12 Months

I know I keep saying this, but I really can't believe my sweet boy is 12 months old. One year. My weekly BabyCenter emails have now changed from "Your Baby This Week" to "Your Toddler This Week." How has the time gone by so quickly??!!!

Here he is at 12 months:

And here's a montage of all the 12 months of bear pictures:

Darn month 2 when we forgot the bear in Colorado!

Oh, how we love our Calvin--I can't believe how much he's grown! Here are his stats at one year:

Weight: 18 lbs 13 oz (3%)

Height: 28.5 inches (11%)

I was really thinking/hoping he would be closer to 20 lbs (especially with how much he eats!) so we could put him in a front-facing car seat, but it looks like he'll just be following in Tucker's footsteps & be on the smaller side, dang it.

A still picture of his cackle laugh--it's hilarious!

Big developments from this past month:
- Started crawling!
- Completely weaned off nursing!
- No more reflux medicine!
- FINALLY moves from the pack-n-play in our closet to the crib in Tucker's room...we will definitely be having a post dedicated just to that topic.
- First official word: uh-oh! (when something drops)
- Three new teeth!

Eating:
- He decided he was done nursing about a week before his birthday. We were down to just the morning & night feedings, and he decided he was done one day. I'm not going to lie--it's super nice to have my body back & not have to wear all the special nursing clothes, but I miss the closeness of nursing.
-We started him on whole cow's milk, and just like Tucker, he LOVES it. He drinks it straight from a sippee cup & prefers it cold out of the refrigerator--so nice.
- He still refuses to eat non-pureed fruits & veggies (even though I offer them to him without fail every day)--he wants them in baby food form, and he gobbles them up that way. He eats every other kind of table food, however, and wants whatever we're eating.
- He's starting to get the hang of using a spoon, and it's so funny to watch! (& requires much patience on my end as I try to help him learn without doing it myself...) He'll make it about half-way through a bowl of cereal in the morning with a spoon, and then he'll just give up & use his hands.

Sleeping:
- He sleeps 12-13 hours at night, from about 7:00 pm to 7:00/8:00 am
- He still takes two naps, though he's been going through a phase of taking a really long time to fall asleep for his naps (like an hour or more before he's finally asleep)...I'm not sure what that's about & I'm hoping it doesn't mean he'll be dropping his morning nap soon, but we'll see. Once he finally does fall asleep, however, he'll sleep anywhere from 1-3 hrs per nap. (usually 1.5 hrs)
- As mentioned above, we FINALLY moved him from our closet into the crib in Tucker's room--now named "The Boys' Room." In a nutshell, the process of putting both boys together in the same room has gone better than we thought, but not as well as we hoped. I'll be doing a post more on that subject in the next few days. (with pictures of the room--finally--that I've been meaning to post for the last year!)

He looks so small in the big crib!!! 

(And you can tell he's used to much smaller sleeping quarters) :)

Mobility:
- He is crawling all over the place & is SUPER flexible. He does multiple versions of full-on splits all day long, he folds in half all the time, and he loves to stand on his tip-toes & his hands at the same time. It's so funny to watch!
- He has just barely started pulling himself up (to his feet) onto things--as in only once that I've seen so far. He doesn't "cruise" along furniture yet, and he shows no interest in walking. I haven't been worried about it (Tucker didn't walk until 15 months), but yesterday at his doctor's appointment, the doctor was a little worried & said I needed to work with him on it more, so we will be doing some practice walking exercises from now on.

The pose he's in about 80% of the time:

The splits:

Other Random Things:
- He loves to read books & turn the pages. Except half the time he grabs my finger to turn the page & point at things for him. :)
- He's starting to dance to music, and I love it. :)
- He is SUCH a flirt. He loves smiling & waving at girls--I think Relief Society (at Church) is his favorite hour of the week because he has so many girls/women to look at (& who love looking at him)!
- He starts laughing when we laugh at things. So funny!
- He has 7 teeth total right now: 4 on top, and 3 on bottom (the 3rd bottom tooth just barely cut through a few days ago)
- Sometimes he says "Tucker" (we think it's on purpose) & it is so cute!

