One and a Half Years Old!

Wow! I have not posted in a while ... probably because work and school and (mostly) Joel have been keeping me on my toes. I decided to write a quick update, since I plan on looking back at this later. At his eighteen month appointment, Joel weighed not quite twenty-seven and a half pounds. He was thirty-three and a half inches tall. He had twelve teeth (incisors and molars), but has since started getting his cuspids.

The doctor asked how many words he could say, and I really didn't know ("15-20??"), so Adam and I decided to make a list and count. I will list them below, because I hope to look back and remember the cute ways he said certain things. (As first time parents, we don't really know if animal sounds are supposed to count.)

Aside from all the boring stuff above that only I would care about, our little guy seems to be a typical little boy. He likes to run, climb, splash, tickle/tackle, push, pull, dance, sing, eat, giggle, hug, kiss, do puzzles, throw balls, play with cars, read books, check the mail, look in the mirror, and watch Disney Junior (yes ... I know ... "no screen time before age two"). He is also a hand full, like most kids his age. He throws mini temper tantrums (not terrible yet), protests, and pushes the limit. We are so thankful, though, and are excited to see his personality develop over the next few years! We're in love!

Word List

1. please

2. cheese

3. eat

4. ice (He loves ice!)

5. dip

6. chip

7. car

8. truck

9. ball

10. keys

11. shoes

12. uh oh

13. yes/yeah

14. no

15. this

16. outside (difficult to understand)

17. wa (for water)

18. cup

19. mama (doesn't say this frequently ... maybe because I'm usually around)

20. dada 

21. hey/hi/(infrequently) hello

22. juice

23. baby

24. yellow (only three times ... and it's been a while)

25. duck

26. yuck

27. whoa/wow

28. mmmmm (moo)

29. ruff ruff/ bow wow wow

30. (oo oo) ah ah (monkey)

31. stuttered baa sound (without the b)

32. stuttered neigh sound (without the n)

33. elephant noise (buzzes/vibrates lips ... mimicking the high pitched, closed mouth noise we make)

34. meow

35. rawr (bear or lion)

36. quack

37. two

38. three

39. six

40. several letters (at random when "singing" the alphabet)

41. star and are (from "Twinkle, Twinkle" ... only says during song)

42. me (on says during songs) 

43. Idunno ("I don't know")

44. choo choo

45. his name (Joel)

46. hurrah (only during "The Ants Go Marching")

46. E-I-E-I-O

Ten Month Update

I haven't written in a while and have a lot of updates on Joel. It's crazy how time passes! Joel is

• Drinking from a sippy cup
• Self-feeding solids
• Nursing five to six times per day
• Typically taking two naps per day for a total of two to three hours 
• Giving high fives
• Waving bye-bye
• Following one-step commands
• Understanding (but testing) the words "don't" and "no"
• Saying "mama" and dada"
• Trying to dip his spoon into food (sometimes successfully)
• Feeding himself with a spoon (but often not getting all of the food off before pulling it out)
• Enjoying peek-a-boo
• Singing/squealing in the back seat of the car
• Sleeping 10-12 hours per night with one morning feeding
• Walking everywhere
• Learning to walk in shoes in public
• "Petting" animals
• Nodding "yes" and "no"
• Looking for objects after they are taken away from him
• Glancing at mom for approval when meeting new people
• Still loving to turn the pages of a book and "tell the story"/babble
• Taking things apart
• Sneaking up the stairs
• Clapping
• Finding and plugging in the outlet protectors when we've forgotten to put them back in (OH MY!)
• Trying to share his food with others (including inanimate objects)
• Getting and bringing back objects (including a ball)

I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but that was a pretty good start. As for me, I am enjoying every precious minute with my little guy. I love the roles of nose-wiper, diaper-changer, grape-peeler, food-slicer, hand-holder, picker-upper, protector, playmate, teacher, etc. I am very thankful for the provision of being able to work at home this year!

A perfect fall day

First Halloween

Nine Months, More Steps, and No Naps

We can't believe that Joel is already nine months. We went to the doctor yesterday for his check-up. He actually lost ten ounces since his sick visit a few weeks again. He's also become more mobile and has started feeding himself lately, which probably has something to do with his weight loss. Joel weighed 22 pounds and 3 ounces (76th percentile). He was about 29 inches long (76th percentile), and his head circumference was about 18.25 inches (80-something(th) percentile). These are the lowest percentiles we've seen so far!

