Summary of Month 12

So I didn’t do so great on one of my goals last month…my kid is still sporting the diaper-only look in most of these pics! I swear someday I’ll start making him get dressed every day! My excuse used to be that he spit up so often…I need to find a new reason 🙂

Breakfast: Breakfast is Kye’s favorite meal of the day! He LOVES it! Every morning he has either yogurt or oatmeal with banana, prunes, and apple pieces mixed into it. He finishes is ALL and then I give him some Cheerios! I love that he loves breakfast so much and it’s a great way to start out our day each morning!

Paci Hunter: For a long time Zach and I stored Kye’s extra pacis in the drawer of the little plant table we have in Kye’s room. It was right next to the crib so it’s ultra convenient for those times that he tossed out his paci and we couldn’t find another one! Well that’s had to change…Kye figured out where our stash was and he started getting into the drawer and having fun time with his pacis (we don’t allow the paci out of the crib!) Here’s a video of the “Great Paci Hunter”

Sippy Time: When I nursed I always nursed Kye in “our chair” then when he switched to the sippy we always have given it to him in the same chair. I think those days are numbered. Now when he sits in our lap to drink the sippy he’ll take like 2-3 gulps of it then want to stand up and visit with Levi (who is ALWAYS sitting on the back of the chair) He tries to share the sippy with Levi and tries to (gently) pet Levi. It’s cute and precious but it also makes sippy feeding time take ages. We’ve slowly started to limit the time in the chair and have had to put him in his high chair to finish the sippy while he eats!

“Soup”: Kye has always enjoyed playing in the bathroom. So much so that I typically get ready with him in there with me. Again it seems like this month that started to change! He gets so cranky now and annoyed. I know I read in Toddlerwise (many more mentions of this book to come I’m sure!) that once they understand something and are no longer curious about it that they lose interest. I guess you can only turn on the tub facet so many times huh?!? Well now to occupy the time I have started giving him “soup.” I don’t know why I called it that but I just take his little spoon and put water on it and he drinks it right up! It’s a cute little thing we do and it buys me more time to get ready 🙂 Here’s a video of him drinking his soup!

Clever Kid: You can REALLY see Kye growing and changing all the time! His little mind is working like crazy and he just keeps getting smarter! Since he outgrew the Bumbo I started putting him in his baby swing which turned into a toddler chair when he watches his movie (Your Baby Can Read). It’s great because it buckles him in so I can do other things (like blog!) and not have to worry about him. Well he’s figured out how to tip the chair up so he can move!!! We found him like this and it’s so funny! Now I have to make sure nothing is on the coffee table that he could get to and make sure to put him far enough away from the tv!!!

Crazy Boy: Overall, Kye is a pretty mellow child I think. Especially for a boy. But he does still have his “Crazy Boy Kye” side and I love it! We’ll play and play in his room and I adore how we chase each other. He’s started to understand the idea behind chasing and it’s so fun to see him get “scared” when I start to come after him. We both laugh so much together and it’s moments like these that I always want to cherish.

Concentrating: Like I said, Kye’s pretty mellow. He really is! I have always thought that he’s a thinker. You can watch him looking at things and trying to understand them. Long before he could touch the light switch he’d watch me turn it on and then watch the light come on. He’s always connecting the dots in his little mind 🙂 When he plays he gets in a deep concentration and I can just tell he’ll be one of those guys who is sooo zoned in on stuff that you call his name a thousand times but he’s too focused to ever hear you haha Hopefully this will apply to a great concentration on a SKILL and not just the tv 😉 I’ve really seen how he has mastered cause and effect this month. We got him that monkey for Valentine’s Day and he LOVES it (we’ve now named it Cocoa). He watched me over and over again pressing the little foot and now he knows exactly where to press in order to get Cocoa to talk and dance! Here’s a video!

