We tried to do a photo shoot for the 13-month birthday (please note that the onesie stickers have run out - by etsy standards, my baby is officially beyond being a baby!), and here are the results. (Note that these few frames came from sifting through about 160 options. Haha)
Such a big boy! I love this one.
I've had enough!
No, seriously. I've had enough!
Distracted by the birds
And a piece of straw. (He loves tiny things and can pick them up very easily.)
Alright, I'm up!
Sweet little face. Bottom left = nearing tears because the bird flew away.
In terms of verbal development, Beckett now knows:
-to tweet at birds
-to bark at dogs (and he also says, "dah!")
-to snort at pigs
-to baa or maa at sheep and goats
-to moo at cows
-to "ooodle, ooodle, ooooo!" in a very high pitched voice at roosters
-to quack at ducks
-Mama, Dada, ink (for drink)
Physically, he is almost running everywhere, with a grin on his face. He can go up the stairs we have leading into the sunroom, but I'm scared about that, so I only let him do it when I'm right next to him. He has eight teeth and one molar on the lower right. His lower left one is about ready to come through, too.
Here he is napping in his bed. (Rare items, these photos. Aunt Nancy, imagine the auctioneer saying, "Rare items, folks! These are RARE." It's true.)
Same bed, same boy, same pose, one year ago. He is getting so big!
If I had to describe him in one word, it would be HAPPY! When I picture him, I picture his beautiful bright smile.
I can hardly believe this, but Beckett is a year old. Wow. What an amazing year it has been! He is such a joy and develops into his own little person more each day. Here is some information about Beckett at one year:
Eating:
He isn't picky, but loves MEAT! He will eat just about any type of meat, but if he has to chew it for too long, he will spit it out. He still likes baby food, but eats whatever Shonn and I have for dinner. Most recently, for lunch each day, he would eat 3 chicken nuggets, a baby food jar of veggies, and applesauce or other fruit. He is now drinking organic Vitamin D/whole milk and loves it. He is also still nursing, but mostly at night, and he uses it as a sleep soother more than anything.
Sleeping:
He naps in his own bed during the day. At night, we are still co-sleeping, which I love, but it's hard on our sleep. Plus it's going to be a huge challenge to transition into his own bed this summer. In the meantime, I'm loving the snuggling! (Shonn equates it to sleeping with a wild boar, which is hilarious and accurate at the same time.)
Physical Development:
Beckett is 30" tall and weighs almost 23 pounds. He has eight teeth! His hair is very blond and usually pretty crazy! He loves to lift things up and carry them around the house, especially if they are heavy. We have a wooden duck that weighs about 5 pounds and he loves picking it up and carrying around while groaning and quacking. It's hilarious.
He has been walking for about two months, but only really well for about a month. He almost runs sometimes he gets going so quickly! When he falls, he waits for our reaction before he reacts. He is SO busy and loves opening and closing doors (big and small), and wheels or gadgets he can manipulate.
Personality:
Beckett is SUCH a happy guy. He smiles almost all the time, and has started developing a twinkle in his eye when anticipates getting tickled, chased, or "getcha"! (See video, HAHAHA)
Shonn and I can just give him a look across the room and say "I'm gonna..." and he starts giggling and scrunches his shoulders up to his ears. He is ticklish mostly on his back and thighs, so Shonn says he's girl crazy. :)
He has started vocalizing when he wants something more, but doesn't have the words to specifically request what he wants, so his "MMM!"s and baby grunts are more emphatic depending on how much he wants something. He fusses when he is tired or if he is getting teeth.
He is also INCREDIBLY cuddly. (Thank you, God!) I love this part of his personality so much. He snuggles all the time and is happy sitting on our laps. He's so sweet.
With his friends, he is eager to connect physically. He does this by putting his hands on their shoulders, arms, and sometimes faces. He also tries to bump heads with them and us. (Not too sure what that one means, except maybe eskimo kisses. ?)