Joely celebrated his nine-month birthday by taking ten steps last night (with pauses to straighten up between steps). He's also been celebrating by skipping naps these past few weeks. I've taken lots of suggestions and nothing is seeming to help. Hopefully, it's just a stage. Is anyone else in the same boat right now?

Roseola, First Steps, and Another Tooth

Since I last wrote, we went to the doctor for a rash. It turns out that Joel had Roseola. The rash is almost all the way gone today. After taking him to Urgent Care (because it was Labor Day), he came home and took his first few steps. Four steps is his maximum for now. I think it will be awhile before he starts really walking. He is still pretty timid and only does it when he is beside something he can grab if he starts to fall. The next day, he cut another top tooth. This makes four on the top and two on the bottom. You'd think he'd learn how to chew with those chompers, but he still prefers baby food.

Five Little Toofies and Standing

I was able to snap a picture of Joel with all five teeth last week. I also got one of him standing, which has been one of his newer developments. This week, he got his first virus and fever. We were shut in for a few days, but I am thankful that it took him this long to get sick. Since he was sick, we spent lots of time reading board books. He picked up on how to turn the pages ... well, if the pages are separated a little. Here are some new pictures of his latest developments.

Joel Turns 8 Months Old

Today, Joely man is eight months old. Time is going by pretty quickly, and we are savoring every minute with him. Joel has been changing a lot over the past few weeks. His crawl is becoming faster, and he's starting to let go of things when he's standing. He is very interested in anything that opens and closes or turns on and off, and still loves all electronics. He has started to chatter a lot more, and likes "having a conversation" with just about anyone, including the characters on TV.

Three (yes, THREE) top teeth cut through in the past week. So, he now has a total of five teeth. Despite having more teeth than most babies his age, he is still not very interested in most finger foods. I guess we'll stick to milk and baby foods for now. We will go to the doctor for height and weight measurements in early September, so I will give an update on other developments then.

6.5 Month Check-up and Update

I haven't blogged in a while, so I feel like I have a lot to jot down to keep all of Joel's new adventures up to date. On July 3rd, Joel went for his six month check-up. He was a little delayed because of a cold that both of us had for two or three weeks. (I didn't want him to get any vaccinations while he was sick.) He weighed 21 pounds and 3 ounces, which is in the 93rd percentile. He was 28.5 inches long, which is in the 94th percentile. Most surprisingly, he jumped from the 75th percentile in head circumference to the 90th percentile with his head measuring 18 inches. Grandma said it was because "His brain is just getting so big."   :)   Joel got three shots and an oral vaccine. He took them like a champ, only crying on the initial prick of each shot. (Last time he cried all the way home.) He was a little clingy later in the day though. We left the doctor's office feeling blessed to have such a healthy young boy!

In other news ...

Joel is more efficient with crawling now, even
though he still uses his one-leg-up method.

He loves pulling on everything in sight, including
other children (not good). 

It is starting to take a lot more energy
to keep up with him now that he's on the move.

Joel loves bath time and enjoys splashing and
playing with his bath toys. He really enjoyed his first
trip to the pool too (as expected).

Update on Joel

Joel is about five and a half months old now. We are thinking he weighs about twenty pounds. He enjoys sitting up, standing with support, reading books, trying to crawl, rolling off of the changing pad, playing peek-a-boo, jumping and bouncing, watching children and animals play, pushing from stomach to sitting, and being tossed in the air. He really dislikes being in his car seat for any extended period of time. While I'm sure cutting teeth is painful, he's being a pretty good sport. Maybe he'll get tooth #3 soon.

His one leg up crawling method

Sitting up with drool to the floor

He has tried several types of foods: avocado, white and brown rice cereal, banana, sweet potato, carrot, peas, green beans, pear, peach, and mango. I think he likes peas and green beans the most and mango the least. He now eats about the equivalent of one jar of baby food a day over two feedings.

Rice Cereal

Joel is on his third day of rice cereal. He likes it so far, but I think he liked the avocado better.

Joel's First Food (Avocado)

"Hmm ... what's this stuff?"

"I'm not so sure about this, Dad!"

"Not too shabby!"

"I can do it by myself, Mom!"

Pretty good for a first attempt!

Crawling Over the Boppy

Here is Joel's new development over the past two days! I couldn't figure out how to turn the photos upright, even though they were saved the correct way originally.

 

 

Rolly Joely Poley Oley

Taken on Monday, April 8, 2013