When I look at my little boy, I can't quite get over the fact that he isn't a baby anymore. I look at him and I stand in awe that we survived his first year -- a little shocked that it doesn't feel so hard anymore, shocked that that phase actually did pass, shocked that he is actually so handsome, so sweet, and silly and great. I love noticing these things about him now, but also feel a sadness that I didn't see all of those things at the beginning. (I don't talk about my depression much at all, but that is really how it felt... letting the difficult things block my vision of who my baby is.)
Once he learned to walk (and even before that) around 4 months ago, he became a super-active baby. Walking, climbing, falling, sliding, swinging. He tried to jump now but hasn't made it off the ground yet. He is all about exploring and fitting in with the big kids, especially William. The things he plays are so much more involved than what William was doing at this stage and it has everything to do with watching his older brother play. Of course, William doesn't really enjoy having his toys taken or played with when he wants them so the sibling fights have already begun!
Beach day. He loves the sand but took a break to go exploring.
Playground fun = risk taking
Stephen loves to watching the garbage trucks drive by (every day), play "garbage truck" with William and even helps Chris take out the trash. In fact, I am fairly certain that his first word was "trsh." He also loves to play with trucks and blocks. There was one morning that it was just me and Stephen and I just watched him build block towers over and over again and knock them down or try to sit on them. It was a really sweet thing to sit back and see. And just like his older brother, he
loves basketball. He has been shooting hoops on our little basket for months. And if he is in a bad mood, you can almost always turn it around with a little "game."
"Big Truck Day" was a blast. They sat in a garbage truck, fire truck, digger, street sweeper and a mobile crane.
A few other activities he seems to enjoy are: drawing, painting (paper and his body), water play/baths and sandboxes.
He isn't very verbal yet, but makes plenty of sounds for us to see he really wants to communicate. He has gotten pretty good at using sign language to indicate: eat, milk, more, all done, please and thank you. He does say a few words that we can make out: Mama, juice (oosh), and shoes (soos).
Playing at the zoo. yes, we got to wear shorts and short sleeves to the zoo this fall!
And shortly after his birthday, he finally started to show an interest in books! That was a big relief because William loves reading and it was hard to keep Stephen entertained during stories. But now, both boys will join me on the recliner and we'll read book after book after book. His favorites are currently:
Opposites (by Sandra Boynton)
The Going to Bed Book (by Sandra Boynton
Moo, Baa, La, La, La (by Sandra Boynton)
. . . all Sandra Boynton Books
Giraffes Can't Dance (by Giles Andreae)
My First Trucks (DK books)
San Francisco ABC's (by Gus D'Angelo)
Olivia (Falconer)
Global Babies
123 to the Zoo by Eric Carle
and Biscuit Wins a Prize (by Alyssa Satin Capucilli)
He will probably love all Biscuit books because they are about a dog and he just loves dogs.
He has also started to make a few animal sounds:
- dogs were the first one but that sounded more like a monkey (ooh, ooh!)
- monkeys came next (ooh-ooh)
- Lions (RRR)
- Elephant (Bluuuu or Euuuuuu)
- Cow (MMMM)
He dropped his morning nap a lot earlier than I would have liked, but now he naps one good afternoon nap at the same time as William. This usually goes alright and we all feel better afterwards. Stephen is an early riser often getting up before the sun which means we have plenty of time to play, eat and get dressed before Dad goes to work.
Last month he got his first haircut. It took a few days to get
used to his new look. Thankfully, it looks like some curls are coming back!
Stephen is dairy-intolerant but handles everything else pretty well. His favorites are grapes, green beans, pasta, hummus and goat milk. He will usually eat most vegetables offered to him at least once . . the rest might end up on the floor unless it's sweet potato. If he doesn't seem to want to eat his dinner I will sometimes make him a green smoothy which he will gulp down with excitement. I've also started making green popsicles because he favors frozen foods right now (I do spy some teeth coming!) This is awesome because then William wants one too (and we all know William doesn't eat produce much at all!)
I love my darling little boy and love watching him develop and grow. He brings me so much joy right now and I'm so grateful I get to stay home and don't have to juggle a job anymore. These days are precious.