...and...

- I don't know if I dare say it...but he has hardly screamed/shrieked at all in the last two weeks!!! When he got sick around his birthday, he lost his voice & couldn't scream, so he learned to just say/yell "nah, nah, nah, nah!" when he wants something (usually when he's eating). It has been so much nicer around mealtime--I hope it lasts!!!

A good look at his teeth!

Overall, he is just the sweetest, happiest boy, and we love him to pieces! I still can't believe he's one!!!

11 Months??!!

Calvin is 11 months old, as of Tuesday. I really cannot believe he's almost ONE YEAR already! I want him to stay my little baby forever!

Here he is at 11 months:

And here is his 10 month picture for comparison:

The biggest development from this past month is.... drum roll please...

He is now sleeping 12+ hours through the night! And I am LOVING it! It's amazing to remember what 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep for me feels like! I kind of pushed him into it because I knew he was ready, so the week after we got back from Colorado, I stopped feeding him when he woke up at 4:00ish am. For a few nights I had to go in & give him a pacifier, and then he'd go right back to sleep. But now he's sleeping all the way through the night on his own! (7:00 pm - 8:00ish am) Hallelujah! :)

Other big developments from this past month:
- he got his two top front teeth, with at least one more top tooth coming in
- I dropped one of his daytime nursings, so now I'm nursing just three times a day (morning, afternoon, night), but he's pretty much over nursing altogether--he could care less for it--so I'm sure he'll be completely weaned by the time he's one (I'm just trying to keep him with it until I can give him whole milk in a few weeks)
- I'm starting to wean him off his reflux medicine (a smaller dose just once a day instead of twice), and he's doing pretty well with it

Other things going on:
- he STILL is not crawling! he scoots around a little, but he doesn't move more than a 2 ft radius from where he started; we're working on it, but he's usually pretty content just sitting & playing/watching what's going on (not that I'm complaining...I am loving it for as long as it lasts!)
- has an amazing reach; even though he hardly moves, he somehow can scoot & fold in half enough to reach anything we're trying to keep away from him! :)
- he's starting to not want certain kinds of food, but he still eats (or at least tries) almost everything we put in front of him
- he just started to shake his head "no" when he doesn't want to eat more of something
- eats normal table food of everything (including meats) except fruits & vegetables--he still prefers baby food fruits & veggies (sometimes he'll eat "real" green beans or broccoli, but not all the time)
- still takes two 1.5/2ish hour naps a day (at 9:30ish & 2:00ish); now that he's sleeping in later in the morning, he goes down a little later for his morning nap & I usually have to wake him up from his morning nap (around 11:00/11:30) so that he'll go down around the same time as Tucker in the afternoon
- doesn't pull himself up on anything yet, though I have found him sitting up in his pack-n-play a few times (somehow going from his stomach to sitting up--I've never seen him do it anywhere else though)
- he has transitioned to sleeping 100% on his stomach--so funny because Tucker never did that!
- he is definitely outgrowing (has outgrown) the pack-in-play in the closet; now that he's sleeping through the night we'll probably put him in the crib in Tucker's room in the next little bit...but we're dreading the training (for both boys!) that's going to go along with that!
- loves to roll over while I'm trying to change his diaper & put on his clothes--half the time I end up dressing him while he's on his stomach or in my arms
- loves to put blankets, clothes, etc over his face & play "Where's Calvin?!"
- loves to slap things to make noise; we let him play with our toy drum for the first time the other night (not sure why we didn't think of it before), and he was really good at it & loved it!

Overall, he is just SO cute & SO fun! He is usually so well behaved & cute for everyone. He loves to smile & laugh, and his babbling is so funny! He LOVES Tucker & wants to be wherever he is. He brings us so much joy!

I think the only "complaint" we have with him is his screaming. He screams/shrieks when he wants something, and it is deafening sometimes! We were so excited in CO over Christmas because we thought he was over it (he never screamed--even once--the whole time we were there!), but as soon as we got back home he started it up again. But no baby is perfect, right?! :)

Outtake from the bear photoshoot. He was laughing at Tucker making faces:

Waking up from his nap--he's all smiles every time he wakes up!

