Happy Eighteen Months!

With summer and moving, I have really fallen off with blogging here. Which I'm not happy about, as this is probably the closest that the boys will get to a baby book (because, let's face it, I'm just not that organized).

A lot has happened in the past three months, and Charles has been growing well. He is now 35 inches and 23 pounds 3 ounces, which is the 95th and 25th percentiles respectively. He is so very vocal, but his only real words are "Daddee" and "ByeBye", which is usually combined to "ByeBye Daddee!!!" while standing at the window in the morning. He loves to point out trucks, buses and planes, wants to do everything that his big brother is doing. He is up to twelve teeth, as he got his molars about a month ago. We are not looking forward to when the other eight teeth come in. He loves to sing, especially "Open Door" from Frozen, and will dance along to familiar songs.

Eighteen months!

And from BabyCenter.com:

At eighteen months, most children:
Will "read" board books on their own - While he used to want nothing to do with books, now he grabs and pretends to read all the time. He will point to objects and "tell" me what they are.
Scribbles well - He has started to scribble, but we don't let him have crayons too often, since he still tries to eat them.

At eighteen months, half the children:
Will string to words together to make phrases - He is not doing this yet, there is not a lot of English going on.
Brush teeth with help - He is more sucking on the toothbrush than brushing, although he really doesn't want any help at all.
Stack four blocks - He does this, and then says "Oooooh" when he knocks them over.

At eighteen months, a few children:
Throws a ball overhand - He will do this every once in a while, but is more likely to kick the ball than throw it.
Takes toys apart and puts them back together - He has been working on this, and is getting better.
Shows signs of toilet training readiness - Not really, but they say that younger siblings potty train earlier, so fingers crossed.

We're trying out a new photo sharing site, and are slowly moving our photos over. Check out our summer adventures album on SmugMug to see the past three months of photos. (The albums are password protected, send me a message if you need the password.)

Seventeen Months!

Sixteen Months!

Happy Fifteen Months!

Charles is now 32 3/4 inches tall and 22 pounds 3 ounces, putting him in the 90th and 25th percentiles respectively. And while I have recently been failing on the blogging, Charles has been just amazing with how much he has grown into his own little person. But since I am so late, I'll get to the poll.

At fifteen months, most children can:
Play with ball – Oh yes, since watching Peter with soccer, he has taken to kicking balls around the house.
Use three words regularly – Not really. He babbles all the time, but not really in English.
Walk backward – I haven't really seen this, but it would not at all surprise me.

At fifteen months, about half the children can:
Scribble with a crayon – Haven't really tried this yet, he has been so intent on eating the crayon. Probably something I should start now though.
Run – All. The. Time
Adopt “no” as his favorite word – Not really.

At fifteen months, a few children can:
“Help” around the house – He loves to sweep, "clean up" and empty boxes
Put his finger to his mouth and says “shhhh” – He has definitely tried to do this, but wasn't all that successful with the "shhhh" sound.

Once again, there are more pictures in our May, Mother's Day and spring adventure albums on Picasa (which you have to be logged in to see).

Happy Fourteen Months!

I am once again very late in posting, so I'll just get straight to the poll.

At fourteen months, most children can:
Eat with fingers – Yes, he loves to eat just about anything
Empty containers of contents – He makes it very hard to clean up, he empties everything
Imitate others – Oh yes, all the time

At fourteen months, about half the children can
Toddle well – He is running.
Initiate game – He does love peek-a-boo.
Point to one body part when asked – I don't think that we've ever tried this.
Respond to instructions (e.g., “give me a kiss”) – He can, but he doesn't always like to listen.

At fourteen months, a few children can:
Use spoon or fork – Working on this, and he's doing pretty well.
Match lids with appropriate containers – We haven't tried this either.
Push and pull toys while walking – All the time.

There are a few pictures in our April and Easter albums on Picasa (you need to be logged in to view).

Happy Four Years!

And he's FOUR! This year we celebrated with family and friends at the park, and on his actual birthday he got to go visit our friend James at the firehouse he works at. Possibly the best birthday trip every. He has also grown, as he is now 41.75 inches tall and 36 pounds, putting him into the 90th and 50th percentiles respectively.

And as I am late with posting, lets get to the poll from BabyCenter

Cognitive Development
Uses sentences of six or more words – Oh yes, he talks CONSTANTLY
Speaks well enough for strangers to understand – Most of the time. Every once in a while, he will start using made up words, but it's only if he gets really excited
Starts to use “s” on verbs to show present tense (“he runs”) – Yes.

Social and Emotional Development
Develops friendships independent of you — Yes, he is very social and is very popular wherever we go.
Plays with other children, instead of just side by side – Has been doing this for a while now.

Physical Development
Uses a spoon and fork like an adult – Yes, and even uses a knife on things like pancakes.
Brushes teeth (he will still need your help and supervision) – He can do this.

And while this post is very much lacking in photos, there are lots of photos on Picasa (which you have to be logged in to see), including pictures of our firehouse trip in our spring adventures album.

Happy Thirteen Months!

I am so behind on posting this, but I wanted to get it up before April. This has been a crazy month, mostly because of the week we were on vacation (which overlapped with when this update SHOULD have been posted).

