It's been awhile since the last official Reece update, and I think all of the changes have happened in the past three months. Haha. Okay, he couldn't possibly have changed as much in the past three months as he did in his first year, but it feels like we've turned a corner. For real.
This kid finally sleeps well--through the night, every night! (Strangely, I'm not even scared to type that...) He's now met so many of the milestones that I had been waiting for, that I'm kind of thinking he could just stop getting any bigger now. He walks everywhere now--remember how long I've been waiting for him to be able to walk from the car to the elevator? He's been doing it for a couple of months now, and it's just as great as I thought it would be! In spite of the fact that he can walk everywhere, he's also still pretty chill and will hang out in the stroller just watching whenever I want or need him to, which is really handy when there are two soccer games in one afternoon.
It's fun to look back at these pictures from over the course of the last three months and see how much he's grown. His hair is getting long and has to be swept out of his eyes several times a day. Eric says it's time for a haircut, but I'm not convinced. It only bothers Reece when the wind is blowing and his hair is flying everywhere. He'll put his hands on his head to hold it down and whine because he can't hold it all at the same time. So funny!
He talks all the time, though most of the time we're not sure what he's saying. He has a distinct toddler vocabulary, though, including: thank you (sounds like dank do), hi (with lots and lots of iiiis usually), hello, wow, ow, muah (kissing), all done, bye, uh uh, there it is, 1, 2, 3, Gooooo! and the end. Some of those are more clear than others. You know, it takes a mom's ear.
Last night was probably the first time I'd heard him cry in the middle of the night since we returned from Guam. We're all sick with colds again, plus we took him to a friend's for dinner last night and kept him up about two hours past his bedtime, so I wouldn't say I was surprised he didn't sleep well. Typically, I would say that he sleeps about 11 hours--from about 7pm to 6am-ish. But, he usually goes down about 6:45 and gets up about 6:45-7, so I'll take it. As long as he's in his crib for about 12 hours, I'm happy. (And so is he.)
I think it was probably sometime in February that we officially switched him to one nap per day, starting early, and planning to move it closer to the afternoon. Afternoon naptimes just haven't been in the cards for us, though, and he's been pretty content to go down around 11ish. He will usually sleep about 2-3 hours, with 2 1/2 being the norm, and I'm pretty content with it now, though it did take some getting used to. I will say that on Friday, I needed to be at school by 12:30, and he was happy to sleep from 10-12, and even survived the long afternoon. On Sundays, he can't nap until after church, though, so he always falls asleep in the car on the way home. Ugh.
The one and only negative turn that we've had in the past three months is that his once semi-picky palate has now turned into an extremely picky palate. The kid doesn't eat anything anymore, it seems. Cheese, yogurt, and crackers. He still drinks plenty of milk. Some days he'll eat carrots or cucumbers. He still likes most fruit, but not all. From time to time, he'll squish a tomato in his mouth. Maybe an olive here or there. He's hard to predict. Thankfully, we picked up lots of veggie pouches in Guam, and he'll usually eat those when we're out and about (which is a lot these days!). If I'm lucky, I can mix some fruit and veggies in with oatmeal in the morning, but overall, I just try to remember what Gigi says: He won't starve himself, so don't stress about it.
With the last cold and the trip to Guam, came Reece's first set of molars, and we've enjoyed the reprieve from teething for the past couple of weeks. The canines should be coming in any time now, and then hopefully we'll have another break before the last set of molars come in (with any luck we won't notice those?).
Generally, he's in a pretty good mood, so I wouldn't mind being through the whole teething stage. He has started to get a little shy and sensitive around strangers, but it can be hard to predict. The last time we dropped him off at the church nursery, he was really upset, but today wasn't as bad. Last night, he only scowled at "Aunt" Shelli (a friend who is on Eric's 8th grade team), but last week he walked to her with open arms. All this to say, it's hard to predict what his reaction will be when we get home in six(!) short weeks, so don't take offense if he takes his time to warm up, but don't be surprised if he doesn't, either.
All in all, he's a whole lot of fun these days. He walks, "runs" and dances, climbs stairs, and goes down the slide. He loves to read books--almost as much as his big sibs--play peek-a-boo, and get tickled. He has a contagious little laugh that takes his whole body. He's pretty easily entertained (I think a stack of post-its can keep him busy for an hour), fairly predictable in terms of needs (food, sleep, or stimulation), and a great flyer. The tantrums he got into a few months ago have eased for the most part (though it is funny how he wants to do the full-on toddler-lay-on-the-floor-banging-my-head tantrum, but realizes it will hurt so he just pretends to!), and he's generally a pretty happy kid.
At this point, with the biggest transition/upset to routine just about six weeks away, I can only pray that we don't ruin the spirit of this kid. Because, to be honest, none of us knows what to expect.
He's about to move into his third home (and when I say "about to," I mean three months-give or take) and second country in less than two years. This may be the last time that he ever lives in the country in which he was born--how many of us can say that? And, in three months, he'll be immersed in another culture, community, and lifestyle that none of us are really prepared for. Pray for us, will ya?