(And he LOVES it when Tucker comes in to get him!)

 Love this face--we see it often:

Love these next pictures--he's just so cute!

I really can't believe we only have one more month until he's one. This year has flown by!!! Oh how we love this little boy!

10 Months!

Calvin is 10 months old--and getting cuter & more fun by the day! Oh how we love this little boy!

Here he is at 10 months:

And here he was last month at 9 months:

Things he loves:
- eating; he out-eats Tucker every day!
- Tucker; even though Tucker doesn't always love him, he will ALWAYS smile & laugh at Tucker
- attention; if you look at him, he'll almost always smile
- laughing; he laughs at almost everything, and it's so fun!
- playing with his spit up...super gross
- anything shiny, sparkly, or dangly
- Tucker's toys--especially the ones Tucker is currently playing with :)
- doing the splits while he's sitting so he can reach things better
- folding in half; we often find him with his head resting on the ground...while he's sitting

Sleeping:
-still sleeps from 7:00 pm to 7:30ish am with one nursing break around 3:00/4:00 am (he'll sleep through the night once every few weeks...hoping it starts to happen more regularly soon!)
- still takes two 2ish hour naps at 9:00ish am & 1:30ish pm

Eating:
- loves to eat and loves to feed himself
- still eats mostly baby food, but is starting to eat more of what we eat--he's so good to try almost anything we put in front of him
- starting to want whatever we're eating
- definitely prefers foods with flavor
- still nurses 4 times during the day, plus once during the night
- doesn't care much about nursing now that he's on "real" food

Mobility:
- still doesn't crawl, but he's starting to show more interest (I'm thinking it will be in the next few weeks)
- is content most of the time to just to sit & play with toys & watch Tucker (which I love!)
- stands when we're holding him, but hasn't showed any interest of pulling himself up on anything

How Tucker & Calvin "play" while I do laundry:

Teeth:
- still has just the two bottom teeth, but I expect more to pop through any day (I think he's been teething for the past few weeks)
- still spits up

Talking:
- says mamama, dadadada, and tuh--but doesn't associate any of them with any of us yet
- says lots of other consonant sounds (gah, nah, buh, etc), usually with a low voice :)
- sometimes will imitate the things we say to him
- occasionally says "boo" when he & Tucker are playing (the best game they play together is when Tucker runs up to him & says boo...they both love it)

He's just such a happy little boy, and we love him to pieces!!!

9 Months!

Calvin is 9 months old! We sure love this sweet little boy & can't imagine life without him!

Here he is at 9 months:

And here he is last month at 8 months for comparison:

At 9 months he:

- still sleeps from about 7:00ish PM until 7:00/8:00ish AM, with one nursing break sometime between 3-5 AM (though he slept through the night one more time this week...)
- still takes two 2ish hour naps a day at 9:00ish AM & 1:30ish PM
- still sleeps in our closet (I'm starting to worry we're not ever going to be able to put he & Tucker together...!)
- loves food & can now feed himself finger foods (SO nice!)
- still mostly prefers pureed foods, but loves puffs, ritz crackers, string cheese, & graham crackers
- still nurses 4 times during the day, plus the one middle-of-the-night feeding
- still takes his acid reflux medicine
- has no interest in moving around (no interest in crawling)--is content just to sit & watch what's going on
- wears mostly 6 month clothes, some 9 month
- just moved up to size 3 diapers
- says "dadadada," "mamamama," "bababababa," "nananana," etc--but doesn't really associate anything yet
- recognizes Tucker's voice & footsteps and stops whatever he's doing to see him (i.e. while he's nursing)
- is pretty happy & content most of the time, but has a SUPER loud, shrill scream when he wants something (i.e. food or attention)
- loves people watching, playing with whatever Tucker has, being with Mom, and playing with Curt in the morning on weekends
- loves when Tucker is nice to him & plays with him, but knows to be wary when Tucker is being mean to him
- is officially a "shopping cart shopper" (I no longer bring in his carrier seat to the store)
- started taking baths in the big bath tub, and has taken a few baths with Tucker (he loves it, Tucker doesn't so much...)

