Here’s what all went down during Kye’s 11th month!
Two things in one hand: Kye worked very hard at being able to pick up two things in one hand. I don’t really get why this was so important to him but he got very frustrated when he wasn’t able to do it. I haven’t noticed this as much recently, but in the beginning of the month this goal filled his every playtime! And whenever he’d get it he’d look at us and raise his little hand up so proud of his prize 🙂
you can tell he’s really concentrating on it!
Clean Up: Since the beginning of time (or when Kye was first born, which feels like the beginning of time) we’ve always sang a “clean up song” (yes, the one from Barney) and cleaned up all of Kye’s toys each time he finishes playing with them. Finally he’s starting to help! It takes a little longer to clean up but I can hand him a toy and tell him to “put it in the basket” and he will! He actually started doing this with Zach in the bath. Here’s a video Daddy took of Kye cleaning up!
“Ew Stinky!” Kye is AWFUL during diaper changes. It’s getting impossible for me to manage! One day he had a huge poop diaper so I tried to joke with him about it and hoped that would help him behave. I said “ewww stinky.” Well instead of him behaving he went CRAZY with laughter and got even MORE squirmy. Now when I want him to be wild and show his crazy-boy-Kye self I say “eww stinky” haha kinda funny coming from the mom who can’t smell! Here’s a video of us doing this.
Stacking and Opening: This month has been ALL about putting things in and taking them back out. I think that’s party of the whole helping clean up thing. He just loves learning how things fit together. Kye constantly opens and shuts the drawers on his dressers and puts his toys inside them and then takes them back out (and has gotten his fair share of spankings for trying to take the clothes out too). The little stacking cups we got from Ikea for $1 have been a HIT!!! Here is a video of Kye putting things in the drawers and a video of Kye fitting his little cups inside each other. Along with this opening/closing phase his love of the doors has also evolved and now he likes to put his toys OUTSIDE the door then shut it. I think it’s his way of learning that things are still there even when you can’t see them? Anyway here’s a video of him hiding things behind the doors.
Copying: Kye has really started to copy the things that we do and remember that we do them. Zach started playing with a Brave’s Tomahawk Mom had at her house and showing Kye how to do the tomahawk chop and now Kye will hold his toy in his hand and chop his arm and attempt to say “ohhh oh ohhh” it’s pretty cute! Another big thing he copies is something I’ve done with him for a long time. I’ll always hold up his cups or blocks to my mouth and say “hello” in a funny voice. Now whenever he picks up such toys he does it too! I did catch this on video 🙂
Kye Kisses: Kye does NOT like kisses. I think it’s because I kiss him SO SO SO much (I realize I have a son and that my kissing days are very limited so I take advantage of it now while he doesn’t have a choice). Zach and I try to kiss in front of him (just pecks people) to get him to do it. The other day we kissed and then had him kiss each of us and then we kissed again and told him to watch Mommy and Daddy kiss. He knew what was coming and started shaking his head “no!” haha I’m telling you this kid is NOT a kisser! He does do his own form of kissing though which is when he leans his head in and touches you with it. That’s a Kye Kiss and if you get one consider yourself lucky as it’s as close as he comes to legit kissing 🙂
“duck”: I’m the one who gets the chance to witness most of Kye’s firsts and this was one that Zach got to see before I did! I was on my way to get us some DQ for a little movie/date night and he called me and told me to listen then put the phone up to Kye and he said “duck” Plain as day! I was, of course, overjoyed but told Zach to get off the phone and grab the video camera haha! Here is a video of Kye saying “duck.” He for sure knows it means a real duck! It’s pretty exciting and it’s funny b/c when I tell people they pretty much all day it was one of their children’s first words too. If you see us though don’t bother trying to get him to say it. He’s very stubborn that way! I will beg and beg for him to say something but he’ll NEVER do it! Makes it hard to catch his talking moments on video!
Talking: Speaking of talking Kye is doing it LIKE CRAZY! Of course we can’t understand much of what he says but it’s a fun time to just sit back and listen to him. He has his own little language that is just so sweet. He has figured out how to move his tongue in different ways to produce more sounds and he’ll play with his tongue constantly. It’s just so awesome to me how little babies grow and develop into humans haha. Here’s a video of our chatty child.
