Toddler Talk ~ Week 22 (Milestones)

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Welcome to week 22 of Toddler Talk Thursday! Where Family and Life in Las Vegas, Crazy about my Baybah, and My Life as a Sippy Cup Mom Talk all things Toddler! We hope you had a wonderful holiday with your family and are enjoying the New Year!

Toddler Talk Thursday was created as a place for moms and dads of toddlers to come together over a weekly topic and share ideas, go-to toys, or products. It is a great way to meet other bloggers of toddlers. Each week the topic will be different; we invite you to link up, share your weekly Toddler Talk!!

Each week the hosts will travel around to each blog that links up, and pick an idea, story, or picture they think was a great example of that weeks topic. In order to qualify for this you need to blog about this week's topic, and follow the hosts. Comments letting us know you are participating are always great too. If we choose your blog, we will link back to your post the following week.

Our highlighted blog this week is:

Belle's Butterfly Dreams

This week’s topic is : Share your Toddler's favorite Milestones or Firsts from 2010!

We had a lot of "firsts" in 2010. But I think that the ones that rank up at the top of those lists would be:

The first time Squish gave me a kiss when I asked for one.

Daddy coming home from deployment (Not a first, but definitely a highlight!)

Squishy's first hair cut

Our first visit to the Minnesota State Fair


Squishy's first steps.

And not a first - more like a last, but the day we stopped breastfeeding. I am thrilled to have made it as long as we did, and it is definitely a day I won't ever forget.

Link Up Suggestions:

1. We ask that you follow all three hosts. That way you can keep up to date on future Toddler Talks.

2. Please grab the Toddler Talk Button and display it in your post or on your blog.

3. Stop in to other blogs that are linking up. Leave a meaningful comment if you visit, and follow if you would like.

This link up is for families that have toddlers. Raising a toddler can be fun, crazy, exciting, and exhausting. Sharing what works for you could give other families another way to do things.

Have Fun!

Next weeks topic will be:

Please – Before you Link up – This is NOT A BLOG HOP!! IT IS A MEME FOR PARENTS AND CAREGIVERS OF TODDLERS. If you aren’t going to post specific to this weeks topic, then don’t link up.

Daily Vegas ~ Squishy Stats

Seriously!? I know I have a toddler, but where did the past 15+ months go? Squishy turned 15 months on the 4th of September, and today he had his 15 month appointment. I started this blog when he was 4 weeks old. (To the day!) And each month I would document what he was doing with a monthly photo and post about what he was doing new that month. After he turned 12 months, the monthly stickers were gone, but I have found that I am missing the Squishy Stats. So I have decided to do a SS post when Squish has his Pediatrician check-ups. (15 months, 18months, 2yrs...)

Today Squish got 3 shots, and cried that open mouth face beet red no sound coming out until SCREAM cry. (breaks my heart every.single.time!!) But as soon as the shots were over, I picked him up, gave him a kiss, he wrapped his arms around my neck held on tight for a long hug, then patted me on the back and was over it. (The patting on the back is something he does frequently, we call it his reassuring pat, but I think it is a soothing thing for him.)

Squishy weighed in at 26lbs, and was 32 and 3/4 inches long! My tall solid baby may not be so Squishy anymore...

15 months has brought many new things...

Squish is signing more and more. He can do: more, eat, all done, milk, water, drink, shoe, sock, hat, car, train, thank-you, please, (only when he really wants something and isn't tired - LOL), and has done sorry while watching his signing videos only.

He loves to read, and be read to. Even if only for a page. He spends lots of playtime hanging out in his reading corner flipping through books, looking at the pages, chewing on them, and eventually throwing them.

He loves to dance and sing. Any time music comes on he stops and dances. He still sings himself to sleep. He loves The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle, Ba-Ba Black Sheep, and my special Squish song. He tries to do the spider and the star while they are being sung. (SO CUTE)

Drum sticks, egg shakers, and anything that plays music is a HUGE hit in our home. We are trying to work on not throwing them at people or the TV...

Squishy eats just about anything you put in front of him. He loves fruit, broccoli, tofu, soy dogs, black beans, quesadillas, cheese of any kind, peanut butter, ravioli, mac and cheese, waffles, pancakes, ice cream, yogurt... well really anything I put in front of him!

Squishy can say Hi, Mama, Daddy, Bob(also Daddy), Ball, All Done. He has also said various other words like Grandma, Auntie, Book, Fozzey, More, Bye, and several other words, but not regularly, and some not more than once.

Squish has 12 teeth. (4 top front, 4 bottom front, and 4 molars) He seems to be working on his I-teeth now.