And for his 9 months stats:

Weight: 17 lbs even (4%)

Height: 27 inches (11%)

I thought for sure he would have moved up in the percentiles after everything he eats, but apparently not. He's super cute and healthy, though, and that's all that matters!

Halloween morning when Tucker was sharing all his candy:

Cute boy:

 

Messy Face:

Happy Boy;

We sure love you Calvin!

8 Months!

Calvin is eight months old! Where is the time going?!

Here is his 8 month picture:

And here he is at 7 months for comparison:

He's so cute. :)

At eight months he:

- has a voracious appetite--he seriously eats SO much! (at least 2 jars of baby food for each of his three meals, plus a mum mum or two and/or some rice cereal) I think it's safe to say he eats more than Tucker does at this point!
- is usually happy & pretty chill--EXCEPT when he sees & wants food; he usually screams from the time you put him in his high chair (or when he first sees food), until the time that first bite gets in his mouth, and if you run out of food before he's done or don't get a bite in his mouth fast enough, you're in trouble!
- is just starting out with the non-puree foods (just mum mums & bread so far...we're holding off on puffs for a little longer until we figure out if oatmeal is going to keep making him throw up or not)
- eats just about anything (baby food) as long as it's warmed up--his favorites are banana-based fruit mixes & carrots or squash
- officially dropped one of his daytime nursings, so now he's down to nursing 4 times during the day (7:00 am, 11:00ish am, 3:00ish pm, & 6:30/7:00 pm) + once during the night (anywhere between 2:00-5:00 am)
- officially taking 2 naps a day (8:30/9:00ish & 1:30/2:00ish) for about 1.5-2ish hours each
- going to bed closer to 6:30 these days
- wakes up multiple times a night when he doesn't get enough sleep or goes to bed too late
- has the biggest, cutest grin you'll ever see
- shakes his head "no" & thinks it's hilarious
- just learned how to click his tongue
- starting to mimic us more
- still loves attention!
- grabs at everything
- loves it when Tucker is nice to him & makes him laugh
- gives his own version of kisses & hugs all the time--melts my heart
- is just the cutest little guy ever!

Oh how we love our Calvin!

I love snuggling up with him after his baths--I don't want him to grow up!

Tucker's first time feeding him:

Here's a cute little video of him just playing with toys. He was babbling/talking a bunch...until I turned on the camera. But his cute little grins are priceless!

Calvin at 7 Months

Calvin turned 7 months old on the 17th--Tucker's b-day party--hence the delay in getting to this post. But I'm kind of glad I waited to do it because he's had a ton of new developments in the last week that I can now include!

Before I get to formalities, I am completely 100% ready to stop time & keep Calvin this age forever. He is SO cute and SO fun! Whenever we have our next baby, can I just skip from month 1 to month 6? Oh, how I love this stage! And I am SO in love with this little boy!

Here he is at 7 months:

And here is his 6 month picture for comparisons:

This last month has been a big month as far as milestones:

-he got his first tooth last week! (bottom front--the second one will be in any day now)
-he started sitting up on his own last week too! (kind of out of nowhere--he just all-of-a-sudden had great balance)
-he started going longer between naps & moved from 3 shorter naps to [usually] 2 longer naps AND is getting more consistent with the length of naps!!! (a HUGE help in all areas!)
-started fruits & vegetables baby food & LOVES them! (he'll eat an entire jar & sometimes 1 1/2 jars in one sitting...Tucker never ate an entire jar at once--ever!)
-just started eating solids three times a day!
-starting to drop one nursing during the day
-started playing with toys & grabbing at everything

Here's a quick overview of things going on:

Sleeping
-still sleeps from 7:00/7:30 pm until 7:00/7:30 am with one nursing break between 3-5 am (sometimes has a few random wake-ups due to teething and/or being overtired)
-takes usually two naps--one at 8:30/9:00 am for about 2ish hours and then one at about 1:30/2:00 for about 2ish hours...and it's been oh-so-wonderful! (now I have more time in between naps to run errands AND he's sleeping about the same time Tucker does in the afternoon!)
-will sleep for 20 minutes (to the dot!) at church every week--makes for a long morning (church is from 9-12)

