We hit another milestone. Yeah it's not one for Lincoln, this one is for me. Lincoln had his first night away from me. He had a spend the night party with my parents on Friday, November 13, 2015. They said he was great and they had lots of fun. He gave us lots of hugs in the morning! I was nervous that he would wake up in the middle of the night, even though that's not a common thing. I also worried that it would be a terrible experience, but it turned out to be great. We went to Athens and had dinner and played games at some of our friend's house. Jeremy had his first days away from Lincoln a month ago when we went to the beach. I was sad but I wasn't as sad as I was the night we moved him into his own room. Now that was really sad. My parents don't have a camera or anything so I couldn't watch him either, but we made it through.
I like the saying, "You get what you get and you don't pitch a fit." Well a 1 year old doesn't really understand that yet so trying to help him understand that the veggies on his tray are part of his dinner has been quite a challenge. He loves fruit and will eat fruit all day, every day, if we'd let him. However, I do feel as if he should have some other things going through his body. Throwing his food on the floor isn't what I prefer but a fit is also something I don't prefer. Removal from the situation has been our game plan, but we've seen him pitch a fit or two when he wants something he can't have or when he is taken away from the situation- splashing in the dog's water bowl, taking things off of the nightstands/tables and throwing them, taking breakable things out of the cabinets, putting peas in little holes in his activity seat... Sometimes his fits occur due to simple tasks like when I take off his diaper or try to put clothes on him and he'd rather be down on the ground running around. I've even ended up with food on my clothes because of mealtime fits. Most people believe he's always happy, but I'll be honest, we do have meltdowns.
He's walking all over the place now and even has a little run too. Walking in the grass/leaves/sand is a little challenging though. Walking in shoes doesn't bother him, but he had to get confident in his shoes since he practiced more without shoes/socks since it was warm. He's becoming more and more independent. When we give him his dirty clothes, he can put them in his hamper.
He's still a ham and charmer for the camera and for people that talk to him out in public.
14 months (Nov. 25-Dec. 25)
Motor skills: Since he loves balls, we have practiced on a few "life" skills this month. I showed him how he can shoot a ball in his clothes hamper. He proved to be rather good at it, that is until he got into the hamper! We've been learning to kick the ball too now that we are comfortable walking around. He even put it in the wood hole by the outside fireplace one day. I was trying to dribble the soccer ball another day and then he tried to mimic me by moving his feet rather quickly. He's gotten a lot better with walking on the grass. That was rather difficult for a while. His throw is getting better and better too. I always have to be on the lookout because I'd rather not be hit with a ball. Coming inside seems to be one of the hardest things. He loves being outside and we've had some great weather recently so he thinks we need to spend all day outside. He still thinks he's a big kid. He watches his cousins play and thinks he can do everything they can. We continue to stretch him out so he remains flexible! :) However, due to his flexibility, sometimes he brings his feet up to his face and he loves to pull his socks off in his crib or in his carseat if he doesn't have shoes on his feet.
Verbal/Social: He's become a little shy out in public when people try to talk to him. He will smile, but he will also hide his head in my shoulder or between my legs. While out in public he just stares at everything and doesn't say many things. While reading books, he points out every round thing and says, "ball". He's gotten really good at saying "da-da" too. He seems to know what lots of words are but doesn't say them. He follows quite a few commands and recognizes things. One of this favorite activities is brushing his teeth and even just asking him if he wants to brush his teeth will cause him to touch his teeth. There are some days he thinks one nap will be enough, but I'm still forcing two naps for my sanity! He loves to stand in his crib and walk back and forth. He even got really good at pulling down the camera so we've had to move it a few times and still have to fix it here and there. When we talk to him through the camera, he stares right at it but the follows directions "sit down" and "lay down" for the most part.
Other stuff:
It's been fun to see his personality develop. He loves sitting in my lap and reading. There are days I put the books on his shelf more than a dozen times because he will pull them off as he looks for the ones he wants. I've rearranged them so many of his favorites are on the bottom shelf. It's so precious to have him bring me a book, turn around/sit in my lap, and then sit there as I read the book. I love how he interacts with the books now as he points out the balls, makes sounds of the animals, and touches things in the touch/feel books. He has even gotten to go to a few live nativities and pet some animals. He isn't too fond on petting real live animals but he loves to watch them from a distance. He went to a basketball game recently (at my old school) and did great sitting in my lap.
He's still in 12 month clothes but he is continuing to grow as a crazy rate. There are times I look at him and just see his belly poking out over his jeans. I can't help but laugh. We've gotten to go do a few photo shoots at Providence with the photography class. It's fun to see him surrounded by a small group of high school paparazzi. The weather's been nice lately (warm enough for short sleeves and shorts!) so we've taken quite a few walks/runs and trips to the park. He doesn't always do much at the park, but he's getting more comfortable. He likes the slides and some of the sit on/moving things.
Those top teeth have been a beast. When we went for his 12 month appointment Dr. Sara said there weren't any signs of the teeth so we knew we had a little bit longer before he got them. At the beginning and towards the middle of the 14th month, his drool became excessive. Thanksgiving pictures were quite humorous because his shirt was soaking wet. We wore multiple bibs during the day during this time and often changed clothes a few times just so he wouldn't be so wet. I finally started seeing the teeth coming down in his gums near the middle of December. I first felt them poke through the surface on December 18th. They might have come through a day or so earlier but he wouldn't let me touch them. A few days that week (17th and 20th), he SCREAMED and SCREAMED. I tried orajel, his cold teethers, food, milk, cuddling, and trying to get his mind off of it, but I realized the were probably just hurting too badly. He finally calmed down each time after we left the house (went out in public) or maybe the orajel finally kicked in.
On the 18th, I made some macaroni and cheese. I gave him some to eat and then I walked away while Jeremy was finishing making dinner. I came back to see that almost the entire box of macaroni was gone. He thought I put away some for later, and kept giving it to L because he kept grunting as if he wanted more. I just shook my head and knew we'd probably have a little constipated boy the next few days! Speaking of that, we've had some bad poops recently. It's either those teeth or the crazy holiday foods that are causing that!
