The New Reality

Each day and each week we see fascinating new developments in Ian. Many of them make us say "oh, shit. Do you realize what this means??" as we hope that it takes Ian a little while to realize what he's capable of while we scramble to make it safer for him. He's growing up so fast. Here's what he's "up to."

1. Climbing. He can ascend and descend stairs. Safely most of the time. That means ONLY supervised stair climbing. I caught him a few steps down on a frightening fall (yes, the wood stairs. Bad mama was not immediately behind him). Fortunately, most of that fall was in the air, and little stair bouncing had happened. We really need a way to soften those stairs. He's going to fall down them eventually, and probably when he's older and has farther to fall.

Think I can get to the bookshelf from here?

2. Climbing. Suddenly, Ian has decided that nothing is outside of his grasp. He can climb up on a chair, his toys (and then to the windowsill), the rocker in his room. We won't mention in his company what this means. We'll just put him in a bubble wrap suit each day.

Aww Dad! I took that off for a reason!

3. Which he'll promptly take off. The rear-velcro g-diapers? Off in seconds. He's not getting the rest of his clothes off yet, but let's not mention that.

Ok, He's playing with Grandma here, not signing. But it's close!

4. Signing. Just this week he signed "milk" for the first time well, and he's been following up on it all week. His version of the milk sign is actually snapping his fingers! He can snap! With his little hand in the snapping position, moving it back and forth now means "potty!" Today after his nap, he signed potty and I asked him if he had to go potty. In response to that, he ran to the bathroom, I stripped him down, and he sat down and pooped (in the potty). Yay! Could we be moving toward him being able to tell us that he needs to potty? I sure hope so. We'll definitely follow up on those signs when he does them. We have to remember that our other cues are still more reliable, but it's a definite step. He did it again this afternoon (lots of poops today). His signs are: Down, All Done, Cheese, Milk, Potty, and "hot!"

5. Talking. When asked what a dog says, he says "Uh!" Meow is his official first word, though. He loves to "ooowaoow" at the cat. Also when asked if he wants down, he says "dow" in addition to doing the sign for down. He calls the dog "Dah-do" and says mama and dada, although he says dada constantly (and dat? as in "what is that?") and mama only when he's pretty upset.

In other news, I finished the top of his new quilt today. John took Ian to the garden this morning, brought him back asleep and he slept for over 2 hours here (close to 3), and Ian and I played after his nap for the rest of the afternoon while John ran errands in town. After dinner, John took Ian and Tango for a long walk. With all of that time, I layed out and sewed up the whole quilt top. The 9-patches and resulting quarters were already done when I started this morning. I'm so excited to see this quilt in finished form!! The top measures 37" x 61.5" and I plan to put a border around it in blue - we'll see what I've got material for. Probably 3-4". And a brown binding.

And, he fell out of bed tonight. That was a loud thump. There's a little mark on his forehead where he hit the rug. I took him into the our room to cuddle while John put the foam tiles under his rug. I don't know why we didn't think of it before. We'd considered the foam tiles, but Ian can't leave them alone, so decided against it. Under the rug, they're hidden from tempted fingers and the rug helps with more cushion. I feel a lot better having a better surface for him to fall to. I think what happened is he sat up at the edge of the bed and fell off. He sits up in the worst places sometimes!

This Moment

Today met up with Uncle Jay so he could take Mom back to the airport. A great time was had by all. Uncle Jay held Ian some, and when he gave Ian back to me, Ian requested to go back to Jay each time.

12-Month Checkup

We got to see the doctor today for Ian's (approximately) 12 month checkup. He's been declared perfect!
Weight: 23 lb 10 oz
Height: 31-1/4"
Head Circ: 18.75"

Also today he's really getting into climbing the stairs. All the way to the top. He needs to learn to get down! He doesn't want to go down. Just up. What a busy day. He slept well before our outing, which helped a lot.

Well past a young boy's bedtime:

Ian is just loving having Grandma around!

Concert in the Park

Today we had a brief trip to the concert in the park, then got ice cream. We needed to get out of the house!!

A fun time was had by all!

Big Boy Bed

Ian moved out of his crib. The crib had a few strikes against it:
1. Drop side is being phased out by all manufacturers. I don't think ours is unsafe, but it is older than we'd thought it was.
2. Ian's armpits are above the crib rail.
3. He likes to jump up and down on his crib mattress, holding onto the crib rail.
4. It's really hard on my back to try to get him in there when he's asleep.