Eating
-nurses 4 or 5 times during the day--starting to lean more towards only 4 times a day (plus once during the night)
-still gets super distracted when nursing
-LOVES baby food & doesn't care so much for plain oatmeal & rice cereal anymore--I have to mix other things in
-eating baby food 3 times a day (oatmeal & a fruit in the morning, rice cereal & a fruit or vegetable mixed in for lunch, vegetables for dinner)

Temperament:
-so happy & lovable
-smiles all the time
-talks/babbles all day
-screams only to get attention or food
-LOVES when Curt comes home from school--he gets the biggest grin & can't stop looking at him
-gives open mouth kisses! love them!
-starting to love Tucker more (now that Tucker is starting to love him more too...)

Miscellaneous:
-started sitting up last week & now hardly ever falls--loves to sit & play with toys (LOVE this stage!)
-grabs at everything & loves my jewelry & hair
-wearing 3-6 & 6-9 month clothes (mostly 3-6 month pants/shorts, 6-9 month tops)
-in size 2 diapers
-rolls over from back to tummy & tummy to back--will occasionally do continuous rolls
-no longer blows out of his diapers every morning, thanks to solids :)
-has colored spit up now that he's eating solids (spit up laundry is now taking place of the blow out laundry...)
-had his refulx medicine dosage increased & it's helping with the spit up

And we had his doctor's appointment, so here are his stats at 7 months:

Weight: 15 lbs 4.5 oz (4%)

Length: 26 inches (14%)

Still little, but still oh-so-cute! We love you Calvin!

Sitting up:

 In his new high chair (from KSL--love it!):

 So happy to see Dad:

 Sweet boy:

6 Months

I really can't believe Calvin is 6 months old already. 1/2 a year??? Where has the time gone?! I am absolutely LOVING this age, and I don't want him to grow up anymore!

Here he is at 6 months:

And here is his 5 month picture:

What a cutie!
(P.S. Not that any of you can really tell, but I'm starting to get the hang of Photoshop, and I'm LOVING it! It kind of makes me want to go back and edit all of our old pictures...)

Anyway, here are the things Calvin is doing at 6 months:

-still sleeping from 7pm-7am with one nursing break in the 4 o'clock AM hour (hardly any pacifier wake up's any more!)
-he'll have a couple really good napping days in a row (2ish hrs per nap), and then a couple terrible ones (30ish minute naps); but overall, he's starting to get a little more consistent--more with the times of the naps rather than the lengths, but still more consistent (one at 8:30/9:00am, one at noon-ish, and one at 3:00/4:00pm)
-still nursing about every 3 hrs during the day (5x a day)
-starting to spit up more again since his medicine is wearing off (we're going to ask the dr to up his dosage)
-still blows out of his diaper almost every morning--I got a friction burn this last week from trying to get all the poop stains out of his clothes...!
-wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes now
-loves, loves, loves his hands
-loves sucking on his clothes/blankets (maybe he just likes cloth?)
-grabs at some things, but not everything; still doesn't care about toys
-started sucking on his feet
-loves my necklaces
-getting very observant & watches/follows everything going on
-loves the TV & will crank his neck all the way around to see it!
-starting to learn to put his pacifier back in (hallelujah!)
-still loves to stand!
-sits when propped up, but doesn't really have any interest in sitting up on his own...and has no balance yet :)
-pretty much completely weaned of swaddling--though I still wrap him up under his arms just because he loves his blankets so much
-FINALLY started rolling over again! (and he's so proud of himself every time he does it) :)
-started rice cereal! (see post above)

He is such a fun, sweet little boy. He definitely has his own personality & opinions about things, but overall he's pretty chill, and so fun & loving. He smiles & laughs almost all the time--and now he'll do it with games like peek-a-boo (not just when he's being tickled). And he adores me, which I absolutely love. He will smile & light up any time he sees me, and he'll always give me grins. He'll just stare at me all day & let me cuddle him as much as I want. He brings me so much joy!

Oh how we love our little brown-eyed boy!