He is sleeping much better, almost through the night most nights. Once we get to spring break, we are going to try to move him into the room with Peter (which should be interesting). He is trying to grow up so fast, as is starting to imitate us, just like Peter did at this age. He takes tissues and napkins and cleans his mouth and blows his nose (and then tried to eat the paper, some things don't change). He talks on the "phone", and he cleans up. He loves to put items into boxes or bags, and is starting to figure out his shape sorters.

And since it is so late, I'm going to keep this short. From BabyCenter.com

At thirteen months, most children:
Use two words skillfully (e.g., “hi” and “bye”) – Not really. Still a lot of babble. And "mama"
Bend over and pick up an object – Not so much bending over as he is squatting, which makes his Crossfitting Daddy very happy.

At thirteen months, about half the children:
Enjoy gazing at his reflection – This is a big yes. He loves mirrors, and it is something that can calm him down when he gets upset.
Hold out arm or leg to help you dress him – Yes, he puts his arms in shirts, holds out his feet for socks, and also holds out his hands for his mittens (and I can't even tell you how great that's been since it has been so cold for so long).

At thirteen months, a few children:
Combine words and gestures to make needs known – No words, but he definitely gestures all the time. He is so big into pointing right now (started with the ceiling fans in Florida).
Roll a ball back and forth – Not often, but he has done this.

There are a few pictures in our March album, but the best pictures are in our winter adventures and Naples albums on Picasa (you need to be logged in to see). Next month, I'll hopefully be back to regular monthly pictures and more frequent updates (although we'll see how that actually works out).

Let Him Eat Cake!

While it may not have looked like the most appetizing cake, it was quite delicious with real butter-cream icing. He was obviously a fan of his first dessert.

More pictures in the birthday party album on Picasa (you need to be logged in to see).

Happy One Year!

One year down and so much has changed. He has put on 11 pounds 10 ounces and gained 10.5 inches. He is now 20 pounds 4 ounces and 31 inches long, putting him in the 25th and 90th percentiles. He is walking like crazy and climbing on everything. He has figured out how to move furniture (like the little table) so that he can climb higher. He loves to eat, and is a big fan of feeding himself. While he doesn't have a lot of words, he is very vocal. Sleep, while still not great, has vastly improved and I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. He also loves his big brother so much, but can definitely hold his own when Peter tries to take advantage of his age and size.

And since this post is already so late, from BabyCenter.com:

At one year, most children can
Imitate others’ activities – Yes, especially when you play with him
Indicate wants with gestures – He points and reaches for things, no other real gestures.

At one year about half the children can
Take a few steps – He is full on walking.
Say one word besides “mama” or “dada” - Not really, it is still pretty much all babble right now.

At one year, a few children can
Walk alone – Oh yes, all the time.
Scribbles with a crayon – Since he tried to eat EVERYTHING, I haven't given him crayons yet.
Say two words besides “mama” or “dada” – Just like above, it's all pretty much babble.

There are more pictures in our February album on Picasa (which you have to be logged in to see).

Better Late Than Never

FIVE new milestones and no posts to show for it. I did want to get this up before tomorrow, and they all get overshadowed by the posts that I probably will not get up for few days (since tomorrow will be very busy).

The first four are the four new teeth that Charles has gotten in a matter of days. They are the four on top, and I have be unable to get a photo of them as Charles tries to eat the camera every time.

But the big one is that Charles is now walking. Full on walking. This video is from last week, and he has much improved since then. He can now change direction mid-walk, and doesn't need to pull up to stand anymore. I cannot believe that this time as already come (and a little earlier than it did with Peter).

Please excuse the extreme mess, as I was in the middle of folding an epic amount of laundry (because things like this don't happen when everything is neat and clean).

I know that I haven't been updating here as often as I would like, and I hope to start doing better. There are a lot of changes coming up for both boys, and I want to use this space to keep a record of everything.

Happy Eleven Months!

I am so very late in posting this, although I did get the photos done on time this month. It just took me forever to measure Charles, since we don't go to the doctor this month. We are estimating that he is about 19 lbs 8 oz and 30.5 inches long. I cannot believe that he is already eleven months, and we have less than a month left until he turns one. This year has gone by so fast.

He is eating like a champ, which I think is helping the jump in weight from last month. He is a big fan of feeding himself, but has started to use the pouches again. He loves to share, and will even pull open our hands to give us things (especially puffs). He is also so close to walking, he takes about three steps before sitting down and crawling. But I really think that it is time for me to keep the video camera out to catch his first real steps. Sleep is still not great, and we are trying to break him of his middle of the night feeding habit, but haven't been able to yet. I'm hoping that soon he'll be able to move into the bedroom with Peter, but that won't happen until he can sleep all the way through.

But since I am so late, let's get on to BabyCenter.com.

At eleven months, most children can:
Say “mama” or “dada” to the correct parent – He has just started doing this, more "mama" than "dada"
Play patty cake and peek-a-boo – He loves to play peek-a-boo, almost any time he has a blanket or napkin or anything he can put over her face
Stand alone for a couple of seconds – Yes
Cruise – All the time

At eleven months, about half the children can:
Understand “no” and simple instructions – Definitely does understand, and even follows sometimes
Put objects in a container – Loves to do this, and is also trying to use his shape sorters, but isn't quite able to maneuver the shapes into the slots

At eleven months, a few children can:
Say one word besides “mama” or “dada” – Not really, but he desperately wants to
Stoop from standing position – Yes, but mostly to start crawling

This month has been a photo fail, but there are a few pictures in our January album on Picasa (you have to be logged in to see).