I can't believe Reece is less than two months from his first birthday! How is it that the days go by so slowly, but the years go by so quickly?! I can't wrap my mind around it. Really though, even the days have been going by pretty quickly lately. It's already the 9th, and I'm finally getting around to the monthly update. Such is life. And, you'll notice that this is more of a compilation of the decent pictures I've been able to get of this kid in the past couple of weeks, because a planned photo shoot? That's just crazy talkin'.
Moving: Now that Reece is crawling, we are officially into the I-don't-sit-still for anything phase. Actually, that's not entirely true; he does still enjoy a good ride in the stroller and will be content to watch everything and everyone when we take hour-long morning walks after we drop the big kids off at the bus stop. But, if you plop this kid onto the floor, he's off in nanoseconds to find the closest non-toy he can. As is typical--as long as it's not designed for him, he's interested in it!
Diaper changes have now reached the mission impossible stage. It's like fighting a squealing pig. I lay him down and rip off the diaper, he rolls over and tries to crawl away. I lay out the diaper and lay him down again, and he's off rolling onto his side. Most of his diaper changes happen in his crib now, so that we can contain him. Oy.
It is fun to watch him play with something he likes, and he plays independently very well. He likes the stacking cups and the interlocking floor mats the kids got from the school librarian. He will sit and play with those things for 20-30 minutes, only frustrated from time to time.
It is also really cute to have him follow me around the house as I do my chores. He's a big "helper" when it comes to folding the laundry or putting it in the dryer. And, of course, he always helps out with the sweeping...just follow him around with the broom, because he can find things that are invisible to the naked (adult) eye. I sweep about four times a day, but he always manages to find something I didn't!
Sleep: This kid. Seriously. Last month, I was so excited to report that he was sleeping well at night and napping great during the day. I couldn't believe how easy the transition was back to a more normal routine. But no, that couldn't last. He is still sleeping really well at night; he probably has one wake-up about once a week, but he's been waking up before 6 am every.single.morning since school started. And it stresses me out. I've tried everything--putting him to bed earlier (as early as 6 pm when he's waking around 5:15 in the morning) and of course, leaving him in his crib until 7:00--just a few minutes before we leave for the bus stop. The first week of school was rough. He would wake up super early, I would crawl out of bed, get dressed, brush teeth, wash face, and get him before getting the kids up. Then, he would basically sit on the floor screaming while I tried to get the kids ready for school. Kennedy would inevitably end up running late because she spent so much time comforting him. Trust me, we're all happier with him talking to himself in the crib!
Don't even get me started on this kid's naps. He started last month with wonderful 90 minute naps, waking happy and chatty. Those were short-lived. He started going back to 30-45 minute naps and being absolutely miserable because he'd woken too early. So, I have spent the last two weeks timing his naps. I peek on him when he finally gets quiet to make sure he's asleep, and then I set an alarm. For 28 minutes. Not 29. Not 30. It has to be 28 minutes, because then I sneak in and touch him (basically bother him) until he startles and then goes back to sleep. And that's how I get him to sleep for 90 minutes. This kid is a lot of work. (And if I'm honest, I'm afraid to stop. You're only supposed to have to do this for three or four days until his body gets the idea, but no, when I don't do it, he's awake and nobody's happy about it.) And why can I feel the tension in my back just writing this? I seriously need something more important to worry about!
Eating: Reece is an eater. As in, anything and everything. And lots of it! I'm thankful that unless he's starving, he really just eats everything I give him, and then he's content to be done when I stop delivering. If he's really hungry, he'll let out a good scream or cry, so I don't mistakenly stop feeding him. He's got that whole communication thing down; sign language is for chumps.
At this point, he usually eats pieces of whatever we're having for dinner. Unfortunately, he eats so fast that it's difficult for whoever is feeding him to also eat at the same time. He loves tomatoes, cheese, and any fruit. He's a fan of chicken prepared in any way, meatballs, olives, corn, and beans.
He has finally mastered the cup, as well as the cup with the straw in the last week, so that's encouraging since it's time to start weaning from the bottle. He's still downing his four 7 oz bottles throughout the day, in addition to all of that food. He hasn't had any problems with any dairy products, so I'm starting to think about when we'll make the switch to cow's milk. I'm not too excited about needing to buy three different kinds of milk.