He can intently focus on something, especially books. He loves books and has a few favorites. Since we are working on animal sounds so much, he is drawn to books with animals like cows, pigs, chickens, roosters, and dogs.
He is such a blessing and delight. I am so thankful to God for the incredible gift of being a mom, and especially to such an amazing little guy.
Beckett got to see Dr. Willett on Friday for his 9-month Well Baby check. :) He was ALL OVER the waiting room and exploring everything. He was definitely well!
Here are the details of our visit:
21 pounds = 53%
29 inches = 61% (Milestone alert! This is the first time his height percentage has exceeded his weight! Must be that boot camp exercise program...)
4 teeth (Dr. W said we are one ahead of schedule.)
No blood work (YAY!)
No shots (Double YAY!)
We are transitioning to more table foods and we talked about that process. We also discussed sleep (like always), and the walking/crawling order. Beckett is army crawling, but he doesn't crawl in the normal position. He would rather be up, walking, and we wanted to make sure that was okay for his physical devleopment. Dr. Willett said it was fine.
In terms of normal development for a 9-month old, Beckett is right on track. Here is the information we got from the doctor:
Daily Activiites
Continues to enjoy banging (yes), waving (yes - he even does "Bye, Bye!" now!), and throwing toys (and everything else).
Scrutinizes toys and other objects (while singing, yes).
Becomes absorbed in toys and games (Shonn refers to this as, "He's playing by himself!")
Explores food with fingers (especially mashed potatoes, scrambled eggs, and ice in glasses).
Initiates play (this is cutest with Lexi, who is such a patient puppy!).
Motor Skills
Goes from sitting ot laying position unassisted. (yes)
May pull self to standing position (see Honey Can Do post for pics).
Stands holding on to furniture (ditto).
Tries to move one foot in front of the other when held upright. (ummm...yes, and then some.)
May try to crawl up stairs (????).
May begin to walk with assistance. (hahahaha - ask Grammy, Gramps, and Grandma about how many miles they walk per day.)
Language Development
Imitates the rising and falling osunds of adult conversation. (And American Idol contestants.)
Imitates more speech sounds, but does not yet understand most of them. (Yes - he knows Lexi, Daddy, Abu, Elmo, SO BIG, Up, and Bye, Bye!)
Repeats sounds again and again. (And again, and again, and again, and...)
May begin to say "mama" or "dada" appropriately. (He says both, but not associated with us.)
Emotional and Behavioral Development
Continues to resist doing what he does not want to do. (Including falling asleep, changing clothes, falling asleep, letting go of fishing pole, falling asleep, letting go of other favorite toys, and falling asleep.)
BEgins to try to imitate some parent behaviors. (Well, he IS obsessed with iPad, iPhone, prank YouYube videos, deer call, camo, and previously mentioned fishing pole. Kidding!)
Loves showing off for family audience. (Yes, and he grins when his favorite people come into the room!)
May cry when parent leaves the room. (Only if tired.)
May resist diapering. (Unless distracted with toy, he's a squirmy worm.)
Enjoy these pictures of his developing independence. (It typically takes about 50 pictures to find the good ones each month. These are the cute personality ones I don't usually post.)
Beckett has become very verbal. He coos, laughs, screeches, and grunts. It's been really hard to document, though, because he still refuses to "perform" on demand - anytime he sees the video camera or an electronic device, he stops whatever cute behavior we were trying to capture and stares at it, transfixed. Everything changed last night, though, when he was sleeping... check out this video!
Remember those dolls we used to beg our parents to get us? The ones that closed their eyes when they lay down? They were so sweet, lying there asleep, and you just wanted a reason to tell everyone, "Shh! The baby's sleeping!" The really nice babies were heavier; their arms and legs kind of hung down when you held them against your chest and their tummies were squishy. Wasn't it the best if you could get one that would make little cooing sounds when you cuddled it? If it smelled like baby powder or Johnson's Baby Lotion, it was an added bonus, and it was especially wonderful if its skin was soft and its face sweet.
