Bought his first suit, and Nana and Da gave us the lapel pin that Carl got on his first suit.
- I think this is the first month he has played "with" other children. Although, I might call it "against" other children. He had 2 friends over one day and he proceeded to throw crayolas at them, pushed one of them off the trike, and snatched Mr. Potato Head right out of their hands. It was the first time that I had EVER seen this bad behavior. So I started exploring the different discipline options....
- Quite a bit of tooth pain this month, those 2 year molars are about to pop through.
- "No" is his favorite word.
- HATES hair cuts. He is "that kid" that s-c-r-e-a-m-s the whole time. We have tried everything. We finally just held him down, so I am sure that we scared him for life when it comes to his hair. He will let Daddy fiddle with it on the bathroom counter, so we may have a new haircut next month...

21 month

Here are a few memories and milestones this month that stood out to me as my baby boy changes to a big boy right before my eyes!

- makes and hold eye contact when you are talking with him.
- language explosion, will put sentences together, although some words may be flipped.
- There seems to have been a crack in his shell (I can go to the bathroom by myself, he does not hang on to me at the park, venturing out at little gym, etc.)
- Was a big Daddy's boy this month
- says "pee-pee" and runs to the potty, but this is WHILE he is pee-peeing. We are really not in potty training mode, he has done this on his own. I will take his diaper off and put him on the potty and read books anyway. Towards the end of the month, he dropped all interest in this.
- Is using "pee-pee" as a stall tactic at nap and bedtime - sneaky!
- Sits his animals in a circle and sings Old McDonald and fills in the names (although now he also fills in with random things like "football" and "bowl" which makes for a creative answer from Mama).
- Still loves his animals. When he is playing with them he knows when one is missing. God forbid you take one up with you to take a bath and forget him upstairs! John will repeat that animal OVER and OVER and OVER until you go get him.
- Knows most all of his basic colors and shapes.
- Started to replace “uh oh” with “oh no”, one of my favorites!
- Climbs in the bath by himself (silly milestone, but one that stood out to me)
- Puts his hands over his ears and SCREAMS at the top of his lungs, smiling the whole time. This is a fun new development
- Can do a forward roll! After almost a year of getting stuck in a downward V, he watched Ethan do one at Thanksgiving, and Wa-La!
- Molars started to come in, but seemed to have stopped right before breaking through
- Knows the hand/body motions to “itsy bitsy spider”, “I’m a Little Teapot”, “Hokey, Pokey”, “Hawaiian Rainbow”, “5 Little Monkey Jumping on the Bed” (I made these up), “10 little Sausages Frying in a Pan”, “If You Are Happy and You Know It”.
- He is such a quick learner and has a great memory. I could list 1000 different examples, but I won’t. :)
- Sleeping like crazy – goes down at 8pm (although sometimes will kick around until after 9), sometimes sleeps in until 8:30am, and then takes close to a 2 hour nap every day. YEAH! Had he been taking these long naps his whole life, I might have lost a little less sanity. :)

20 months

I am a little late and I feel like I did not keep a good track this month, but here are some things I can remember. Pictures to come in following posts....

- started to hang from bars at little gym and the park. I always have my hands on his wrists, but he does it by himself! I never realized what a big task this was until you see a baby learn how to do it after so long!

- will repeat whatever he is talking about until you acknowledge him. Example - John: "airpane, airpane, airpane, airpane". Mama: "Yes John airpane". Silence.

- asks for "melk" or tells you he is hungry when he is trying to avoid doing something (i.e. bedtime), because he knows I will not deny him those things. Sneaky little angel.

- Still LOVES his stuffed animals, and his collection has grown. Seriously, I have never seen a kid that loved stuffed animals more.

- Uses a spoon well.

- Uses more and more words and some of his existing words are a little clearer, but still a lot of Mama interpretation needed. My favorite or most used words/phrases - "Mama hold" ("hold me"), "I get more", "bubbles"(just the way he says it is super cute), "pak" (Park), "Po bay" (polar bear), "ass paus" (applesauce).

- Knows his shapes and colors (attributable to toddler i-phone applications and wooden puzzles). He brings them or points them out correct every time, but sometimes will not match up the words exactly. Not so much on numbers or alphabet just yet.

- Knows all of his Arctic wildlife including seal, polar bear ("po bay"), sea lion, sea otter, walrus, dolphin, dugong and the difference between an orca and a beluga whale.

- Sucks his thumb all the time.

19 months

I am a little behind on posts, but hope to catch up this week.

