twins

We went to NJG's grandma's house and saw the picture (left) below hanging on the wall. The similarity is striking.

bag lady

This is a quick video of IJG carrying several things up the stairs and saying "dog" the whole way.

camping trip in Austin

We drove to Austin to stay with my parents in their RV last week. IJG fell in love with "tuk[s]" (trucks) and shovels.

books

Here is a video of IJG's favorite activity - looking through his books and identifying everything. I am always amazed at how quickly he learns the names for things and remembers them. He also is pretty good about identifying animals in various places and books despite how differently they can look in different illustrations.

he had a good time at the hanukkah party

12.7.10

IJG is 17 months old!

12.6.10 (wearing his daddy's watch so he'd sit still)

This month IJG started saying keys, star, hello, there, and dog. He can point to lots of body parts and can identify squares, circles and his favorite, stars (which he finally got to see in the sky). He is starting to understand puzzles and put the pieces near their correct location but doesn’t work to fit them into their places. He learns new things very quickly and easily. He can now reach things off of the edges of counters. He gives hugs on demand but only kisses if he’s in the mood. He has also started kissing his toys. He has yet to understand kissing on the cheek.

IJG likes playing with his skill size soccer ball and does ‘throw ins’ and kicks. He likes gymnastics at school and we are told how brave and adventurous he is in class. He is very attached to his blanket lately and it has to go everywhere he does. He now refuses to breastfeed without his blanket in his arms. He also likes to put it over his head and walk around the room bumping into things. He likes taking his clothes off, especially while in his car seat or crib. He has finally realized he can feed the dogs from his high chair and takes great joy in all the attention he now gets. He has started noticing airplanes and helicopters in the sky and big trucks that go by. He is still way into talking on the phone and now we know when he is on a call because he starts saying “hewoe, hewoe” with the “phone” he has chosen.

When he meets other kids he often points at (and touches) their clothes and pets their hair. I don’t see other kids doing this so I don’t understand why he does it. He has quite a temper and has no problem hitting, kicking, pinching, and head butting when he is angry. He will also have a fit and fall on the floor.

IJG has been sleeping 11-12 hours at night. He usually goes to sleep between 7:30 and 8:00 pm and wakes between 7:00 and 7:30 am. His afternoon nap has been 1.5 to 2 hours in length starting around 12:30 pm.

IJG continues to eat very well and share all of our meals. We added pineapple, orange, and grapefruit to his fruit repertoire this month and he had his first latke during Hanukkah (homemade).

He had one cold this month with a bit of fever.

unexpected guest (at the window)

turkey trot

Thanksgiving morning IJG and I ran the Houston 5k Turkey Trot.



The proof...(thanks to uncle Mikey since a certain husband waiting for me at the finish line didn't even see me finish...).







And IJG finally got to play in a bounce house. This one was small and only had littles in it. He loved it but couldn't stay on his feet.






11.25.2010

Fall Family Picnic

We attended the AP group family day this afternoon. IJG finally wore his bday shirt from uncle Mikey so I had to document. He had a great time playing in the stones.




11.21.10

3 yrs ago

lol

Whatever works...

This is how I found IJG after he fell asleep for his nap this afternoon. Tonight, he covered himself again in the same way.


11.13.10

IJG is 16 months old!

11.6.10

IJG is speaking! He says ball, uh oh, bye bye, eye and box (ball and box are both "baa" but he is always identifying one or the other). He just started giving real kisses. If I recite lines from several of his books (from memory) he will go find that book and hand it to me. He can point to eyes, ears, nose, teeth, hair, belly, and bum bum. He is starting to stack things on his own, instead of just knocking them over. It is much easier to brush his teeth now. He holds one brush and I brush his teeth with the other. His dance moves have changed again. First he would just bend his knees, then he started stomping, and now he is back to knee bending again. He has given up biting, but continues to slap and pinch. He also likes to grab onto our clothing and pull, which he thinks is quite funny.

He loves to play with the broom so we bought him a small one. He walks around the driveway "sweeping" with it. He likes his new 'pound-a-peg' toy. He still wants to push EVERYTHING with wheels. He is partial to a few of his books and will request them to be read every day. He can sit for quite a while listening to his favorites and identifying the pictures. We go to a park and playground every morning and he likes to pick up every piece of garbage he finds and hand it to me, climb on the equipment, swing, and chase squirrels. He likes to pretend he is on the phone having a conversation. At first he decided an old remote control we gave him was a phone but now everything is a phone, including but not limited to lego blocks, an elephant, a comb, or a book. As you can see in his monthly picture above, during the photo shoot he took a call on a toothbrush container (given to him so he might stop jumping off the chair).

Right when he turned 15 months we dabbled in potty learning. I have a Baby Bjorn Potty Chair and kept his bottom half naked from time to time for a few days. He could identify (by pointing) what the potty was and where pee pee and poo poo should go, but he couldn't quite follow through. We had some luck with pooping, since there is more warning (I'll spare you the pictures), and no luck with peeing. I gave up after a bit, deciding he wasn't quite ready but will try again soon.

For the entire month IJG has been sleeping to a reasonable hour!!! He now wakes on average around 7 am, and rarely prior to 6:30. He also goes to sleep earlier at 7:30 pm typically. His afternoon nap has been a bit shorter due to this, often just 1.5 hours.

He has been eating all of the meals we eat and likes most of them. This month I got brave and introduced peanut butter, which I had been hesitant about due to potential allergy. He had no problem with it and quite likes it. He is quite skilled with the spoon and often wants no help with eating. We are just starting to work with the fork. If he is given a regular cup to drink from he tries to chug it and spills everything. He does pretty well with thick smoothies though. He no longer eats one finger food at a time. He now shoves as many as he can fit in his fist into his mouth. He will also shove entire bread products into his mouth so we have to cut them into appropriate sizes.

He still enjoys himself at school. He is kept quite busy there with art projects, gym class, music, and the playground. He hesitates a bit now when I leave but is fine by the time I'm out of sight.

He had zero colds this month! I wish I could say he was never sick, but last Saturday he woke up early, nursed, fell back asleep, woke up again and vomited all the milk. He then fell right back to sleep and continued to be very sleepy and lethargic, opening his eyes and closing them again. I got him into a bath, thinking that would wake him up and he fell over in the tub. He then fell asleep in the towel. He wouldn't speak or respond or change his expression and when I held him he was limp on my shoulder like a newborn. He drank quite a bit of water, had almost no appetite and slept a lot that day. The next morning he woke with one large liquidy poop but was back to his usual energy level. It took him about four days to get his appetite back to normal.

perfect fit

he did this all on his own...




11.5.10

under the bed

He finally took matters into his own hands and went in after his ball.





And came out looking adorable.




11.2.10

monster mash, body parts, and goats

Friday we went to the zoo for Zoo Boo.








10.29.10

Sunday morning at Discovery Green

10.24.10

the whale

My sweet little boy finally goes to sleep at night without a fight. He still sometimes falls asleep while nursing, and I just plunk him into his crib, but often does not. We used to put him in, stay in the room, repeatedly stop him from chewing the crib rail and lay him down. There would be tears and it would take a while. Now, as long as you give him his whale, he lays down and quietly puts himself to sleep in a few minutes. He loves his whale and likes to hug it and lay on it when he is tired. He carries it around and sucks his thumb.

This is how I found him tonight after he fell asleep.




10.18.10