So, we've introduced the toddler bed. It says not to use it with kids under 15 months old, but I think that this recommendation is outweighed by the items above, and he can safely get down from there. Most of the time. We have a blanket and/or pillows under the spots without guard rails.

** We did move it so it's not right under the window.

He really likes his new bed.
Today when he woke up from his nap, I heard a thump (but it was noisy outside, so I wasn't sure if it was him) then a pat pat pat (which I was sure was him running across the room). I ran upstairs to see what he was doing, and he was in the bathroom crying. (Note to self: close bathroom door. He's going to figure out about lifting the toilet lid soon.) I think he'd run in there looking to find someone. And I think he was fairly out of it when that happened, too. He can get down in his sleep!
At night when I've come to get him, he's been asleep and wandering in the top guard rail portion in his sleep. He's doing well so far!

Hair Cut!

Ian got his first haircut on Saturday! It was a nice surprise for Grandma. Hopefully it wasn't too much of a surprise that he was all clean (he totally wasn't Saturday afternoon, but he had a very good bath, trimmed nails, and scrubbed knees).

I bet you didn't think he could get any cuter. WRONG!
(It's ok. Don't worry. That one got me too).

This Moment

There's a neat idea I've seen on a few blogs - "This Moment" where you take a moment of the week and capture it.

This moment:
We were doing "gimme five" while nursing and all of a sudden Ian thought it was the funniest thing ever. He couldn't stop giggling! Every time I started doing it, he started giggling again. Funny boy!

Today, we had a busy day at the garden. The new child carrier is really paying dividends. After refusing to nap much of the afternoon, I put him in there, and he went right to sleep. Several times when he was fussy, he was soothed by being in it. The sleeping hood proved to be quite comfortable.

I keep forgetting how we don't see our reality changing day by day. I think "oh, we'll remember this." But really, this week is so different from last week. Last week, Ian wasn't walking everywhere, and not nearly as well. This week, he was exploring the entire garden. He walked from the grassy area over to the boxes and then to see Daddy planting the new blueberry bushes. All this wearing only a pair of shoes and a smile. Today was the first time he seemed comfortable walking across the entire yard. Soon, we'll have to make sure to shut the gate so he doesn't get out!!

Dancing Boy

Ian stands at his little station and pulls the banjo toy to make it play music. The tunes are: Camptown Races, Old McDonald, etc etc. He then rocks back and forth on his feet and smiles. He smiles extra large when John is dancing too!

Outside

Happy Birthday, Ian!

Dear Ian,

Today is your special day. Your Birth Day! It commemorates the day you were born. It was a beautiful day, bright sun, perfect weather, wildflowers in the yard. Friends and family surrounded your birth. The birth was fantastic and afterwards, we had a special little guy to snuggle. It was the first time we met. This is only the first of many great birthdays I wish for you. 

Love, 

Your Mom.

10-11 Months

Skills!

Talking Skills

Crawling Skills

Standing Skills

Descending steps, too!

Get to work, please!

Ian likes to help in the office.

I'm done with my filing, Mama. Is there any more I can do?

8-9 Months

Starting to be more introspective

So much fun on walks!

He can use the sippy cup and eat finger foods!

Loves to play!

7 Months

Ian can clap, he can sit up, crawl (although, not always successfully on those last two!). He's so much fun and interacts with the dog and cat. I think the animals provided plenty of motivation to learn to move!

Garden Day

The garden is such a great place to be. Even John now really enjoys the garden. He likes to take off early on Saturdays to get the watering process started and get our vegetables. We stayed until 3pm this Saturday! Weeding, talking to our self-proclaimed "Garden Pest" (the owner), and working on all kinds of issues.

Ian even got to take a nap. It's so nice that he can walk a bit now, he doesn't crawl through the grass, but can walk around to some degree. It keeps him off the ground a bit more. Thankfully, Ian can nap wherever he needs to now. If we're out and about and he needs a nap, he can fall asleep in the car and be transferred, asleep, to a sling, then back to the carseat, and he'll continue his nap. Yesterday after a long day (and brief nap) at the garden, he fell asleep in the car, and slept for 2 hours after he was placed in his crib. He loves his long afternoon naps!

6 Months

Our Christmas Trip!