Here we are in the first part of 2016. So much has happened in the months since your birthday. Let’s start with October and November 2015.
Once you turned one, it seemed as if you grew older overnight. You started climbing the stairs the weekend of your birthday. Daddy quickly taught you how to safely crawl back down and it’s opened up a whole new world for you. Besides the stairs, you can climb on or off of the couch, bed, chair, etc. You’ll even sit down and climb backwards off the street curb! It’s rather funny to watch, but I’m proud that you’ve realized you can use your climbing skills in other places.
The week after your birthday I took you to get your first haircut. It had been getting really long, and Daddy kept telling me to get you a haircut, but I managed to wait until after your birthday. We went to a cute place with lots of toys. You weren’t sure about what was happening, but you sat still in your little chair and didn’t cry or fight.
Your speech and communication with us are continuing to grow. You can sign the word “book,” and have starting saying “S” words which sound like “cheessssssssse,” and “yesssssssss.” You also say the DG in dog and NK in pumpkin.
Animals are quickly becoming very important to you. Of course, you love your dogs. You love to read books about animals, and you like to play with the farm animals you received for your birthday. But recognizing and pointing out animals on TV and out around town has become normal. You particularly love the elephant in the Elephant Insurance commercial and the owl in the America’s Best commercial. We can easily tell when you spot an animal because you exclaim, point and start making the animal sound.
You cut your first molar during October. Molars are definitely more painful for you. Sometimes when teething, there will be tears running down your face. And not just when you’re crying. It’s heartbreaking to see. But you’ve pushed through this first one, and we’ve got plenty more to go.
We went to the pumpkin patch at Homestead Farms near the end of October. It’s a small farm, so it was perfect for your first trip. In addition to pumpkins (which you didn’t really care about), they had farm animals for you to meet. You loved it!
For Halloween, you wore the cutest little bear costume. We didn’t do any trick-or-treating, but we did stop by a neighbor’s block party to visit and see all the neighborhood kids’ costumes. We let you pick a candy bar from the basket (Snickers, good choice!) and you just held it. All night long. It was so cute!
During the middle of November you stopped nursing. Prior to that, we were down to bedtime only and it had become obvious that you were losing interest. We’ve since come up with a new bedtime routine – cuddling with you and your blanket. And both Daddy and I get to enjoy this with you. Fifteen minutes spent cuddling with you sure makes for a wonderful evening. heart
And finally – your first steps!! We were in the kitchen and you walked a couple steps from Daddy’s arms to mine. And back again. Oh, we were so excited! One evening, a few days later, you decided to walk all over the place. Daddy wasn’t home, but I took lots of videos and pictures. And then you just stopped for a couple days. It was crawling only for you. No matter what I tried! Thankfully, you started back up again. It took about two weeks before you were walking more than crawling.
Thanksgiving was a fun affair for you. Family came to visit from Houston and you had a blast playing with your older cousins. They were so sweet and patient with you as you tried to keep up with them. You also enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with us. As expected, the sweet potatoes were your favorite, but the cranberry sauce was a close second. I took no pictures of that day. Let’s just say that I was trying to enjoy the moment, and not that I forgot to take one darn photo.
And on that note, I’ll end with this photo. smile
Love that boy! <3