When I look at my little boy, I can't quite get over the fact that he isn't a baby anymore. I look at him and I stand in awe that we survived his first year -- a little shocked that it doesn't feel so hard anymore, shocked that that phase actually did pass, shocked that he is actually so handsome, so sweet, and silly and great. I love noticing these things about him now, but also feel a sadness that I didn't see all of those things at the beginning. (I don't talk about my depression much at all, but that is really how it felt... letting the difficult things block my vision of who my baby is.)
Once he learned to walk (and even before that) around 4 months ago, he became a super-active baby. Walking, climbing, falling, sliding, swinging. He tried to jump now but hasn't made it off the ground yet. He is all about exploring and fitting in with the big kids, especially William. The things he plays are so much more involved than what William was doing at this stage and it has everything to do with watching his older brother play. Of course, William doesn't really enjoy having his toys taken or played with when he wants them so the sibling fights have already begun!
Beach day. He loves the sand but took a break to go exploring.
Playground fun = risk taking
Stephen loves to watching the garbage trucks drive by (every day), play "garbage truck" with William and even helps Chris take out the trash. In fact, I am fairly certain that his first word was "trsh." He also loves to play with trucks and blocks. There was one morning that it was just me and Stephen and I just watched him build block towers over and over again and knock them down or try to sit on them. It was a really sweet thing to sit back and see. And just like his older brother, he
loves basketball. He has been shooting hoops on our little basket for months. And if he is in a bad mood, you can almost always turn it around with a little "game."
"Big Truck Day" was a blast. They sat in a garbage truck, fire truck, digger, street sweeper and a mobile crane.
A few other activities he seems to enjoy are: drawing, painting (paper and his body), water play/baths and sandboxes.
He isn't very verbal yet, but makes plenty of sounds for us to see he really wants to communicate. He has gotten pretty good at using sign language to indicate: eat, milk, more, all done, please and thank you. He does say a few words that we can make out: Mama, juice (oosh), and shoes (soos).
Playing at the zoo. yes, we got to wear shorts and short sleeves to the zoo this fall!
And shortly after his birthday, he finally started to show an interest in books! That was a big relief because William loves reading and it was hard to keep Stephen entertained during stories. But now, both boys will join me on the recliner and we'll read book after book after book. His favorites are currently:
Opposites (by Sandra Boynton)
The Going to Bed Book (by Sandra Boynton
Moo, Baa, La, La, La (by Sandra Boynton)
. . . all Sandra Boynton Books
Giraffes Can't Dance (by Giles Andreae)
My First Trucks (DK books)
San Francisco ABC's (by Gus D'Angelo)
Olivia (Falconer)
Global Babies
123 to the Zoo by Eric Carle
and Biscuit Wins a Prize (by Alyssa Satin Capucilli)
He will probably love all Biscuit books because they are about a dog and he just loves dogs.
He has also started to make a few animal sounds:
- dogs were the first one but that sounded more like a monkey (ooh, ooh!)
- monkeys came next (ooh-ooh)
- Lions (RRR)
- Elephant (Bluuuu or Euuuuuu)
- Cow (MMMM)
He dropped his morning nap a lot earlier than I would have liked, but now he naps one good afternoon nap at the same time as William. This usually goes alright and we all feel better afterwards. Stephen is an early riser often getting up before the sun which means we have plenty of time to play, eat and get dressed before Dad goes to work.
Last month he got his first haircut. It took a few days to get
used to his new look. Thankfully, it looks like some curls are coming back!
Stephen is dairy-intolerant but handles everything else pretty well. His favorites are grapes, green beans, pasta, hummus and goat milk. He will usually eat most vegetables offered to him at least once . . the rest might end up on the floor unless it's sweet potato. If he doesn't seem to want to eat his dinner I will sometimes make him a green smoothy which he will gulp down with excitement. I've also started making green popsicles because he favors frozen foods right now (I do spy some teeth coming!) This is awesome because then William wants one too (and we all know William doesn't eat produce much at all!)
I love my darling little boy and love watching him develop and grow. He brings me so much joy right now and I'm so grateful I get to stay home and don't have to juggle a job anymore. These days are precious.
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