Climbing: We are in TROUBLE!!! Kye isn’t even walking yet but he’s a climber already! I know Aundrea talked about her son Mason already being a climber too so it’s probably a boy thing! I know I shouldn’t encourage it but what can I really do to prevent it? He climbed all the way up the steps at the indoor park and is constantly climbing up the arms of the chair in his room and reaching the window or even the top of the dresser!

Puzzle: Kye LOVES puzzles! I plan to start having high chair time each day as a time for him to learn to sit and play with ONE thing in a confined area. I know for preschool and eventually kindergarten he has to be able to sit and concentrate and I think it’s important to practice that at home (thanks Toddlerwise!). I haven’t started doing this with him yet (I wanted to start after he turned a year!) but I have been letting him play with puzzles to see how he’d do. And he really enjoys them! While he can’t actually put the pieces exactly where they go. He is learning the concept and will put the piece over the spot then I’ll just fit it in! Here’s a little video of Kye playing with his puzzle.

Wipe Lover: Don’t ask me why but Kye adores playing with wipes. He loves to suck on them! It’s SICK! And I tell him it’s gross but he thinks it’s hilarious. He also likes to wear them as hats haha. I’m not kidding! This day I put it on his head to be funny but then he liked it there. He’d reach up and feel for it and then it’d fall off and he’d cry until I put it back on and I’d say a comment about his handsome hat then he’d reach for it thus starting the cycle all over again. It was too cute and it’s so funny how much he enjoys playing with such simple things! He really is a lot better about putting random stuff in his mouth and I don’t mind him sucking on a wipe…I mean it’s gross but it won’t kill him or anything!

Car Watching: I heard that “they” did a study and put a bunch of babies in a room with dolls on one side and toy cars on the other and let the babies choose what they played with and that the girls naturally went to the dolls and the boys naturally went to the cars. It’s so true! I don’t put any special emphasis on “boy things” but yet when a car drives by Kye stops, stares out the window, then crawls like a crazy person to the window to watch it! He’ll even sometimes say “car” (as EVERYTIME one passes by I point it out haha). When we are outside playing he will just stop and stare at any car going by and reach out for them. I love little things like this that make him so boy! Here’s his “car face” haha

Pointing: Kye now points with one finger…and it’s his “pointer” too! I know Colt points with his middle finger and while it’s hilarious I’m thankful that Kye uses the “pointer” haha! Don’t want him making too many enemies 🙂 He points at stuff constantly and I’m starting to have him point at certain things when reading a book (“point to the boy’s mouth” etc). 

Cheesy Grin: I can grin really super hard at Kye and he’ll do a cheesy grin back!!! It’s cute in that oh-how-funny way but I wouldn’t say that it’s a grin I hope he has in a year book picture (but if he does I’ll still hang it on my wall…) haha. You can also see in these pics that Kye has his second top tooth! For his bday he had a total of four! 🙂 And, unfortunately he’s started to grind them too 🙁

Tongue: I don’t know if this is what’s really happening but it seems like Kye is finding his tongue. He is obsessed with moving it around and making sounds when using it. He especially did this more towards the beginning of the month and by the end of the month he was talking WAY more and doing this less and less. So cool how quickly they change right in front of our eyes! I am so glad I got a video of this as it was a cute thing and, like most little phases, it passed quickly 🙁 

Standing: While he’s still not anywhere close to walking, Kye stands ALL the time now on his own. He used to do it only when he was holding something and then he’d realize he was doing it and get scared and either plop down or grab onto something. Now he’s not afraid of it and will stand there like it’s no big deal. He’ll even drink his sippy while standing! Such a big boy!!! I’m kinda ready for him to walk now but he’s not ready so we don’t push it. He’ll walk a little when holding on to our hands and sometimes he even cries b/c he wants us to walk with him but it’s not super often. No rush on our baby growing up 🙂

Toy Finder: Kye’s the paci-hunting-toy-finding kid! My goal when I had a baby was to keep my house still looking like my house and not over-run with baby stuff. EVERYTHING has a place so that way when we straighten up we know where everything goes. I firmly believe in changing out toys (again, Toddlerwise idea) as it keeps toys fresh and it doesn’t overstimulate him with too many things to play with at once. For as long as he’s been in our lives we’ve kept some of his stuff behind the chair in his room. It used to be his bouncer and now it’s whatever toy isn’t out (usually the basketball goal and the tool bench or laugh and learn table). Well, he’s found them! He now will sometimes get bored and just crawl behind the chair to play with his “hidden” toys. Such a sneak!

