Tuesday 31 March 2015

Elliott: Twelve Months






One whole year. Boy oh boy did that go fast. Chris and I have enjoyed watching Elliott grow and change, and we can't wait to see what happens next! This past month has brought his first steps and lots of fun. He continues to try to say a few words. Da da, ma ma, buh (for buh bye) and den (for dance) he now responds to questions about his diaper with "ba ba" and tries to say ball with all his might. We practice saying our words when we change his diaper, which also helps with the fussy, screamy, squirmy little worm he becomes the second you lay him on the change table. He loves to play in a pile of laundry like no other, and perks up at the sight of yogurt. He can't possibly get into Daddy's arms without trying to take his hat off his head (and gets very confused if he's not wearing one) If he hears our bedroom door open he giggles and crawls at lightning speed towards it, and if you happen to forget to lock any cupboard in the house he will find it and he will get into exactly what you are trying to keep locked up. He is constantly babbling and when he becomes quiet that is the cue to find him asap!! We love learning more about his personality each day, and anxiously await more words. Elliott loves to give kisses- especially ifChris or I are laying on the couch. He will walk up to your face and lean in for a kiss, then walk away a couple steps and then come back and do it again... over and over! It's incredibly sweet and cute. He is still a very cuddly little boy. Loves to snuggle!

Eating: Good news is he's eating a lot more finger foods. Bad news is that since he started feeding himself he hates when you try to spoon feed him. Problem is that the amount of food he actually I ingests while feeding himself is quite minimal (most ends up on the floor) and by the time he's done taking his time "eating" I have a cranky baby who is sick of sitting in his high chair and absolutely doesn't want a spoonful of oatmeal/puréed anything. However, if I don't get him to eat some oatmeal, then I have a cranky hungry baby on my hands. As you can imagine, this is a super fun stage. 

Sadly we've had a couple allergic reactions. Peanut butter and eggs both caused redness where they touched his skin. No hives/rash anywhere else on his body or any type of breathing issue. I have hope that he will grow out of these sensitivities, and we are praying to that end!
Some favorites right now are Wowbutter rolled up in a tortilla, cream cheese and turkey rolled in a tortilla, yogurt, grapes and cucumber. He also loves orzo and lasagna!


Sleeping (Night Time): Bedtime is still 9 pm and he goes to sleep fairly easily for both Chris or I. Most nights he wakes up twice- once around 2 and a second time around 5 or 6. I nurse him back to sleep at 2 and just bounce/rock him back to sleep the second time. He wakes up for the day between 6:30-7. I said most nights, right? Well he had a bad couple of nights when he was popping through a tooth a couple weeks ago and we got back into the habit of nursing at every waking (purely a survival technique on my part!) so now we're back to "night weaning" him back to just one feeding. That means he's up anywhere from 2-5 times. Last time we did this process it took almost two weeks. I'm praying it takes less this time!


Sleeping (Nap Time): His naps are around the same time (9:30-10 and 1:30-2:30) but they have both shortened a bit. If I can get a whole hour in the morning I'm happy, but it's usually closer to 40 minutes. The afternoon is anywhere from 40-90 minutes. A little frustrating because it can make for a cranky baby come 6-7 pm! Still though, if we try to put him down earlier than 9 for the night he will wake up after an hour and then also have a night full of extra wakings. We get it Elliott. Bedtime is 9 pm.

Play: I know I say this every month, but this boy is so much fun! He loves doing anything that makes you laugh or make silly noises. He loves to chase and be chased all around the house, and if you "get him" he will belly laugh like no other!! One of his favourite activities is to stand at the side table beside the love seat and pull all the books onto the floor. Then he'll pick up each book and put it back so he can do it again. He's beginning to really love putting things together and finding where things fit. Puzzles, his wooden peg set and his wooden rings can keep him occupied for minutes at a time (haha) He loves the mirror SO much. He'll sit in front of it and dance and talk and bounce around. He also loves to kiss it! His absolute favourite thing right now is the kitchen in the playroom. As soon as we go downstairs he crawls straight to it!

Movin' Around: I think we're only days away from some real walking. His balance is really good- he can stand without holding anything move his arms and upper body around (and even clap!) He's taking up to 4-5 steps at a time now. I think if he would slow down he could really get the hang of it, but he gets so excited, he just wants to leap into your arms!



Highlights/Lowlights: 

  • Obviously, his birthday was the most exciting part of this month! We had family over on the Saturday after his birthday, and a few friends over on Sunday. Two cake smashes- what a lucky guy!
  • First steps!!! So huge and so very exciting!!
  • Another new tooth! That makes 8 (4 up top, 4 on the bottom)
  • He's learned the baby sign language for "all done" and is really good at communicating that when he's done eating. Unfortunately I don't always agree with him...
  • Will now give kisses on cue to some of his toys. Super cute!

Likes:

  • Watching cars outside, through the window or screen door (yay spring!)
  • Being chased or chasing you
  • Taking steps (so fun!)
  • Playing catch
  • Playing peekaboo 
  • Throwing his books on the floor
  • Dancing
  • watching himself in the mirror

Dislikes:

  • When I'm in the kitchen trying to do something at the counter and won't pick him up (how dare I??)
  • Eating anything off a spoon 
  • When one of us leaves the room (where did that come from??)
And now... for pictures!



































































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