Squish is also learning to be stubborn, and throw fits. He knows when he isn't supposed to be doing something, and will turn back to see if you are watching him while he starts to do it. He laughs at me when I say no. We are working on that.

We have started "time outs", but only for the things that he does that are dangerous to him and he doesn't stop no matter what we try. (I'm not kidding you could move him 4 rooms away and he will go back for it.) I struggled with doing timeouts, but I want my son to understand that he needs to listen to mama, and after much research we are trying this. He goes into a pack and play for 1 min. Then I pick him up, ask him to say sorry, tell him he needs to listen to mama, and that "blank" is not safe for little hands. I always tell him I love him. Not sure he even cares about time out right now. He kinda just stands there.

He is walking, running, turning circles, climbing, hugging, kissing, blowing kisses, waving hi and bye, and is still a super ham and a ladies man. Talk about a flirt! He looks just like his Daddy. When he isn't teething, he is a super sweet, mellow, curious, and observant little boy. (And yes, he looks more like a little boy than a baby now. Even his rubber band wrists are almost gone!!)

That being said, I love every single second of this age. He is so much fun. He is outgoing, but needs his mama. He gives kisses and hugs freely. His smile could light all of the Vegas strip. I am so blessed to be a part of such an amazing development. I hope he stays my sweet Squishy boy for years and years and years to come.

We love you Squishapillar!

Toddeling Toddler!

I can't believe this is happening! My little Squish is on the move. While I couldn't be more proud of him, I find myself wondering where did my squishy little baby go who first fit so sweetly on my chest? Time slow down, let me enjoy these moments more! Squishy, Mommy and Daddy love you so much and are overjoyed with all you are accomplishing these days! Walk with purpose little man! Just watch out for the bumps in the road!

8 Months ~ Big Boy or Baby??

8 months! Can you believe it? I think the saying “Time flies when you are having fun” is so true! I have to resist the urge to squeeze my little baby and all of his sweet squish, and scream “Slow Down!” While at the same time I am finding each new month to be so exciting.


Today Hubs called from overseas to wish Squishy a happy 8 months! He said to me “Let me talk to my Big Boy on his Big Boy Day”

This was about the 3rd time he had referred to the 8 month-day as being Squish’s “Big Boy Day” so I said to him. “Rob, if you keep referring to Squish as a big boy, then you are going to have to give me another baby, because I still want my baby!”

He responded… “Can I talk to my baby please?” This made me smile!

At 8 months Squishy is now doing a variety of new things:

He loves to growl, squeal, sing, and talk. Especially while he is falling asleep, which I think is super cute.

He has begun to grow restless sitting still, and is now rolling all the way across the room to get what he wants. (This just started recently.)

He is also rocking up on his knees from the sitting position, flopping onto his belly, and then back up to his hands and knees. He has only had very small forward movement in the form of an army crawl, but I don’t think it will be too much longer until I am chasing him around everywhere his little curious mind takes him.

Squish has started to do air kisses. I have been doing that to him since he was born, and of course the first person he does it to is Grandma! Silly baby. It is slowly starting to be more of an everyday thing.

I am still enjoying the slobbery face plant kisses he gives me every once in a while too! I’m sure he will be blowing kisses to the ladies in no time!

He has also started to give hugs. I will ask for one, and he will put his arms up and flop into me. I love this.

Squishapillar is now doing a couple of signs. He continues to do “milk”, and has added “all done”. He understands “more” – as he grunts when I do it, and “Mommy/Daddy loves you”. We are also adding more signs to the mix with the addition of solids like “water” and “eat”.

Recently between being so sick and teething I have also added “medicine” which he understands and 8/10 times opens his mouth without fighting now. (This is a huge improvement from the week when my mom visited and it took both of us to give him medicine.)

I am also doing “change” with him now when we do diapers so that hopefully he can one day tell me, and potty train earlier. (They say cloth diapers help babies learn earlier, but this may be wishful thinking….) We also added “ball”, “friend”, “play” and “book “.

Yesterday we spotted the tip of a top tooth making its way through, which I am guessing is the main reason for his restless nights lately. I hate seeing him in pain, but can’t wait until that cute tooth makes its way down!

We started solids at 7 months, but had a setback when he got sick the other week. We are back to eating now, and slowly introducing more variety and now organic puffs, which he hasn’t quite figured out yet.

So far Squish has had: avocados, oatmeal, winter squash, peas, apples, pears, bananas, and sweet potatoes. The veggies seem to go over better then the fruit for some reason.

I love all the stages each new month has brought. I just wish I could freeze him in that month a little longer each time it happens.

Squish, your Daddy and I love you very much. Thank you for making our lives filled with such joy.

Hugs and Kisses to our Squishes!