Here are some fun/interesting facts from John's 19th month:

- Uses 3 and 4 words together

- started thumb sucking a lot more than he used to

- will watch TV for a more extended period of time; but still not more than 10-15 minutes unless he is tired. (favorite: Imagination Movers, Mickey Mouse Club (he sings the “hot dog” song every time he see Mickey anywhere; Sesame Street; LOVES the Jungle book)

- wears a 7.5 shoe!

- Loves when people come to the house, but needs quite a bit of warm up time when we go other places

- No more crying when we leave him with Johanna!

- We put him down completely awake at nap and bed time and there is no crying

- LOVES his bounce house

- this month we started thinking about potty training. We got him books (“where is the poop?” is his favorite) and then a soccer ball potty, he sits on it with his bare bum all the time, he sometimes tells us when he needs to “boot” (which can mean either pee or poo). He will regularly pee in the potty after nap if I get up there in time, but only after several minutes of sitting there. He sort of lost interest with our busy schedule lately, so we let it slide, but we may start back up and see how far we can get again….

- some new favorite words: up, whale (first “L” sound he has made), base (pause) ball, walk (“ak”), airplane (“airp’ane”), "hi mama" typically after I have said 'no' to something - I think he thinks it gets him out of trouble! And of course I smile. (I am the one in touble!)

- eats absolutely anything I give him. It has always been this way, but in the recent past, he would spit things out and I would have to have a back up for dinner, or dip whatever it was in applesauce. Now, he will eat anything and A LOT of it.

- stopped using all of his signs and replaces them with words.

- he understands possession to a degree. He points to and labels our drinks, bathroom drawers, blankets, chairs, etc. (“Mama’s dink”, “Daddy’s dink”).

- Favorite thing this month: stuffed animals (‘whale’, ‘Pete’, ‘little dog’, ‘Mike’, ‘oo-oo’ (monkeys), etc.)

18 months

We had our 18 month appointment today - everything went well. Stats below. Only thing that was sort of new/unexpected is that the Dr. said we should start full blown potty training now! John tells us when he has to "boop" or sometimes right after, so Doc said since he is recognizing it we should start. He said if we can train them before they learn it is a control thing that we would be better off... so...um... we will see...any opinions on this are welcome!

Stats:
Height: 34.5 inches (94%)
Weight: 26 lbs 10 oz (54%)
Head: 19.25 inches (79%)

Other things this month:

- I took him to the Dr. this month because he does not sweat. Yep, you read that right. We were around so many other kids his age that sweat, and all John does is get beet red. But the Dr. said since his little feet and hands get damp, that he is a-okay. He did NOT get my genes in this area.

- Consistently putting two words together. My favorite is "all done" (code for QUIT!) as it is usually said in the middle of a diaper change or when I rinse his hair in the tub.

- More teeth popped through. Not sure how many more could possibly be in there, but I feel like we have been teething forever!

- Went through (ok, still going through) a separation anxiety from Mama stage.

- After a couple of months (including a few set backs) of working on falling asleep on his own, we are there! He whines a little, but is usually done by the time I get downstairs. Then he just wallers around for a few minutes. I highly recommend not ignoring all the books and NOT waiting until 16 months to start this.

- He has started to grab your hand and walk ("ock") you where he needs you to be. And there is really no turning down his request, he will just repeat "ock" (or your name, if he knows it) over and over and louder and louder until he is in a full scream.

- He loves to be in big open areas. He will just laugh and run in circles. The driveway is the most convenient, thus the favorite right now.

- John and I took the first drive alone to Oklahoma this month (Daddy flew in later). It was MUCH better than expected, thanks to the portable DVD player.

- I bought his first 2T clothes! Although, he can still wear 18-24 months in most brands.

- This is the first month I have seen him play WITH another child, versus along side them. He seems to be very social when other kids are at our house. He still needs his warm up time when we go somewhere else though.

- We started 'the beast' class at Little Gym. The class is actually for 19 months and older, but the teacher thought he was ready - duh!

- He says Hi to everyone he sees (this seems a little late to me, so that is whyI am documenting it)

17 months

- I stopped trying to track his words this month becuase he picked up so many new ones. Although I have to point out my favorites - "uh oh", and football which sounds just like "butt ball"!!! Makes us laugh EVERY time!

- Started putting a blanket and a couple of stuffed animals in his crib.

- His favorite thing this month - Books.

- Noticably stopped sucking his thumb as much.

- Two or three more teeth popped through - OUCH!

- Started saying Mama and meaning it!! I love this month!

- He will play and talk in his crib when he wakes up in the morning, versus the all out screaming that he used to do.