Reece is a happy, social little guy. Everyone comments on how happy and content he is, and we're so blessed to have such a great little boy in our lives! We love this little bugger!
Moving: Now that Reece is crawling, we are officially into the I-don't-sit-still for anything phase. Actually, that's not entirely true; he does still enjoy a good ride in the stroller and will be content to watch everything and everyone when we take hour-long morning walks after we drop the big kids off at the bus stop. But, if you plop this kid onto the floor, he's off in nanoseconds to find the closest non-toy he can. As is typical--as long as it's not designed for him, he's interested in it!
Diaper changes have now reached the mission impossible stage. It's like fighting a squealing pig. I lay him down and rip off the diaper, he rolls over and tries to crawl away. I lay out the diaper and lay him down again, and he's off rolling onto his side. Most of his diaper changes happen in his crib now, so that we can contain him. Oy.
It is fun to watch him play with something he likes, and he plays independently very well. He likes the stacking cups and the interlocking floor mats the kids got from the school librarian. He will sit and play with those things for 20-30 minutes, only frustrated from time to time.
It is also really cute to have him follow me around the house as I do my chores. He's a big "helper" when it comes to folding the laundry or putting it in the dryer. And, of course, he always helps out with the sweeping...just follow him around with the broom, because he can find things that are invisible to the naked (adult) eye. I sweep about four times a day, but he always manages to find something I didn't!
Sleep: This kid. Seriously. Last month, I was so excited to report that he was sleeping well at night and napping great during the day. I couldn't believe how easy the transition was back to a more normal routine. But no, that couldn't last. He is still sleeping really well at night; he probably has one wake-up about once a week, but he's been waking up before 6 am every.single.morning since school started. And it stresses me out. I've tried everything--putting him to bed earlier (as early as 6 pm when he's waking around 5:15 in the morning) and of course, leaving him in his crib until 7:00--just a few minutes before we leave for the bus stop. The first week of school was rough. He would wake up super early, I would crawl out of bed, get dressed, brush teeth, wash face, and get him before getting the kids up. Then, he would basically sit on the floor screaming while I tried to get the kids ready for school. Kennedy would inevitably end up running late because she spent so much time comforting him. Trust me, we're all happier with him talking to himself in the crib!
Don't even get me started on this kid's naps. He started last month with wonderful 90 minute naps, waking happy and chatty. Those were short-lived. He started going back to 30-45 minute naps and being absolutely miserable because he'd woken too early. So, I have spent the last two weeks timing his naps. I peek on him when he finally gets quiet to make sure he's asleep, and then I set an alarm. For 28 minutes. Not 29. Not 30. It has to be 28 minutes, because then I sneak in and touch him (basically bother him) until he startles and then goes back to sleep. And that's how I get him to sleep for 90 minutes. This kid is a lot of work. (And if I'm honest, I'm afraid to stop. You're only supposed to have to do this for three or four days until his body gets the idea, but no, when I don't do it, he's awake and nobody's happy about it.) And why can I feel the tension in my back just writing this? I seriously need something more important to worry about!
Eating: Reece is an eater. As in, anything and everything. And lots of it! I'm thankful that unless he's starving, he really just eats everything I give him, and then he's content to be done when I stop delivering. If he's really hungry, he'll let out a good scream or cry, so I don't mistakenly stop feeding him. He's got that whole communication thing down; sign language is for chumps.
At this point, he usually eats pieces of whatever we're having for dinner. Unfortunately, he eats so fast that it's difficult for whoever is feeding him to also eat at the same time. He loves tomatoes, cheese, and any fruit. He's a fan of chicken prepared in any way, meatballs, olives, corn, and beans.
He has finally mastered the cup, as well as the cup with the straw in the last week, so that's encouraging since it's time to start weaning from the bottle. He's still downing his four 7 oz bottles throughout the day, in addition to all of that food. He hasn't had any problems with any dairy products, so I'm starting to think about when we'll make the switch to cow's milk. I'm not too excited about needing to buy three different kinds of milk.
Reece is a happy, social little guy. Everyone comments on how happy and content he is, and we're so blessed to have such a great little boy in our lives! We love this little bugger!
No comments:
Post a Comment