Rollin Rollin Rollin! And Other New Tricks!

Kellan is a rolling fiend! He cannot get enough of it! He will roll to his belly, sometimes roll back on his own, but more often fuss until you put him back on his back, laugh and then roll back to his belly! He is so cute when he does this too, because he has such a sense of pride in doing it! He looks at me every time to make sure I am watching before he breaks out in a huge grin as if to say "Yeah, I am that good!". Unfortunately Rob has been in CA for the past couple of weeks training, and did miss his first back to belly roll, but we did get it on tape for him! I am getting pretty good at remembering to keep the camera handy, that way when Rob deploys out in November, he won't miss anything!

I love watching him learn new things. We are now working on tripoding. As in sitting up with the assistance of his arms. He does it for a little bit, but he is still so wobbly, I don't want to try and get a picture of it just yet, because I usually end up catching him before he face-plants into the floor!

Another first for Kellan was sleeping the night in his own crib. I finally did this last night. It was better then what I thought it would be. He still woke up for a 1am and 4am feeding, but all in all I was very proud of him. Now if only I can stop checking on him every hour to make sure he is ok, we may be on our way to a better night’s sleep. The new rolling trick has run over into his sleep time routine. He hasn't quite rolled onto his belly yet, but he does try to sleep on his side. I guess I just worry he will roll, and sleep with his face in the mattress... like I said, we are working on the worrying mommy thing. :)

It is so neat to see all the new things Kellan does every day. Whether it is something big like rolling, or sitting up; or something simple like a new sound, a new favorite toy, or a new facial expression. I love being here with him and seeing it all. What an absolute blessing.

Xoxxo,
Us

Kellan's 4 Month Appointment!

THE HARD PART

So someone got their 4 month shots today! I am not sure who had it worse, me or Kellan. Probably me, although he screamed so loud, you know the kind where they turn all bright red, open their mouth to scream, and no sound comes out for a good 10 seconds! You know its going to be a loud one when they finally let it go. Poor Baby! He was so happy, talking to the Doctor, making silly faces and new sounds. And then in comes the nurse with Kellan's shots. You should have seen the side eye Kellan gave this guy! It was like he knew nothing good was about to happen.

My heart broke for my baby. I wish I could take all his pain away and make it my own. I would too, in a heartbeat. Funny how that works. You want them to learn that things will be okay, even when they look bad, but you want them to feel no pain, no hurt, and no sadness. I love this little baby so much it takes my breath away.

So after Kellan had his shots, I nursed him, and he fussed through the whole session, keeping one eye on me at all times as if to ask, "Is it really over?"

THE GOOD PART

Kellan is still well above the 50% for height and weight. He is currently 16lbs 8ozs (above 75%) and 26.5 inches long (88%). He has slowed down in his weight gain, but is making up for it in his height. He grew almost 3 inches from our last appointment. I was concerned slightly that he only put on a little over 2 lbs since his 8 week appt, but that didn't seem to worry our Doctor at all. He said he was just balancing out a little bit.

Kellan also seems to be right on track for his developmental milestones. The Doctor loved hearing him chatter away, and also was impressed by his grasping skills. Go Kellan!

I have been curious to see how much Kellan is getting to eat during our feedings, so I had them do a weighed feeding today. I don't often give Kellan a bottle, but lately he seems so mad that there are only 4 ozs in his bottle, and will almost always nurse again shortly after a bottle. Well now I know why. Kellan started his feeding at 16lbs 8ozs, and ended it at 17lbs 3ozs! That 11 ozs! Holy Cow! Granted it was only his 3rd feeding of the morning, and my supply tends to be higher in the AM, but Wow! That's a lot of milk! GO KELLAN GO!



So all in all it was an okay day. Kellan is now sound asleep with a mild temperature from his shots. So tonight we will just cuddle in bed, and keep on top of the Tylenol. I'm so proud of my brave little squishy caterpillar man!

Xoxxo,

Us

Our Little Caterpillar Learned a New Trick!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9UaWdsyOXw

After spending about 20 minutes watching Kellan try to roll from his back to his belly, I could tell he was getting a little frustrated. Although he didn't roll, he did manage to scoot himself on his back a good two feet! So I decided to put him on his belly, to see what he would do. Almost immediately he rolled from his belly to his back. Of course by this time Rob had left the room to do other things, so I had to go get him, and we set Kellan back up on his belly.  Thankfully he rolled for his Dad! (and the camera) This one was a little slower, as I think he was kind of tired, but it was so cute! Although watching Kellan grow so quickly can sometimes be bitter-sweet, this was for sure one of the really sweet moments.  We were both so proud of Kellan and his new trick!

