Adam- 14 Months

Adam turned 14 months on feb. 23rd. No pictures, sorry. Maybe tomorrow!

I've decided to start doing updates every two months now that we've reached the 12 month mark.

Dear Adam,

You have really developed so much in the past two months.  You're sooooooo smart, I honestly cannot believe some of the things you know how to do.  There are so many new things!

You now say mmmmmo when we ask what a cow says.
You say nanana na (nay) when we ask what a horse says.
you understand complex sentences such as: put your socks in the hamper, put your duck in the tub, sit on the step so we can put your shoes up, etc... The list goes on and on and every day I am amazed at the sentences you understand.

You can point out a cat, dog, horse, frog, duck, bird, sheep, cow and fish in books without thinking twice.

you still call most things dada, but you are saying mama much more now.
You sign more, all done and please.

Yesterday, you spilt some milk on the floor.& you went over to where we keep the towel, grabbed it down, went over put it on top of the spilt milk and wiped it up.  I couldn't believe it!

You're eating everything, still loving all fruit and anything with marinara sauce.You are picky at times which is frustrating, but we're dealing with it. You're now down to one nap.  You wake up around 5:45-6:30, nap 11:30-1ish, then go to bed at 7.  You still don't get juice at home, only at daycare.

Speaking of daycare, starting on Monday, you will be going full time. Mommy is very sad about this, but it was time she got a full time job, maybe someday I'll be able to stay home with you again, I sure hope so. I'm going to miss lounging around in our pj's for half the day, playing games together and just spending the day together.  Mommy actually cried when she got the job and they were not happy tears.

You had tubes in on Jan 17th and all went well. You started sleeping much better the first night after surgery.   You haven't had any ear infections since either.  You did go to the doctor just yesterday and weighed 21 lbs 10oz.  they said you probably had a growth spurt, I'm not sure how tall you are, but I'm hoping you grew there too!

You're running all over the place and it's hard for mama to keep up with you. You are ever changing, learning and growing and I am so proud to be your mama.

Just finished: Heaven is for Real

This book had me reading from beginning to end.  It was such an amazing story of a little boy and his brief "trip" to Heaven.  Colton Burpo surprised me by some of the things he shared with his family and at times, had me praying to God that this is how it will be when I get there.  This story is a must read as it reassures my faith in that this life is only temporary.  There is so much more to come and I am thankful to be a believer.  If you haven't read this book yet, stop and go pick it up.  You seriously won't be able to put it down until you are finished.  For the sake of not giving away the book, I'll let you decide for yourself what you thought.  Enjoy!

It's offical....

Winter is here! :-(  We've been blessed with an unseasonably warm first 1/2 of winter here in Iowa, but I just know it's going to catch up with us.  Today, Jan 12th, 2012 we got our first actual snowfall of the season.  This is extreemly rare here in the midwest to go that long without snow, but I can't say I didn't enjoy the last two days of 50+ degree weather! 

Today, you will find Adam and I curled up inside praying for more of those warm days!  Luckily, I didn't have to sub today, so it's gonna be a day filled with a warm house, warm tea and a movie.... We'll see if Adam agrees!

Happy first "real" day of winter from us in Iowa!!

Ears Ears Ears

What's that you say?  Yeah, I'm talking about ears.  My little boy's ears to be exact.  He's been so miserable these past 6ish months with ear infection after ear infection and I just can't stand to have him go through it anymore.  I felt like every time we went to the doctor, he was put on yet another antibiotic and after his 5th ear infection, I said enough is enough. 

I took him to the ENT for a consult and the doctor looked in his ears and said yup, there's fluid in there and it's a cream colored fluid which isn't good.  He sent us for a hearing test and sure enough, Adam's hearing was being harmed by that fluid.  So, with that said, doc said Adam was a good candidate for tubes and we have it scheduled for Jan 17th. 

Don't get me wrong, I'd rather not get tubes in his ears, the thought of my little baby going through surgery makes me sick to my stomach, but I suppose if it's better for him in the long run and it's better for his hearing and speech, then it's what we should do.

We tried the chiropractor, but it was a bust in the ear infection department.  I wish it would have worked, however; I am at peace with this decision.  My husband and I both agree that this is the next step for Adam and we've heard great things about how tubes have worked for so many other families.

Now I know what you're probably thinking, they don't help everyone and yes, I understand that.  But if there is a chance that it will help my little man, well then by gosh I'm going to do it.  Sometimes ear infections can lead to hearing problems, which it has for for Adam, well if it's not caught early enough, it can lead to speech problems and I definitely don't want him to have problems speaking because we neglected to find a remedy sooner.

What about your kids?  Any of them have tubes?  If so, I want to hear the good, the bad and the ulgy because I'd rather be prepared than blindsided!