- Learned how to put a pillow on the floor and that it helps him to climb on to something - wonder what comes after the pillow?

- I saw his first real "memory" this month (outside of recognizing people and things around the house). We went to the Little Gym again after a couple month hiatis - he remebered the routine. When the trash can came out, it was time for balls, followed by bubbles, then music (goodbye song) and then stamps on his feet. I did not prompt him for any of this. He truly remembered what was next, and signed it or tried to say whatever it was.

- Several people that I have spoken with says that this month hehas changed the most in looks and really looks like a little boy now... I am in deinal.

16 months

During our 16th month:

- New words: Knee, Buckle, glasses, keys, tickle, bug, spoon, stick, balloon (note: no "L" sounds in any of these)

- Sign language explosion

- (crossing fingers) He still does not throw 'fits' like I read or hear about, and as far as I am concerned does not need time outs. I am not opposed to time outs at this age, but he just does not have any behaviors that warrant them?!?!?!?

- 1 of his back teeth popped through and from what I can tell, 2 are on their way. And there is NO mistaking it this time, as you can see how swollen his gums are, it looks like little marbles are underneath his skin. :(

- Had another little cold this month that lasted a long time, but never got too bad.

- Uses a spoon to a degree, but still far from using it on his own

- At least one time during each meal, he will close his eyes and try to eat or drink blindly?!?!

- FINALLY will let me brush his teeth without a fight

- I stopped pureeing his food

- Went to a size 5 diaper (this is outragous to me, as I remember when Brendan was here and John was a tiny baby, I bought B some size 5 diapers to keep here, and I thought they were HUGE and it was hard to imagine that I would have a baby in size 5 diapers!)

- When he is around other kids, he is very complacent, he just watches them when they cry or scream. He also does not play as hard or intensly as he usually does. He just sort of stands back and takes it all in, he seems sort of private (but not dependent) - he must get this from his Daddy!

- Will play on his own for quite some time while I get chores done around the house (for the most part), but when he is ready for me to play, he is VERY insistent!

- Still cuddles with me for a long time! In fact, as long as there is a favorite PBS show on, he will lay there until I MAKE him get up!

15 months

We went to our 15 month appointment this week. The Dr. said his physical examination was perfect (outside of a bad diaper rash, which he gave us prescription for and it cleared right up).

His stats were as follows:
Height - 32 inches (75%)
Weight - 25 lbs 14 oz (68%)
Head - 19 inches (79%)

You will notice that he has always been above the 90 percentile in height until now. I asked the Dr. about that and he said the first phase of growth is insulin the second stage of growth is thyroid and the this third stage of growth is genes... so I am guessing that he will be right under 6 foot.

Other things this month:

- learned to hold his nose when something is stinky (well at least when I say it is stinky)
- started to jump! so cute - he goes up on his very tippy toes and falls forward
- started drinking from a hard tip sippy cup - only because he learned to manipulate the soft tips ones where he can pour the milk out everywhere.
- learned to say the word "no" as well as shake his head no - although I am not sure he really knows how to use it just yet.
- Starting to say Bailee and Kallie.
- LOVES his reflection, he will play with himself at the 2 floor mirror we have in the house and his reflection in glass doors.
- Same sleeping habits, I think I am destined for the 1 - 1.5 hour nap, still sleeping in until about 8 or so.
- Dropped the night time bottle with absolutely no problem.

14 months

It is hard to believe that another month as flown by! If you are a frequent of the blog you have noticed that we have not had many entries this month. Been real busy around here with family, work, vacations, etc. More to come in the next few days.

This month was pretty consistent with last month, not a whole lot of drastic or outwardly changes or milestones, but still SO much fun!

- John went on his first family vacation to the Florida Keys (post to follow)
- We gave him shellfish for the first time with no reaction!
- He is using his words a lot better now and it gets easier everyday to communicate with him. This month he has added the following words to his vocubulary (note: these are just the ones that we can decipher, they are not actually words just yet, but we are well on the way): "eye" (as he forcefully jams his finger into your eyelid), "bird", "bath", "baby", "juice" (he has had this one for awhile, but I don't think I have mentioned in)and "bye-bye".
- He has a pretty nasty cold this month
- He catches on to things much quicker these days, it is pretty amazing.
- He is currently cutting a molar - I KNOW it this time!
- When he is looking for something he will put his palms up as if he is shrugging his shoulders while he looks for it, pretty cute!
- He plays peek-a-boo at the most random times
- Learned to wave and say "bye-bye"
- His sign language now consist of "all done" as well as "eat". I have not worked with him near as much as I wanted to, but he still caught on to these pretty quick.
- He can open the doors with the pull down levers - more baby proofing on the "honey-do" list.
- Went from a size 4/5 to a size 6 in shoes

