Well I have to say life with a toddler has been awesome so far. I feel like Reed is my Little Buddy most of the time. The days I spend at home with him are great. We've started going to the Mommy and Me Gym class on a regular basis and are trying to soak up the nice weather while it lasts. He loves going outside, walking/running around, going for wagon rides, visiting Dodger's backyard, going to the park, and kicking the soccer ball. The trusted dance party, pillow forts, and book reading are still favorites as well. I feel like he understands so much of what I'm saying even if he doesn't have the words to speak back to me. He even started signing this month and it has been so neat for him to begin to communicate to us what he needs.
I think we have one tough kiddo too. We've made a conscious effort to try not to react too much when Reed hurts himself. If he cries we of course comfort him and if he was to be badly injured we would be quick to react, but for the most part we keep mum and he pretty much picks himself up, dusts himself off, and is on his way. On Thursday he was trying to run while holding a ball and fell, biting into his lip a bit in the process. When he came up from the ground I could see the blood on his lip, but it didn't even phase him and he was off running again. This was only an hour or so after he had a blood test that they had to draw from the vein in his arm. He sat in my lap while I pinned his arms down and the technician did the sample, he was more interested in the rubber strap she wrapped around his bicep than the needle going into his arm. She said he was the best kid she'd ever worked with.
Don't let me give you the wrong impression, it's not all roses all the time at our house. Reed seems to be super clingy towards me lately and when I'm away during the day he is extra cranky at night. He will usually grab on to my leg screaming while I try to shuffle around the kitchen making dinner. It's not fun and I really don't know what the best way to handle it is. I usually tell him he has to wait, try to finish the task I'm working on, then pick him up. I've been trying to encourage him to help me "cook" as well. This usually ends with the kitchen covered in bowls and Tupperware, but at least he's not crying the whole time!
Monthly Statistics
Weight: 22.75 lbs
Clothing
Size: 12 month or 12-18 month for pretty much everything, he has a couple of 18
month tops he's been wearing as well.
Shoe Size: Size 4
Teeth: 8 - 4 on the
bottom and 4 on the top, I think he may be working on some molars. Below is a rare picture where you can see most of them.
Reed likes: Shoes, Soft Sheep, eating, doing "Cheers" with his sippy cup, playing with plastic containers (especially ones with lids), balls, and puzzles,
reading books, giving Mom hugs, taking his fluoride supplement, playing outside, Dodger (all dogs for that matter), and playing in the bath
Reed dislikes: Sleeping in, getting his face and/or hands wiped off, being put in the car seat, and diaper changes.
Nicknames: Reedster, Reedcito, Reed Reed,
Buddy, Monkey, Cuddle Bug, and Honey Bear.
Favorite
Foods: Eggplant, Blueberries, Grapes, Mom's Homemade Muffins and Waffles, Rye Toast, Avocado,
Mushrooms, Bananas, Plums, Fish, Sausage, Steak, and
Oatmeal.
Foods he doesn't like: I'm not sure if it's the taste or the texture but he has an aversion to broccoli. Reed also doesn't really like ground meat (beef, turkey, or chicken), again I'm thinking it may be a texture thing because he loves meat in other forms.
Words: "DaDa" and
"Daa" are still the main ones. He is still using "Boom" a lot and has added "Wow" and "Yeah" sounds at appropriate times. A couple of times he has said "Ball" and pointed to one. He has started to sign "More" and will say "Mo" when he does it now. He also has been working on the sign for "Done" and will say "daan." He still mimics us when we say "Blue" or "Duck" but
doesn't say them independently. Reed says "Mmmmm" if I ask if he wants to eat and after a big drink he'll sometimes say "Aaaaahhhh."
Signs: Reed signs "More" when he wants to get seconds of something he's eating. He also waves his hands in the air and says "daan" meaning "done" it's close to the right sign, but when I repeat it and start to take his tray away he starts grabbing for it. When I do the sign for "eat" he'll go over to his booster seat, and just today started mimicing the sign.
How Reed is sleeping: Reed takes a nap in
the morning that ranges anywhere from 1.5 - 2 hours and one in the afternoon
that is about the same length. He goes to bed around
7:30pm, then he usually wakes somewhere between 5:00 and 6:00 am. We've been putting a toy in his crib at night and if he wakes up too early I'll go in and turn on his nightlight. About half the time he plays contently for awhile then is ready to get up. The other half of the time he goes back to sleep within a few minutes.
Favorite Moment(s):
I have always put my hands out and asked him for a hug, then I usually run over to him, scoop him up in my arms, and give him a big hug. A few weeks ago I asked for a hug, per the usual, but this time he came running to me and practically jumped into my arms. He's been doing it ever since and always has a huge grin on his face when he is approaching me. It makes me so happy!!!
The day that he started signing "More" out of the blue was too cool. We've been signing to him a few basic things for quite a few months now and you start to feel silly doing it over and over again without any reaction, but for him to sign, especially un-prompted and at the right time, made us realize how much of what we do around him is absorbed.
Milestones:
09/22/12 First climbing incidents - I watched him climb up on the ledge of the bathtub and then a little bit later turned around to find him sitting on the second shelf of a cupboard.
09/27/12 Reed had his first (and hopefully last) asthma attack
09/30/12 Reed starts giving Mom kisses when she prompts him, big sloppy open mouth kisses, kind of gross, but really cute too.
10/04/12 Reed kicked a ball purposefully for the first time. Now kicking soccer balls his part of our daily activities.
10/07/12 Reed started signing, by gesturing "more" while eating breakfast
10/09/12 Mom took Reed on a swing for the first time
10/16/12 Reed has used a "preloaded" spoon and fork at some meals for awhile now, but last week he got food onto the fork all by himself a few times.
Favorite Photo Shoot Outtake:
