Toddler on the loose

So, Davis is now over 14 months and is just moving around as much as can be. He doesn't actaully walk on his own yet but he'll hang onto a finger for days. His crawling is so darn quick I can see why he doesn't want to give it up. The house is really baby proofed...my coffee table is even sitting in the living room (I know!). I always said I'd never give up my furniture or accessories for baby toys, but alas, I've done a lot of things I thouhgt I never would! He can climb his slide and toddler "rock wall" on his own as well as wave bye bye. I don't think him waving as I drive away and saying "buh buh mum mum" could be any cuter. He also helps me get him dressed in the morning by putting his own awms through his sleeves. He also has a little "thing" he does Matthew and I call the "Beanie Wiggle"...just ask him. He loves to perform :)

His eating is more like a "big boy" everyday. He's only getting baby food b/c I went crazy and bought over 100 jars a couple months ago but he'd much rather eat what the grown ups are having- which he'll tell you with a high pitched screech if he's not being included in meals. He eats about everything now unless something is small and hard, or just really bad for him! His favorite foods are raspberries, yogurt, mac & cheese, peanut butter toast, cheesy scrambled eggs, and of course his milk. The only thing we really need to work on are his veges and meats. He occassionally gets sweets from friends and relatives- I think a little spoiling is part of the deal. But, we try to stay pretty reasonable at home.

Last weekend was Stacy & JJ's wedding- they're Davis' godparents so we thought he should at least attend. Mimi & Papaw came down to help Matthew and I get to all our events but Davis did come to the ceremony and cocktail hour. He was so stinkin cute in his pinstriped linen shorts and matching sweater vest. I'll put up pictures as soon as the photographer gives us a proof or two.

All in all, Davis has been a really congenial baby. He's a good sleeper and as long as he gets the proper amount of attention & sleep, he's quite laid back- as far as toddlers go anyways! I can clean in the morning and he just motors around the house (the parts that aren't gated) and entertains himself- albeit throwing my accessories on the floor as he goes. Right now his favorite things are swinging and generally being thrown all around. He's such a rough and tumble young- at this point I can't believe I wanted a girl. I just can't imagine it...

Birthday

Davis turned one (ok, a few weeks ago)! We had a little birthday party with close friends and both sides of our family. Davis was completely overwhelmed but I think everyone else had a good time! He got lots of great stuff too-everyone was very thoughtful. He was a little short on toys so this first birthday certainly helped. Books, clothes, toys, and a swing are just a few things people were nice enough to bring us. The party was on April 10th and it just happened to be the warmest day of the year. He was crawling around in a diaper by the end of the day. Everyone had a good time playing outside and the adults ended up commning in the garage around the sangria table.

My little boy is growing up fast! He's a pro crawler & loves to pull up on anything he can get his hands on- which is anything at his eye level! He's experimenting on food but his favorites are still yogurt and fruit. He's now 23 lbs 10oz and 31" long. He's above average but not too much anymore. In the last couple days he's tried avacado & mango. The mango was just a little hard to pick up but the avacado was a HUGE success and something so healthy for him.

Below are a few pics...enjoy!

Winter, etc

I haven't blogged in a while. I've taken lots of pictures of our growing Bean but they're mostly on the phone!

Davis has been progressing nicely and learning to eat new things day by day. Just recently, at 11 months, he started crawling. That's a little behind schedule, but not uncommon for a bigger baby. Now, he army crawls and it looks like it takes a lot of effort. I see why he usually just prefers to roll most places. I do need to get some child safety latches for drawyers as well as outlet covers since he's all over the place. Our SIL, Lindy, was nice enough to let us bororw a baby gate, so that's a step in the right direction. His favorite thing seems to be cords- phone chargers, modem cables, lamp plugs, etc. Since those are always on the floor, I'm not sure how we handle that.  He's also pulling up a little though still has some trouble. I have found him, on multiple occassions, standing in his crib. He grabs the bumper, gets to his knees, then pulls on the crib slats to get all the way up. He tries to do the same thing on tables but usually has a hard time getting balanced correctly. Next, I'll be having to put away my accessories and clearing tables (gasp!). He's definately getting harder to manage at the office. I feel like we have a whole day care here with all the gear we have.

His eating seems to be right on track. He's down to 4 oz bottles, 4 times a day and usually doesn't finish. He's eating three meals a day. For breakfast, he usally gets (baby food) fruit & oatmeal or brown rice mixed w/ formula. For a snack he gets cheerios and yogurt. He LOVES yogurt. For lunch he gets veges and a little more fruit (usually just what's leftover in the jar from breakfast), along w/ his sippy cup full of milk. Late afternoon he usually gets cheerios or crackers and maybe cheese or something. Then for dinner he gets a jar of meat, vege, and starch. Sometimes we start on another jar of veges along w/ a little more milk. He's not particularly fond of things with chunks which is most adult food- so cheese, fruit, eggs, steamed veges, etc are not going so well. He will eat any and all starches...pasta, bread, crackers, cereal. We'll just continue to try new things! I have to be careful when he's around Grandpa...he likes to sneak him food that's not good for him. The other day he gave him syrup. Come on!

My social little baby is getting a little less so, which is fairly common. He doesn't like it when I leave the room and certainly doesn't like it when I leave him with people he doesn't see on a regular basis. Though, he warms up eventually. Davis is particularly enamored with his Aunt Dana. Sometimes he reaches for her when I'm holding him. I don't like that one bit! Though, if you just throw him around a little bit- he likes just about anyone. We're still working on the nursery at The Racquet Club where he goes usually just one day a week. That boy wails like I've never heard. He won't let the ladies put him down. Beanie is a litle heavy to carry for a whole hour and a half clinic! I have to run out of the room at top speed so as not to prolong the whole ordeal.

Davis's first birthday is coming up. We're starting to get out of some of the younger toddler toys. He just loves his little push car. I think he also needs a swing. Not sure what else at this age they are good for when it comes to the outdoors, but I shall get some advice from some mommy friends!

More to come soon...

Crain Christmas

On the 26th we headed to the Crain household to meet up with all of Davis's cousins, Aunts, and Uncles. He has five cousins on Matt's side so he is indeed loved when we bring him down. We had a good meal and opened presents with everyone. Getting pictures of all the kids when we still have more than one little one is a little tough but fun all around. There is definately a differnt energy in the house with this many kiddos!

Christmas

My family makes a huge deal about Christmas...well, in partciular, Jill makes a huge deal about Christmas so Davis expereicned his first. Christmas Eve was at mom's house and included about twenty folks. The usual made appaerances- ham dinner, Norwegian cookies, trifle, carols, The 12 Days of Christmas acted out by spectators, and the reading of "The Polar Express". I don't think Davis really paid much attention and was a little irritated he coudln't just play with all the crystal on the table! He actually went to bed before the post-dinner carols began so he didn't get the whole experience but he got the idea. And, I think all of the people kind of exhasut him. But, in his Christmas pj's he went and slept wonderfully. I was a little concerned about his schedule with the holidays. Though, it all seemed to work out

Christmas morning traditionally starts at 6am with stocking opening so we got Davis up at little early and he didn't seem to mind. I thought I'd just put him back down at mom's but that did not happen with all the excitement. Really, being a little young for the concept of what was going on, he played on the floor and jumped in his bouncer and was generally a happy young man.

Christmas Day was spent at Nancy & Jimmy's...tenderloin dinner. YUMMY! We all hung out in yoga pants and had a glass or so of wine. We were down to about 14 by that point and Beanie was still going strong. He definately crashed when we were all finished up as did Matthew & I!

Pre-Christmas/ eating

It is interesting trying to get everything done one is used to doing when there is a tiny human to look after while you do it. This year, as usual, the holidays were chatoic and filled with festivities...

The week before Christmas we all went to Mimi and Papaw's in Bloomington for a pre-Christmas sleepover. Davis slept for maybe two hours and cried when he wasn't being walked. Holy God. I almost went crazy. I just can't imagine having a baby who doesn't sleep. Maybe that means I'm spolied but this kid was NOT happy. Matthew just couldn't understand why he would cry- like he has to have a reason! But, I digress- the evening was nice. Fire in the fireplace and a tree grown by Uncle Damon was in the living room. This one had colored lights and red bells just the right size for Davis to put in his mouth- much more exciting than the boring tree at home that he's not allowed to touch at our house!

Grandpa fed him dinner...he's eating much more these days. He's done most meats- chicken, turkey, and more recently beef and ham. He's on to fruits which clearly is the good stuff. He can't he enough...bananas, apples, pears, raspberries, and just recently mango. Usually in the morning he eats one container that I mix with brown rice cereal, barley, or most recently oatmeal. He's also started some finger foods...rice puffs, graham crackers, mum mums (like a rice cake), and even a little cheddar cheese with plain scrambled eggs. He's had no problems with reactions or allergies. He's a good little eating machine. He's now up to three meals a day and a snack usually in the afternoon.

I can't believe I didn't get any pictures. I am not a good mom...aren't I supposed to have a camera on my hip at all time to capture his first milestones?

Hilton Head

I've been a complete slacker lately on my blogging...so, I'm trying to get caught up.

In the beginning of November my parents, Dana, Matthew, Davis, & I all loaded up in dad's Escalade and drove to Hilton Head for a wedding for Miss Kiley Ohlson (our dads are old frat "bros") and Nathan Leong. He, his family, and friends came all the way from London so there were certainly some interesting people to meet. I just loved the accents too.

In any case, we decided to drive overnight b/c we thouhgt this wouldn't mess so much with Beanie's schedule. And it didn't. It worked like a charm. This kid didn't make a peep til about 6 in the morning. We stayed in a big house in Palmetto Dunes where Stacy & JJ from Chicago & Clay from CA joined us as well. It was nice having family around so when I got sick of mommying duties I could just hand him off! I'm sure he also likes a new change of scenery once and a while. We were there for about a week. Beanie visited the beach and ocean for the first time. The ocean was a little cold and he wanted to eat the sand for the most part. Davis also perfected his sitting skills and started rolling both ways easily. (He'd only been rolling from his back to his tummy for a couple months now...).

Davis has also started trying some new foods...he tried barley (instead of brown rice) and chicken for the first time on vacation. He slept ok, not quite like he does at home but all in all everything went quite well. Here are some pics from the trip.