“Arms Up”: I don’t know if it’s his copying us or if it’s Your Baby Can Read but Kye is a PRO at doing “arms up.” It’s kinda annoying that people say “touchdown” when he does it. I mean yeah it looks like a touchdown but I really want him to learn that the words arms-up mean to put your arms up and not be all confused about it. I love when he watches the video because whenever they do it he will do it too!!! Here is a video of Kye doing “arms up” when we did some of his flashcards the other day.
Your Baby Can Read: I’m a believer!!! This month I’ve really noticed that it works! First, “duck” is one of the words and he says it and he also does “arms up” a lot which is on the video multiple times. I’ve always just shown him the video and occasionally done some of the cards but now I do cards at every meal, video twice a day (sometimes only once) and read the books before each nap. I actually called the company to ask what I do after he finishes the program and they said once he’s over 18 months we can buy Your Child Can Read. We’ll probably do it! I’ve never really sat with him to watch the video (duh it’s 20 min of free time for me!) but when Robyn mentioned how her daughter can do a lot of the words I started paying more attention. He really does know it!!! Some of the words I’ve heard him say (you can’t fully understand him but you can tell he’s trying to say them) include: chimpanzee, point, giraffe, yes, baby, ear, bib, book, no, head and duck. The guy when I called told me that if he’s said duck and talks like he is that he knows the words but just can’t communicate them yet with us fully. Awesome huh?
Eating: It’s still going great! We’ve gotten him now on formula 4 times a day at ROOM temperature which is great! SO much easier for us!!! He also loves so many foods and I’ve really begun to mix things together and try to add seasonings to stuff as he seems to enjoy food more that way. He still hasn’t mastered the “more” and “all done” signs but does them occasionally and will communicate with us more vocally than with the signs. He’s been showing a lot of interest in what WE are eating so I think the days of separate (healthier for him!) meals are coming to an end. He’s also shown interest in holding a spoon so I’ve let him a few times. He’s not AWFUL at it (doesn’t fling food everywhere) but he can’t quite get it in the mouth either. He does sometimes toss food off the tray onto the floor but it’s rare and he knows he’s not supposed to. When he does it though it’s pretty funny as he’ll slllllowly reach that hand out and slowlllly drop it down. So silly
Strong Boy: When Kye was born all the men made a big deal about how strong he was since he was able to hold up his head at birth. Then they made a big deal about his big thighs. And how tall he is. It’s pretty humorous to see what men think are important traits in a child haha. The other day I was just playing with Kye and he reached up for the door knobs of his closet. I held him up so he could touch them and he held on. So I let go just to see what would happen and he held himself up AND tried to climb up the doors. I guess that’s a big deal? haha! I told Zach and he flipped out and called his dad. I think we’ll have a climber on our hands soon! Here’s a video of him doing it as of course Zach wanted to be able to show people!
Standing: I still don’t think walking is in our very near future. Kye is able to stand on his own and I’ve counted around 30 seconds before. I honestly think he could stand longer but he gets nervous about it. He’ll only do it when he’s distracted with a toy or something and then he’ll quickly grab onto something when he realizes that he’s standing up on his own. I couldn’t even get a picture of it as he does it so rarely! I don’t really believe in trying to get him to do things before he’s ready. I don’t try to coax him to walk to me or stand on his own, he’ll do it when he’s good and ready to do it!
Reading: Kye’s love of reading has only continue to grow! I decided to re-organize his bookshelf and let him have the bottom shelf for all HIS books (the little board books that he can’t hurt). He loves going in his closet and taking books out to read. It took awhile and many spankings for him to learn that he’s ONLY allowed to get those books but he’s caught on and does really well with it. The other day he took out each and ever book and would “read” it for a second then toss it aside and go back to get another one. It was annoying to clean up but fun to watch 🙂 Here’s a video of it!
