Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Spring has sprung!

Blah, over-used phrase, I know, but after the snow last week it was a treat to actually hear the sounds of the frogs coming off of our lake. I love having our windows open finally!

Saturday, April 12, 2008

15 Months Old

It's Saturday night. E is sleeping, Chad is working on Master's homework, so I decided I'd take the time to add an entry.

E is now 15 months old and as the daycare says, he's "Mr. Investigator." He wants to see, touch, and play with everything! His favorite things right now are things that aren't toys...anything with a cord is really cool in his eyes. He enjoys giving high fives, tickling people, giving hugs and kisses, coloring, climbing on anything and everything, playing in his fort made out of two cardboard boxes, and putting toys in and out of everything. He also still enjoys bathtime and has recently discovered that playing with the faucet is really fun! E also has mastered two baby sign language signs. He knows "more" and "all done." The daycare has been working with the kids on these and unfortunately, we didn't know what the signs were until a couple of weeks ago. Here our little guy has been using them all along and we were missing them! Sad! But now that we've caught on, he sure smiles as he knows we're understanding him. E has also developed a happy dance. It looks like he is running in place when he does it, because his little feet move rapidly but his body stays in one place.

E now has 10 teeth...as his first year molars on the top poked through about a month ago. We can tell he's working on the bottom ones now, as he's begun to drool, have runny noses and coughs, diaper rashes, wake up in the middle of the night, etc. It seems this is what happens whenever teeth are working their way out. We'll sure be glad when he doesn't have to endure any more of that pain!

E still stays mama and dada...although not as often as he used to. He says "oh, oh" which we can understand clear as day...but the rest of his chatter is foreign language to us. We're sure anticipating the day he speaks English! He is very good as understanding English though! It's amazing to us how much he understands. He's become quite a good listener!

E is enjoying eating real food. He has a sweet tooth...but some of his favorites are spaghetti, mac and cheese, yogurt, and milk. He sure still loves his milk. He is still getting a few ounces of milk in a bottle before naptime and bedtime...although we're really going to start working on that as he's about to move up to the toddler room at daycare...where bottles go bye-bye. We expect it's going to be tough for him, but the daycare thinks it will be a breeze. We'll see who's right! He's begun to transition up to the next room now and absolutely enjoys it! He doesn't want to leave when we go to pick him up. He runs away...trying to hide. That's a good thing! In this next room, he'll enjoy going outside, sitting on a chair at a table, singing songs, doing a variety of activities, and will eventually take naps on a cot. I say eventually because I'm expecting it to take awhile for the little guy to grasp onto this concept. However, monkey see, monkey do. Maybe he'll catch on fast from the others.

E has been going to bed around 7:30 and waking up around 7am. As mentioned before, there have been a couple of times lately where he's woken up once in the middle of the night in pain due to teething. But geez, it's sure nice to be able to get a night's sleep. He wakes up ready to go! He then takes his nap at the daycare around 11:30 for about two hours.

We recently took a trip down to Nebraska to see Grams, Chad's mom. We went down on a Wednesday and came back on Monday. We were able to be down there for Easter, which was nice as we haven't been down there for a holiday lately due to my school schedule, etc. The trip down there was quite stressful as E only slept for an hour! Chad and I couldn't believe it. The trip took us seven hours, with a few stops....including E's first Subway meal. Chad sat in the backseat and did the entertaining, while I drove. Being down there was great. The weather was gorgeous...and the time spent with Chad's mom was great. She sure is good to E. I dream about her moving up here to Minnesota to be with the little guy. They have so much fun together and she has so much to offer him! The trip back home was much better as E slept for four hours! Yay! Made it home in 6 hours! Only one stop! :)

I better close for now. But I must say, E is still sure one sweet boy. His hugs and kisses brighten my days and melt my heart.