Adam- 12 Months

Dear Adam,

You are such a joy to be around.  You've developed so much in the last month, that it's hard to keep track.  I don't want to miss anything, so this might be quite long!

Your personality, oooo your personality, it's definitely showing.  You are an independent little thing and you love to do things yourself.  You giggle all the time, and you love when Mommy and Daddy do goofy stuff to make you laugh.  You like to dance, mostly with just your arms, and being "chased" is one of your favorite things.  If I say "I'm going to get you" you turn and run to your daddy and vise versa.  You even love when the puppy chases after you. room. You love to smile at EVERYONE, but strangers are a big no no for you this month.  You cry when strangers get near.   

You're still saying Dada and Mama quite frequently, but mostly Dada.  Once in awhile we'll hear dacto (Tractor) and itty (kitty).  You even try to say Eee Eye Eee Eye O, but it somes out sounding like eeee eye eee eye ee eye.  Every time you see a big truck, tractor or train you say Dacto (tractor).   If we ask you to say a word, you will almost always say the same amount of syllables, but chances are it will be nothing like we asked.  For instance, if we ask you to say Papa, you say Dada, or Please you say Da or even AH! You can sign more and all done like it's nobody's business.  You get really mad when you sign more and we don't give you more immediately. 

You're still in size 4 diapers and wearing size 4-4.5 shoes.  You're wearing size 12-18 Month for almost everything.  The pants are usually a bit too long for you since you're pretty short.

Previous to this week, you were eating EVERYTHING. Your favorite foods are peaches, pears and bananas. But just a week ago, you've decided that you want nothing except fruit and milk to eat.  It's been stressing mama out to the max. You haven't had a bottle since right after your 11 month birthday.  You drink a sippy cup of milk with every meal and you still get a sippy cup with about 4 oz in it before you go to bed along with a bowl of cereal.

Sleep.... O yes, sleep.  You've been determined to fight every single nap, but end up napping for at least an hour each time.  You're sick again, with another ear infection and mama hates it so much.  The ear infection has been disrupting your sleep and you've decided that waking up at 3:00am is acceptable...  We had about 4 days of that and now you're back to waking up at 5am.... I sure do miss the days of you waking up at 6-6:30!  Let's go back to those, ok??

You're very bright baby boy. You pick up on things very easily.  Nana got you a phone to play with and you put it on the back of your head like you're trying to talk to someone.  You point the remote at the TV and push buttons, you even dance whenever you hear music.  You like to mimic everyone if you can. When we say vroom vroom for car sounds, you will immediately make the cutest gurgling sound as you try to imitate a car.  It's actually pretty good.  Every time you see a car you do it.  You're pointing to everything these days, with your entire arm stretched out and all 5 fingers pointing at whatever you want. Which is usually everything you can see.

We had your birthday party on Dec. 10th because everyone gets so busy during the holidays.  You got more toys than we know what to do with.

You are such a joy, my baby boy, and I cannot believe that you are 1!  I'm amazed by you everyday and you are truly my greatest joy in life.  I have no idea what we would do without you!  Thank you for being you!  And thanks to God for bringing you into our lives, you truly make them so much better!

Edit:  We had your 12 month check up on Jan 6th-  your current stats were:  28.5" (15%) for height, 21lbs (20%) for weight, and 46" (40%) for head circumference.  You're our little man right now, I just hope you're not short like your mama when you grow up!
I love you now, forever and always,
Mama

Picky eating habits!

I believe it is far too early to have reached the picky eating stage, but alas we are here.  At about a week before his first birthday, Adam decided that he only wanted to eat fruit.  Now don't get me wrong, a kid loving fruit is great, no?  Yeah, but not so great when it's the only thing he will eat.

He was sick this past week with yet another ear infection, which marks #5, but who's counting...  (I've scheduled an appt with the ENT doctor for January, don't you worry) 

Anyway, back to the picky eating.  This past week has been difficult in the eating department.  At dinner, Adam would decide he only wanted to drink his milk and have nothing to do with food.  We finally got him to start eating a little, but that consisted of peaches, pears and bananas.  We went to the doctor yesterday for his ear infection, and sure enough he had lost about 1 lb in the last week due to his new eating habits, among other things (but I will spare you those details). 

Do/did you have experience with a picky eater?  What did you do?  We will try anything!  He's almost 1 and only weighs 20 lbs!  I use to have a chunker for a baby, now he's a skinny mini!

I'm hoping this will be a short lived phase, but only time will tell.  We're having lasagna tonight, and he LOVES spaghetti (or at least he use to), so maybe he'll eat some of that.  Who knows!

What's in a year

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving 2011