Enjoy the video!
Xoxxo,
Us

Kellan's 3 Month Pictures!

Our scanner isn't working, so I can't scan these on here, but I was able to copy them onto my hard drive.  So you will have to deal with the lettering through the pictures, but here are some of Kellan's 3 month pics! We eventually had a blast.  We had an appointment scheduled for 10:30am, and Kellan took on look at the photographer and burst into tears.  So after walking and feeding him, we came back, (luckily they weren't busy), and got some great pics.  Not as good as my cousin Angie's photos, but these still turned out great!

All in all it was a super fun day.  A baby 19 days older then Kellan and his Mom have become friends of ours.  So we both got some great pictures and then enjoyed walking around the mall.  I love hanging out with her because it is nice to hear that she is going though some of the same things as me, and also because she is really nice.  Can't wait to do it again soon, and I can't belive how big Kellan is getting already!

Xoxxo,

Us

 

Guess who is 3? - months that is!

I swear when I was pregnant I couldn't make the days go this fast, but now that the Melon man is here, I can't seem to slow them down. So we are a couple days late in posting this, but our little caterpillar man is now 3 months old. I still thank my lucky stars everyday that God blessed us with such a wonderful baby! He is so mellow and has such a sweet personality which gets bigger every day. Although we do not have a 3 month appointment with the Dr, I can tell you that Kellan is pretty darn close if not already weighing in at 16 lbs. Here are some other things that Kellan has now started to do, or enjoys...

At 3 months :
Kellan loves to smile, and has really started to Giggle. He finds the silliest things funny, like his mom buzzing like a bee. (Although to be fair I am sure I look pretty silly doing it.)

He has started to really notice the TV, and LOVES to watch his Baby Einstein videos. All the colors, sounds, and other babies really keep him interested.

Kellan has not rolled over again since the time when he was around 4 weeks, but he loves to sit up like a grown-up so he can see the world, and loves to bounce on our lap. His little chunky legs are so strong!

Kellan talks to all of his toys now as he bats and grabs them, but his all time favorite has to be his loveys. (For those who don't know what these are they are a animal head attached to a small blanket.) One of our friends commented that they are a second mute button next to his pacifier. It is so true, when he starts to get fussy and is tired, all we have to do is pop in a pacifier, let him hold a lovey to his face, and lay him down. Within the minute he is usually sleeping!

Speaking of sleeping, Kellan is wonderful at it (knock on wood). He goes to sleep all by himself. All we have to do is swaddle him, and lay him down when he is tired, and he does the rest with limited fussing. And for most of his nights he is sleeping for about 7 hour chunks at night. It is wonderful for us, and I am really starting to catch back up on my sleep.


I really am blessed to have this sweet little man in my life. I couldn't have hand picked a better baby. Rob and I are so happy to have him in our family.

Xoxxo,
US

Kellan's Two Monthday!

Happy Two Months Kellan!

You are such a beautiful soul. Your Father and I feel blessed everyday to have the privilege of being your parents. Your smiles melt our hearts, your cries make our hearts skip a beat, and your laughter fills our hearts with a love we have never known. How we made it through this life so long without you, neither of us will never know. The joy you bring to us everyday is an amazing gift, and even in the rough times, we wouldn't trade it for all the gold in the world. It's hard to imagine our lives before you. May God continue to bless us with many more wonderful days, months, and years to come. We love you more today then yesterday, and more tomorrow then today.

What has happened this second month of your life:

You are now 14lbs 2ozs (as of 8 weeks) and 24 inches long. Which means in two months you have put on 4 lbs and 3.5 inches! What an overachiever you are starting to be.

You hold your head up very well, and have even managed to sit up for very short periods of time in your boppy!

You love to smile - a lot - especially in the middle of the night when we are trying to be quiet to ensure we all get a good nights sleep.

You are starting to giggle and laugh. I can't even begin to describe this sound, it is like pure joy and innocence.

You are beginning to realize there are more toy to look at, and not just ceiling fans. (Although I still think you like those the best!)

You have found your hands, and love to suck on them whenever you get the chance. You are just beginning to try and bat at toys that hang over your head. If I hand you a rattle you will hold onto it, but haven't quite figured out why you are hanging on to it.

You are still loving your bath time, although you are getting to be a little too big for your sink bathtub.

Tummy time is something you either love or hate, but you usually like it more then not.

You still enjoy music and sing along with it. You get upset if the music stops before you are ready to be done with it.

You are cooing more then ever before, and have begun to try to carry on a cooing conversation with both your Dad and me.

With all that you have accomplished this past month, I am awestruck when I think about what will come in these next couple of months.

xoxxo,

Us