Funny how I kept begging my heavenly father for one, well into my thirties. He listened, and here my baby is, doing the sweet sleeping thing. I think I got the best model.
You might think from the scratches all over his face that this post is about him fighting, say, a feral cat, but in actuality this post is about him fighting sleep. (And the face scratches are from his own nails. SAD.) Saturday, I got to sing at my (beautiful) cousin Natalie's wedding. The guys stayed home because it was an outdoor ceremony and approximately 120 degrees. Shonn had a hard time getting the little munchkin to sleep and he took this video while I was gone. I made it into a movie on Beckett's YouTube Channel. Here it is: http://youtu.be/IztnA3hmFEs
Beckett slept really well in his own bed, regardless of our little hotel slumber parties. It was harder on me than him...I missed the extra cuddling. He also slept for 6 hours in his own bed last night! The pic above was taken about 15 minutes ago - hes snoozing on the couch while I blog and make videos.
Speaking of sleep, let's address the associated fashion. These are my favorite pjs right now - they are absorbia brand and really soft. They also remind me a little of the bedding Krista picked out for Colin - kind of a modern pop art pattern. Obviously, Beckett doesn't quite see the need to take a picture of his pajamas, as evidenced by the look on his face. :)
I had some work to do for the Illinois State Board of Education on the Illinois Alternative Assessment this week, so I convinced Shonn to bring Beckett and consider it a mini-getaway. (It's simple parental math: Free hotel and food + close to Grandma & Grandpa's house = Easy first time away from home.)
We had a great time! On Monday, we got to the hotel around noon and napped for about 3 hours. Ha! Exciting. Then we went shopping and out for dinner. There is a new sporting goods store in Springfield called Steehl's, and it is livke a carnival for grown up men. No, really. There is a ferris wheel in the center of the store. There are also tons of games, like a racecar simulation, bowling alleys, firing ranges, and batting cages. For those randoms who actually came to the store to shop, there are three floors of assorted sports, hunting, fishing, kayaking, boating, (insert other manly -ing word here) goods to buy. To give you an idea of the scope, my husband is a fishing fanatic, and he said the fishing department was a bit too overwhelming. That would be like me saying the shoe sale was a little too large. Really.
We also went to the mall so I could get a few new things for work. I'm back down to prepregancy weight, but certain areas are still a little...differently shaped, shall we say? This...shifting is the reason I HAD to get some things to wear. The guys got pics taken in a photo booth while I speed shopped. (I was really proud of how quickly I was in and out.)
Anyway, the whole point of this post (hence the title) is to discuss the sleeping arrangements on this mini vacay. Specifically, that: A) Shonn and I slept in seperate beds ala Brady Bunch (NOT kidding); and B) Little Mister Beckett slept with his mama both nights.
I need to digress from the story long enough to disclaim that I am adamantely against co-sleeping, unless there are proper safety precautions. Needless to say, at the Hilton Crowne Plaza, there aren't bed cribs or dividers. I'll go ahead and finish my story now, even though you all are going to think I'm a terrible mom.
So, Beckett slept with me, and I have never woken up so stiff in my entire life. I felt like Rodin's Thinker when I got up this morning because I had to crack almost every joint in my body as if they were made of stone. I swear not one part of my body moved all night long, except my eyelids, which were open approximately 8 of the 8 and a half hours we were "asleep" to keep my eyes on him. Obviously, mama didn't sleep well, but I was the only one in the bed not sleeping. The Brick slept like the proverbial baby. Really, really well. Both nights. I'm hypothesizing this was because he was really close to me (not alone) and had easy access to midnight snacks whenever the mood struck him.
So why might there be trouble at the Hild Ranch? Because after two nights of sleeping like said baby, the little mister is headed back to the crib tonight. We'll see how that goes...
PS: I have some really cute pics from this weekend, but can't seem to find my Blackbery cord at present. I'll post them later!