Mr. Monkey: Mr. Monkey (it’s actually a Lovie and here is an entry I wrote all about where to get one!) is still Kye’s BFF! If anything they’ve gotten closer with time. While Daddy was out of town I let Kye have Mr. Monkey outside the crib (a BIG no-no) just to see if he’d even care about him. I mean I kinda thought they just had a friends-with-benefits type deal where they only cuddled in the bed and weren’t public about it haha But I was wrong! He would see Mr. Monkey and crack up! He couldn’t believe he was outside “his home” and loved playing with him! It’s not a habit I’ll be starting as I’m not a fan of seeing kids toting around a blankie everywhere they go. I agree with Zach that Mr. Monkey needs to live in the crib (or car seat on trips where Kye sleeps). But it was cute and I took a video!

Hair: I poke fun at Robyn b/c she always mentioned LL’s eyes, well I feel like I always mention Kye’s hair! He has SO much more of it now. It’s so funny b/c it’s still the same exact way it looked in his 4D ultrasound picture! But in the back it’s getting much thicker. I know it’s hard to see usually in pictures because it’s so light. But I gave him his bath recently (that’s usually Daddy and Kye time no Mommy allowed haha) and I couldn’t believe how great it looked when it’s wet! There is much more than you can tell is there when it’s dry 🙂

Straw: So when I was stressing with final details for Kye’s party (remember my 1st Not Me Monday Post?), I kinda let him have more freedom than I normally would allow and he happened to be digging through the pantry when he found a spare sippy. I bought many sippys as I didn’t know what kind he would like! One of them has a straw and it was just tossed in the drawer…well he found it so I figured why not? I filled it with some water and let him have it. It was a GOOD time waster for Mommy! And he took to it right away! No issues at all! He can drink from a straw 🙂

Pushing Truck: Mom got Kye a Tonka truck that he can ride on or walk behind. He loved riding from the beginning but we’ve been trying to push the whole walk behind part of it. He’s really starting to catch on! Slowly but surely haha! Here’s a video of him doing it (with Daddy’s help) of course he did better the first time he tried it but I didn’t have the camera with me (I know it’s a rare event).

still likes riding best!

Current Schedule: 

7:15: up, diaper change, sippy, breakfast

after breakfast: Your Baby Can Read

then free playtime

8:45: diaper change if needed

8:50: pjs on, story time

9:00: nap

11:00: up, diaper change if needed, sippy, lunch

after lunch: independent playtime (40 minutes)

then free playtime (usually with Mommy in bathroom)

12:45: diaper change

12:50: pjs on, story time

1:00: nap

3:00-3:15: up from nap, sippy only

free afternoon time-run errands, play outside, watch movie again if needed

6:00: sippy, dinner with family

6:45: bath

after bath: lotion on, family play time in room

7:15: pjs on, story time, prayer and bed for night!

Goals for this month: I did better this month with posting more often instead of “saving” it all up for one long one. Hopefully I’ll do even better at this next month (which since I’m behind in posting this is actually this current month haha). I haven’t started blanket time yet and may wait a little while on it. When I tried it, it didn’t go so great. I do want to start high chair time. I also want to get Kye on whole milk (be DONE with formula!) and get rid of the paci. Of course I want to do better with getting Kye dressed each day too but I know it may not happen! Since the weather is getting better I also want to get back to our daily walks, I need it for swimsuit season!!!