Words!

Well, not really. But sort of.

Not only does James say "Dada!" when he sees Eliot, tonight I realized that he had added another word to his repetoire. When he was finished eating his dinner, he started saying, "Ah-da, ah-da!" which, I now know, means ALL DONE! We've been saying it over and over again and signing it for months now (he has signed it up to this point by shaking his hands when he was finished), but now he SAYS something that MEANS something. Progress!

And, I should mention that when I said "woof woof" today while making a dog shadow puppet, he immediately patted his leg... the sign for DOG!

That's it, it's official. My kid is a genius. :-)

James's Favorite Toys

Just for fun, I thought I'd post some of James's favorite toys (or least favorite toys!) based on a survey done in my online mommy group. So here goes!

What toy has your little one played with the longest? How many months?

James has played with this thing since 6 months old and LOVES it!


What is your LO's favorite bedtime toy?

He just recently started having things in his crib, so I'll say his favorite bedtime toy is a book we read together.



What is your LO's favorite bathtime toy?

James LOVES these floaty things. The penguin is his favorite (probably because I make it sing the "Phenomena" song from the muppets... don't ask why!) And yeah, he likes to suck the water out of them. Ugh.



What is your LO's favorite NOISY toy?

A sesame street cube that he got from a friend of ours. It plays one of two songs continuously LOUDLY and does NOT shut off after any period of time unless I go turn it off. And James just figured out how to turn it on by himself. :-(

What is your LO's favorite quiet toy?

We LOVE this book we got at the aquarium. I pull it out wherever we are and James is entertained for a good 10 minutes.


What is your LO's favorite plush toy?

He likes a little penguin his aunt and uncle gave him. He's always holding onto it as he falls asleep.

What is your LO's favorite "classic" toy?

This horse that my mom saved from my childhood. He pushes it around the floor and sometimes walks with it.


What is your LO's favorite non-toy play item?

A crab child's seat cushion from Ikea. He likes the strings on it.



What is the most worthless toy LO owns?

This silly ring stacker. The most he's ever done with it is take all the rings off, then he's done and on to something else.

How does your garden grow...

Eliot and I have really been enjoying our garden this year... we think it's our favorite so far. We decided to do away with our compost pile and turn it into a squash bed, which has made more room for pumpkins, squash, more tomatoes, and cucumbers. We also decided to plant green beans (red runner beans) next to the porch, and my wonderful dad built a trellis of sorts next to the porch for them to grow up... the result has been just beautiful and has made hanging out in our backyard something I look forward to! Here are a few pics from our garden...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

James is 13 months old!

I forgot to post about this the other day, but James turned 13 months old on July 19th! to celebrate, we went to the Cascade Raptor Center with James's grandma and great aunt. It was rainy, but quite fun! James did the sign for "bird" and even imitated me imitating the owls (Hoot! Hoot!). I even got to change a diaper in the the trunk of the car since we were in a remote location in the woods. A good time was had by all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Swing!

I found a brand new little tikes swing at Goodwill this past week, so I decided to get it for James. Eliot hung it up in the backyard yesterday, and James tried it out... and loved it! Here are some pics from his first time in his new swing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And two short videos of us helping James swing!

Clapping!

A few days ago, James started clapping for the first time! I was singing the Aaron Copland tune that was used for the "Beef- It's what's for dinner" commercial while I was feeding James beef for dinner, clapping while I sang. And James decided to just join in! Here's a short video of his first time clapping:

392 days

I breastfed James every day for the past 392 days. Last night, I was debating weaning off of his 4:30am feeding so I could FINALLY sleep through a full night, but even though he wasn't eating much at it anyway, I just couldn't bring myself to take that last step and stop his very last feeding.

Well, James made the decision for me.

I woke up at 6:56 this morning realizing he had slept through his feeding. He didn't need it, and this was proof. So, today, July 17, 2011, he is officially fully weaned (of his own choosing).

I am actually quite a bit sadder than I thought I would be... I feel like he doesn't need me anymore (which is silly, of course he needs me!). But my little baby isn't a baby anymore, he's days away from taking his first steps and saying his first words. He understands most of what I say and can almost dress himself (he puts his arms through all the holes for me when I dress him). And I have to ask... how did we get here so fast?

Maybe it was the sleep deprivation of the past year, I don't know... but I can't believe we are here already, weaning and all. My baby grew up too fast! :-(

I think the hardest thing is changing somethings o major that I have done with him every morning of his life since day 1. He and I have always spent the early morning hours curled up together... and now he doesn't need that anymore. Maybe I do a little, but I'll get over it. Especially when I start feeling refreshed instead of groggy in the morning. I can't even remember what that's like!

So here's to 13 months of exclusively breastfeeding my child... I can stop knowing I did the best I could for him for as long as he needed it, and that makes it all worthwhile. :-)

Mini golf and ice cream!

Today we took James mini golfing for the first time! He did very well, very interested in us putting around the green and watching where the ball went. Afterward we sat down for some Puckler's ice cream in the shade, and James had his very first ice cream! It was vanilla and he wasn't thrilled with it, probably because it was so cold. :-)

Here are a few pics from our golfing adventure!