This kid finally sleeps well--through the night, every night! (Strangely, I'm not even scared to type that...) He's now met so many of the milestones that I had been waiting for, that I'm kind of thinking he could just stop getting any bigger now. He walks everywhere now--remember how long I've been waiting for him to be able to walk from the car to the elevator? He's been doing it for a couple of months now, and it's just as great as I thought it would be! In spite of the fact that he can walk everywhere, he's also still pretty chill and will hang out in the stroller just watching whenever I want or need him to, which is really handy when there are two soccer games in one afternoon.
It's fun to look back at these pictures from over the course of the last three months and see how much he's grown. His hair is getting long and has to be swept out of his eyes several times a day. Eric says it's time for a haircut, but I'm not convinced. It only bothers Reece when the wind is blowing and his hair is flying everywhere. He'll put his hands on his head to hold it down and whine because he can't hold it all at the same time. So funny!
He talks all the time, though most of the time we're not sure what he's saying. He has a distinct toddler vocabulary, though, including: thank you (sounds like dank do), hi (with lots and lots of iiiis usually), hello, wow, ow, muah (kissing), all done, bye, uh uh, there it is, 1, 2, 3, Gooooo! and the end. Some of those are more clear than others. You know, it takes a mom's ear.
Last night was probably the first time I'd heard him cry in the middle of the night since we returned from Guam. We're all sick with colds again, plus we took him to a friend's for dinner last night and kept him up about two hours past his bedtime, so I wouldn't say I was surprised he didn't sleep well. Typically, I would say that he sleeps about 11 hours--from about 7pm to 6am-ish. But, he usually goes down about 6:45 and gets up about 6:45-7, so I'll take it. As long as he's in his crib for about 12 hours, I'm happy. (And so is he.)
I think it was probably sometime in February that we officially switched him to one nap per day, starting early, and planning to move it closer to the afternoon. Afternoon naptimes just haven't been in the cards for us, though, and he's been pretty content to go down around 11ish. He will usually sleep about 2-3 hours, with 2 1/2 being the norm, and I'm pretty content with it now, though it did take some getting used to. I will say that on Friday, I needed to be at school by 12:30, and he was happy to sleep from 10-12, and even survived the long afternoon. On Sundays, he can't nap until after church, though, so he always falls asleep in the car on the way home. Ugh.
The one and only negative turn that we've had in the past three months is that his once semi-picky palate has now turned into an extremely picky palate. The kid doesn't eat anything anymore, it seems. Cheese, yogurt, and crackers. He still drinks plenty of milk. Some days he'll eat carrots or cucumbers. He still likes most fruit, but not all. From time to time, he'll squish a tomato in his mouth. Maybe an olive here or there. He's hard to predict. Thankfully, we picked up lots of veggie pouches in Guam, and he'll usually eat those when we're out and about (which is a lot these days!). If I'm lucky, I can mix some fruit and veggies in with oatmeal in the morning, but overall, I just try to remember what Gigi says: He won't starve himself, so don't stress about it.
With the last cold and the trip to Guam, came Reece's first set of molars, and we've enjoyed the reprieve from teething for the past couple of weeks. The canines should be coming in any time now, and then hopefully we'll have another break before the last set of molars come in (with any luck we won't notice those?).
Generally, he's in a pretty good mood, so I wouldn't mind being through the whole teething stage. He has started to get a little shy and sensitive around strangers, but it can be hard to predict. The last time we dropped him off at the church nursery, he was really upset, but today wasn't as bad. Last night, he only scowled at "Aunt" Shelli (a friend who is on Eric's 8th grade team), but last week he walked to her with open arms. All this to say, it's hard to predict what his reaction will be when we get home in six(!) short weeks, so don't take offense if he takes his time to warm up, but don't be surprised if he doesn't, either.
All in all, he's a whole lot of fun these days. He walks, "runs" and dances, climbs stairs, and goes down the slide. He loves to read books--almost as much as his big sibs--play peek-a-boo, and get tickled. He has a contagious little laugh that takes his whole body. He's pretty easily entertained (I think a stack of post-its can keep him busy for an hour), fairly predictable in terms of needs (food, sleep, or stimulation), and a great flyer. The tantrums he got into a few months ago have eased for the most part (though it is funny how he wants to do the full-on toddler-lay-on-the-floor-banging-my-head tantrum, but realizes it will hurt so he just pretends to!), and he's generally a pretty happy kid.
At this point, with the biggest transition/upset to routine just about six weeks away, I can only pray that we don't ruin the spirit of this kid. Because, to be honest, none of us knows what to expect.
He's about to move into his third home (and when I say "about to," I mean three months-give or take) and second country in less than two years. This may be the last time that he ever lives in the country in which he was born--how many of us can say that? And, in three months, he'll be immersed in another culture, community, and lifestyle that none of us are really prepared for. Pray for us, will ya?
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