13 month

Some 13 month milestones and other fun/interesting/challenging things he is doing:

- dropped all bottles except his night bottle (have not convinced myself it is time yet...patience - I am getting there)

- eats 3 meals a day with 2 or 3 snacks, depending on how he ate the rest of the day (favorite foods as of today: applesauce, yogurt, cheese, grapes, bananas, avocado, veggie dogs, stuffing)

- starting to run; not quite there, but close when he is excited

- sleeps from 8:00 - 8:00 give or take 30 minutes in the morning (but will still randomly wakes up in the middle of the night a few times a month; no pain, just wakes up; can't wait for this to pass, as those nights are MUCH harder for all us when you not used to doing it every night like earlier in his life)

- sleeps about 1.5 hours at nap (still waiting patiently for this to extend, like many of you promised it would!!!!)

- when we sing to him, if he is paying attention, when we stop singing, he will start

- knows his animal sounds, he will bark, roar, make monkey sounds, moo, quack and say "hop, hop, hop" when asked about a bunny (these are all his versions, but they are still distinctive from one another)

- when I say it is bath time, he heads for the stairs, and then right up to the tub, and feels the water until I put him in.

- loves to play hide and seek around the columns with Daddy (this is hilarious and will make you laugh EVERY time)

- He has taken a renewed interest in the dogs - they make him laugh so hard, he loves to pet (beat) them and point out their body parts when prompted. The dogs (especially Kallie) don;t seem to mind quite as much as they used to. They will sit there patiently for several minutes.

- His words (at least the ones that we can decipher), yet unclear, include "elbow" (bo-bo), "fish" (sh), "shake" (shi), "dog" (doog), "ball" (well, I think I am the only one that can decipher this one), "hat" and "hot" (ha), "shoes" (sho), "more" (mo)

- right on track for clothes - wears 12 -18 months depending on the fit.

- LOVES his "How Big is Baby Elmo" book - we could read this thing 10 times and he would sit and listen. Just today he puts his hands over his eyes to play peek-a-boo when we get to the page that baby Elmo plays peek-a-boo.

- Can point (or otherwise indicate) to his ears, eyes, nose, belly, feet and head

12th month

Our 12th month was a month of emotional growth for the whole family. I personally think this was one of John's biggest months, but hard to describe it milestones. He is more independent, holding him does not fix everything anymore, in fact, it can make it worse sometimes. He may not be speaking yet, but you can tell he understands what we are saying to him, whether he chooses to act on it is a different story. He also communicates with us so much more - he jabbers all day long, but he also points and changes his voice and facial expressions when he is trying to tell us something.

Some other things that happened this month:

- walks really well now
- learned to stand up from a sitting position
- dropped his sleep sack, starting to sleep with a blanket
- went down to one nap
- got his last 2 front teeth on the bottom
- uses his sign for "all done" ALL THE TIME, not sure he totally understands what it means
- had really bad congestion for over a week
- loves to be outside
- turned his car seat around!!!!

11 months

This month was a big one! Here are some memorable milestones:

- clapping (this was particularly exciting for me, not sure why)
- gives kisses - instant cure for ANY bad day
- mastered the sippy cup
- figured out to open the kitchen cabinets (not one of my favorite developments)
- learned to climb the stairs (he learned this after watching some older kids do it at Ryann Phillips first birthday party)
- had a rash that I was 100% convinced it was the chicken pox, but ended up being a symptom of his viral infection
- went through (okay, is still going through) a "mama's boy" stage, sometimes I love it, sometimes it is a little difficult, but mainly, I know I will miss it, so I have patience.
- went from walking only with encouragement to walking all the time on his own. Just in the last few days did he get good at picking stuff up from a standing position and returning to a standing position without falling.
- started the older class at 'the little gym', he is now a "bird" instead of a "bug"
- has 4 bottles a day (6-8oz), 3 meals (type and volume vary depending on his mood), several snacks and 1 sippy cup of juice a day

10th month

It seems this month flew by faster than the others - I am sure that trend will continue as he gets older.

A few things from this month

- took first steps
- cuddles when he is tired
- plays hide and seek really well
- hates the car seat
- transitioned to formula
- throws full blow temper tantrums - face and palms on the carpet and the saddest (tearless) cry you have ever heard
- started wearing size 4 diapers
- 6th tooth started to break through
- solid 2 naps a day (anywhere from 1 hour to 2 hours)
- intensified the sippy cup training