5 Months

I can't believe Calvin has been a part of our family for 5 months already! At lot of the time I feel like I'm still trying to figure things out & barely surviving with two kids, but it's definitely getting easier and starting to feel more normal. We LOVE having Calvin in our family & wouldn't want it any other way!

Here is Calvin at 5 months:

(I could not get those hands away from him for anything!)

And here is his 4 month picture for comparison:

This is such a fun age, and I'd be okay if time slowed down for us to enjoy it longer. He is getting more interactive & fun to play with, and he smiles & laughs all the time! Sleeping is going so much better than it was a month ago. After moving him into our closet, he stopped crying so much, and we've modified our "crying it out" method to not let him cry as long (though we still have occasional 30ish minute episodes). He's not quite as attached to his pacifier & he'll usually go back to sleep within about 10 minutes without it--though we still go in & give it to him once or twice during the night when we're too tired to let him cry. He really is doing well though!

Here's what he's doing at 5 months:
-sleeping from 7:00 pm to 7:00 am, with just one nursing break around 3-4 am (and occasionally 1 or 2 pacifier wake-ups); sometimes he goes to bed as early as 6:00 pm, depending on how his naps are; also, he was waking up between 6:00-6:30 am for about a week while he transitioned to just one consistent feeding at night, but now he's sleeping until 7:00-7:30 am...SO nice!
-napping for about 4-5 hours total during the day--one consistent nap at 8:30/9:00 am, and then usually a nap around 12:00/1:00 pm and another short nap around 3:00/4:00 pm; the 2nd & 3rd naps still aren't super consistent yet, nor is the length of time for any of the naps...but I'm getting better about not stressing out about it
-eating every 3 hrs during the day (since he dropped one of his night feedings, he's been eating more consistently every 3 hrs during the day, instead of sometimes going 4 hrs)
-nurses in about 15 minutes--SO nice!
-in size 1/2 diapers (the size in between 1 & 2)
-starting to grow out of some of his 0-3 month clothes
-ALWAYS sucking/biting (gumming?) his hands
-starting to grab at things (his favorites are the hanging toys on his play mat & my hair while he nurses); still doesn't care to hold/play with "toys" yet though
-gets super distracted during nursing & always wants to know what's going on (mostly, he wants to watch whatever Tucker is doing)
-can take out his pacifier perfectly--he just reaches right up there & grabs it out, all the time! (too bad he can't put it back in by himself too...)
-still SUPER ticklish
-still LOVES attention (he has a piercing cry when we set him down or walk away from him--you'd think he was hurt!)
-still won't roll over again (he hasn't rolled over since he was a month old!)
-always pulls his head to his chest like he's trying to sit up (but it looks more like a stomach crunch)--it's hilarious
-LOVES to stand!
-starting to enjoy sitting in the bumbo more (he used to just cry & spit up a ton while sitting in it, but now he enjoys sitting & being able to watch what's going on--and I'm loving it too!)
-starting to be weaned from swaddling

Oh, and I almost forgot his stats! Since we were in Colorado during his 2 month appointment, he has 3, 5, & 7 month appointments instead of the normal 2, 4, & 6. So here's his weight & height as of yesterday:

Weight: 13 lbs 9.5 oz (7%)

Height: 25 inches (25%)

So it looks like he has his brother's same genes: small. He's following his own growth curve, though, so the doctor isn't worried. He looks healthy & he's just so cute!

The hardest thing I'm dealing with right now is getting out of the house to run errands. Calvin still can only handle being awake for about 1.5 hrs after waking up, so after feeding him, I'm left with only about an hour window to do things before he needs to be back in bed. However, half the time he wakes up earlier (or later) from his naps than I expect, and I'm not ready to leave when he's awake, so we miss our opportunity. And if I'm even 5 minutes late getting home & Calvin falls asleep in the car, then his sleeping is messed up for the rest of the day & he's pretty fussy. And then Tucker still has his afternoon nap, so juggling the two schedules is hard. So needless to say, getting in our grocery shopping every week is quite the trick. Hopefully it will get easier eventually!

Here are some of the latest cute pictures:

He's just so cute I can hardly stand it! We love you sweet boy!