Ladies Man: We’ve been having play dates with Robyn and Matt’s daughter, Lorelai, for several months now. They are still mostly into parallel play where they will play beside each other but not with each other. Last time they came over for dinner I offered to let LL bathe with Kye so she could go to sleep in the car on their way home (they live kinda far from us) and they said that it’d be fine (at least while they are babies!). It resulted in some pretty cute pictures and the most interacting we’ve seen them have!
the ladies already can’t resist that Parker booty!
Throwing: This whole throwing things phase is annoying. It’s SUPER annoying when the thing Kye decides to throw his is paci. I’m actually going to be writing a post about his sleep issues this month!!! Along with the paci he enjoys throwing ALL his toys out of the pack and play during his independent playtime. Luckily nothing is breakable! I don’t mind it too much as at least he’s staying in his playtime for the 40 minutes (and sometimes even more!). He LOVES it!!! The other day he even took off the mobile that is attached to the pack and play.
“Rap” Music: So Kye takes after his daddy with his taste in music! When we are in the car and I put on my ipod he’ll be so happy with an upbeat pop/rap type song but when a slower song comes on he’ll start crying! We really don’t mind if he listens to our type music. Neither of us cuss and Zach has NEVER cussed but has always listened to rap and such. As long as he knows what not to say it’s fine! It IS nice that we can listen to music that we like in the car 🙂
Top Tooth: Kye has his third tooth!!! It’s a top one! Teething has been so so so so so much better after the first tooth. For the second one we were skiing so I didn’t really see how that went but this top one coming in has been no big deal. Thank the LORD for that!!! Since he’s into these cheesy smiles now I actually caught a picture of the tooth..hard to do! At first when it was starting to come in Zach and I were a little freaked out because it looked HUGE. Then we realized that, duh, your top teeth are bigger than the bottoms haha.
New Gate: Well little smarty pants figured out how to push the gate from against the wall so his little play area no longer worked for us! Zach bought a new gate that attaches to the doorway in the hall and we LOVE it! We use his other gate in his room around the humidifier so he can’t get to it and this gate stays up in the doorway. It’s easier to open and close and it’s nice to be able to lock the dogs out when they are bugging us! And it still gives Kye a decent sized area to play in if we need to put him somewhere while we’re busy doing something else.
Car Sounds: When I was pregnant and thought about having a son the first thing I pictured was a little kid on his knees pushing around a truck and making noises. Since Kye was born I’ve always tried to make lots of sound effects as that’s one of the few things I know that all boys seem to like! My precious day has finally come! I was in his room watching him play and he picked up a toy car and scooted it around the room making sounds. It seriously melted my heart and made me so happy. I have a son! I love it! Here’s a video of my little noise maker 😉
Current Schedule:I wish I’d always posted this each month but it’s never too late to start!
7:15: Wake up, 8 oz formula, breakfast
after eating: flash cards then movie time
free playtime until 8:40
8:40: fresh diaper if not already changed, pjs on, read story
8:50 nap time
11:00 up from nap, 8 oz formula, lunch
after eating: flash cards, independent playtime
free playtime (usually in bathroom while mommy gets ready) until 12:40
12:40: new diaper if not already changed, pjs on, read story
1:50ish: down for nap
2:30-3:00 up from nap
3:00: 8 oz formula
after eating: independent playtime if didn’t do long enough earlier, 2nd video if needed, lots of free playtime (typically go on walks or run errands)
6:00: 8 oz formula, dinner
6:45ish: bath
after bath: lotion, familly time
7:15: pjs on, story, prayer, bed
Goals for this month: I’d like to start transitioning Kye to get ready for the changes in his schedule when he turns one (adding blanket time for sure!). I’d also like to get him dressed more often and work up to getting him dressed everyday. I know this is a silly goal but he sleeps BEST for naps in his pjs so it’s stupid to get him dressed for an hour just to undress him to put him in pjs! I’d also like to work on posting mini posts of little things Kye does rather than having SO many to cover at the end of the month! It’s a lot of work to post all this and it’s soooo long!!! While little posts here and there won’t be as organized it’ll be easier 🙂
