It had been awhile since I had played with my camera so Monday afternoon I got it out and snapped some pics.
I absolutely love the "nifty fifty" lens (50 mm 1.8f) that I got a couple months ago. It has a wider aperture than the lens that comes with the camera so it makes the background really blurry which in turn makes West really pop in the pictures. The only problem is it's taken me awhile to get nice clear pictures with it, especially when West moves so fast! I still have a ways to go, but I'm having fun learning.
Here he was biting one of the slats and before I could stop him he face-planted into the window. Brad thought this pic was hilarious and asked me to include it. :)
We can't even begin to describe how much we love this kid and how much fun we have with him everyday. He's just incredible - he has the most infectious nose-wrinkling grin, the best jabbers, the funniest faces, the most adorable belly-holding waddle, the sweetest coos when he wakes up, and the hands-down best laughs. (Maybe we're a little biased.) We did nothing to deserve this little guy as our son, but are so thankful to the Lord every day that we get to be his parents.
Ok, we'll stop gushing. :) Here's what all he's been up to this last month.
What he's learned:
He can give high-fives and sign "all done" most times whenhe's finished nursing or eating. We're still working on him doing that to actually communicate that he's all done, instead of just doing it when we say "all done," but it's a start. We're also still working on him signing "more" but he's only done that once so far. He is also pointing all the time, which is pretty stinking adorable.
He makes a sort of fish face where he opens and closes his mouth over and over. He does it all the time!
You can see most of these things in this video here:
Walking is his preferred method of transportation. He hardly ever crawls anymore. We thought when he first took steps that he'd still prefer crawling for quite some time, but walking was his go-to way to get around pretty soon after. We don't put shoes on him at home but we do when he goes outside (most times) and when we go somewhere we know he'll be walking around (like the Royals game). We bought his first real pair of shoes - some "trek" shoes with a covered toe and flexible sole, but the sole ended up being too bulky for him and he didn't do so well in them. Thankfully some friends lent us a pair of Robeez shoes with a soft sole and he gets around pretty well in those. This video here is actually of the first time we put him in them. It was the night before we went to the Royals game and we were testing out our different shoe options for him.
Another new thing he loves doing is this quasi-headstand/pre-somersault/yoga downward dog sort of move. You can see it in the video above as well, about 20 seconds into it.
He opens cabinets and drawers like he owns the place. When we try to block him from getting into something he even tries to move our hands, smart little guy!
We're working on playing catch and he thinks it is so much fun. Throwing still needs some work; most of the time he doesn't let go when he's making the throwing motion OR he gets all excited and just runs the ball right to us. :)
It's amazing to see him imitate us; often it happens at times we don't expect it at all. For instance the other day we were playing on the floor together while laying on our backs. I raised my legs up in the air and started kicking them, and he followed suit and did the same! It was too funny, especially since he couldn't hold them up for long but kept trying. A couple minutes later he was standing up and I did it again and he started bouncing up and down while standing. Too funny. Also, the other day I said it was time to pray before lunch and he folded his hands and started jabbering. Total coincidence I'm sure but it was still a powerful reminder of what they can pick up from even a young age.
What he loves:
He loves pulling everything out those kitchen cabinets he's allowed in. This includes measuring cups, cake pans, colanders, cutting boards, plastic trays, etc. I'm torn because while I don't like putting it all back several times a day, it does keep him pretty well entertained when I'm cooking or cleaning in the kitchen. And I'm sure before we know it he'll be able to "help" me pick up.
He still has a frustrating fascination with the fireplace hearth, electronics, and blinds, so I feel like we battle those things pretty often. In addition to those, he's learned how to pull up the vent covers around the house. He hasn't seemed to have made much progress with the word "no" since we started sternly using it a few months ago, and we're consistent with what things we use it on. For now we still sternly tell him no and move him away from whatever he's getting into/onto that he shouldn't. He'll catch on soon, right?? Just around the corner??? sigh.
His other favorite toys/playthings (in no particular order): swimming pool, activity table, any kitchen item, his vtech Rhyme and Discover book, any ball, ring stacker, hairbrushes (I think he just loves pulling them out of my bathroom drawer and hitting them against things), and brooms (you read that correctly). He's really so curious about everything new he comes across- whether it's a new basketball, book, hair dryer, or pan- and new items are typically his favorite items to study/play with until he moves on to the next new thing (either by choice or by force). :)
How he sleeps:
His schedule is pretty much the same as it was in his 9 month post - he takes two 1.5-2 hour naps a day and eats about every 4-4.5 hours.
He's finally to the point where he doesn't cry at all when we put him down for most naps. This is a very welcomed stage because putting him in the crib and walking away when he's crying is no fun for any of us! (Granted, he never cried for very long, but even just a few minutes is hard.)
How he eats:
He is doing great with solids! Well, as long as they are finger foods anyways; he's not a fan of being spoon fed. His favorite foods are any berries (strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries), bananas, sweet potatoes, cheese, cheerios, and graham crackers. Some new additions that he likes are hummus, pasta, black beans,and deli meat. He doesn't mind steamed peas, carrots, corn, and he's definitely not a fan of browned ground beef, broccoli, zucchini, or squash. Of course there's more but that's what I can remember off the top of my head. It'll be fun to see how his tastes change over time.
He's still not a fan of the sippy cup so we tried a couple different options. One is a cup with a straw (below on the left) and the other is more of a toddler cup with a lid that has a little bit of a lip where he can drink out of (on the right). The one on the right is actually for 24+ mo kiddos, but since he does better drinking out a real cup than a sippy cup we thought we'd give it a shot. Turns out he does much better with both of those than he does with a traditional sippy cup. He drinks a little better with the toddler cup than the straw cup, but he can't lift the toddler cup up to his mouth and drink out of it on his own yet (we have to hold it up there for him). Hopefully we can get this figured out soon... my goal is to wean him around his first birthday but he has to be able to drink out of a sippy cup before we can do that. The clock is ticking!
Yes, I included pictures of cups, only because it's easier for me to show a pic than to describe with words. :)
How he's grown:
Two weeks ago he weighed in at 17lb 12oz. We're really hoping for a big growth spurt here soon - come on West!
We tried taking him off of the Prevacid 15 mg solutabs a couple weeks ago since most reflux babies outgrow it by about a year, but it did not go so well. His feedings cut almost in half and he started spitting up a LOT, poor guy. So he's back on it again and we're hoping we can get back to what his feedings were.
A couple weeks ago we took West to his first Royals game with our small group. He did great! He did well sitting and 'watching' and being passed around to the others in our small group and actually made it to the seventh inning before we had to get up and move around with him. At that point we took him over to the outfield/kids area and he loved just walking around and checking everything out.
It's safe to say that Brad was more excited about this monumental event in West's life than West was. One day though we're sure he'll appreciate the photos we took and the "Official Royals Fan" certificate he was awarded!
