Ok, so I have no time to blog these days and while Noah isn’t yet 13 months, this will have to be his 13 month post because now is when I happen to have some free time.
Part of the reason I haven’t been blogging is because of how darn much he has been doing. There is something new (or 3-4 new things) he does every day. It is almost overwhelming. Most of the things we have been busy with are playdates with neighbors and getting together with the playgroup. I don’t know why it took me so long to realize this, but if we do something exciting before nap time or bed time, Noah actually sleeps better. Go figure. So we stay busy. Huntington Gardens, Garfield Park, Storytime at the Library, friends houses. So much!
Talking…
While he doesn’t have a lot of words he says on a regular basis, he usually will say one new word a day. His regular words are Momma, Daddy, Up, Hi and now Five (in reference to high fives, not the number). We hear these every day, a lot. His other words have been pretty random, red brush, light, on, off, auntie, juice, all done. I have really only heard these once or twice.
There are lots of sounds. Apparently, in Noahland, everything is named by the noise it makes. Dog=Woof, Blender=pppwwhhhtt, Lion/Tiger=Roar, Grandma=HHHIIIIEEAA!
We have been introducing sign language for things that can help us avoid big melt downs. Milk, all done, drink, eat and now potty. They have seriously helped us out. Now that he has figured out that if you sign something you get it, his favorite sign is milk (and not the milk in a cup…that is moo juice). His sign for milk seems closer to an air guitar performance than sign language:
The most amazing part of Noah being 13 months is how much he understands now. When I say It’s time to sweep, he goes and gets the broom. When I ask him to put something in the recycling, he does it. He doesn’t do it really well (often the item will land in front of the bag), but he knows what we are trying to say. I have to keep reminding myself that he really does understand and to not just do things for him.
Chores…
He loves to sweep. He has his own broom, but prefers mine, so often I end up sweeping with his little broom while he follows behind with the large one sort of stabbing the floor instead of an actual sweeping motion. This has also happened with the duster. I bought a second handle for our Swiffer dusters, and he wants the one I use. Of course. He does however do a really good job dusting. He will walk around with the duster for hours and it will be filthy at the end of the day. He also really likes sticky rollers and does a great job cleaning up with them.
When he is eating, right before he tells us he is ‘all done’ (in sign language), he will wipe his plate. While this is great if it were happening at the sink, unfortunately it just throws the crumbs of his meal all over. We are working on this one…
As well as wiping his plate, he loves to wipe pretty much everything in the world. While at Oinkster the other day he walked around from table to table (the small ones near couches) wiping them off with a napkin. Of course between each wiping he would blow his nose, but they are probably still cleaner than when he started. As for the blowing his nose bit, I had a cold a few weeks ago and CONSTANTLY had to blow my nose. Noah thought this was the funniest thing ever and would need a tissue for himself anytime I used one. Now whenever he sees a tissue box he reaches for a tissue and will walk around blowing his nose for a few minutes.
Putting things ‘in’
As with most other kids his age, he is OBSESSED with putting things ‘in’. Any type of toy that involves being placed inside another toy provides minutes of entertainment (and that is really something). Along with toys, basically anything he finds on the floor or can reach also will find a home ‘in’ something else. At Grandma Kerry’s house blocks go ‘in’ the vase. At our house, Tupperware goes in the toy buckets. Magnets go ‘in’ the recycling bins. Toothbrushes go ‘in’ the trash. Bath toys go ‘in’ the diaper pail. You get the idea. Basically, any trips to the trash or laundry usually require a quick riffling through of it’s contents to make sure it is all actually trash or laundry.
Brushing his teeth…
We have been trying to be better about not letting Noah walk around with things like pens in his hands or mouth. I started having visions of him falling and poking his eye out and ending up with a glass eye and blame me for the rest of his life. One exception to this is toothbrushes. He loves brushing his teeth. He demands a toothbrush of his own when Mommy and Daddy are brushing their teeth and will not be happy until he gets one. He also walks around brushing for a while after that, usually until he decides his toothbrush needs to go ‘in’ something. Something like the trash, or the toilet. Sam’s last toothbrush ended up in the diaper pail, that was about the time we decided to get Noah a toothbrush of his very own.
Eating…
He loves to eat with a fork. He enjoys spoons now as well, but dinner just can’t start unless there is a fork in his hand. He tends to stir his meal more than actually get pieces of food on his fork, but there are usually a few bites at each meal that he gets on there. He also drinks out of tiny shot glasses we bought for him at Ikea. He sometimes forgets that he has them in his hand and end up soaked, so for now these cups are just for water.
Haircut…
I broke down and cut his hair last week. He went from this:
Let’s just pretend you didn’t notice that I haven’t posted anything in nearly a month and a half. We have been so busy recently with the playgroup and with birthdays and our 6 year anniversary to celebrate…and then all of the sudden Noah up and turned one on me. My baby is officially a toddler. He toddles everywhere, and the head bonks associated with early walking are becoming fewer and fewer. Somehow we managed to escape him having a huge black and blue bruise in the middle of his forehead for his birthday party by about 48 hours.
Speaking of the party, it was such a nice time with friends and family. We rented out the Children’s Wilderness area of Deb’s Park and the kids played in the cave and the cabin and made mud. Noah of course had decided to get molars the week before the party and take up morning naps again. Since the party was at 11, that didn’t work so well. He was pretty cranky when it came time to have a cupcake and open presents and wanted none of either. We even had a practice cupcake the night before with a candle so he knew what to expect. Everyone was very thoughtful and generous and Noah has some beautiful new toys. Of course, his favorite was the shoebox given to him by his Auntie Char and Uncle Kyle. The box contained an adorable shirt from their trip to France, but Noah prefers the box so far.
For Mother’s Day I made all the Grandmas and Great Grandmas DVD’s with videos and a sideshow of Noah so far. I decided to edit it down a bit and make a first year video (I know, I’m so original). Please don’t get too jealous of my editing skills. Also, forgive the use of Window’s Movie Maker.
In case it isn’t abundantly clear just from reading this blog, Noah has an amazing father. Parenting is hard enough on it’s own, to have to deal with disagreements or an imbalance of responsibilities on top of having a child seems like it would totally ruin any rocky marriage. I’m so thankful to have Sam as my husband and that we can talk to each other about things that bother us and things we wish the other would do.
The other night I was upset that the dishes weren’t done by the time Noah was in bed because all the racket can wake him up. When I mentioned this to Sam he said he was worried there wouldn’t be enough hot water left in the tub for our bath. I thought this wasn’t the case and there was plenty to go around.
I asked him the other night if he could change one thing about me what it would be. His answer? To use less toilet paper. I admit it, I use at least 10-15 squares each time I pee. I don’t know if that is a lot, feel free to leave your opinion in the comments. My answer to the one thing I would change about him…for him to magically love giving me foot rubs.
I have not stopped using so much toilet paper. I have also not received one foot rub since this conversation.
Tonight I got out of the bath to find all the dishes cleaned and put away. He is back in the nurfface right now clucking like a chicken to Noah as he gets him ready for bed. Noah is laughing his head off.
Just to be upfront about this, I hate reggae. There is some music that I just can’t listen to, besides reggae, there is anything The Beach Boys did before Pet Sounds, anything by The Doors or The Eagles, Layla by Eric Clapton. If any of those songs come on the radio and it is within my power to turn them off, I will. You can also include any song made popular by an American Idol and pretty much any song that is played in Starbucks.
I have recently learned a few things about parenthood and music that I was really hoping to delay if not to avoid entirely. First, your children will not necessarily like the music that you like. Second, you will listen to the music they like, because it makes them SO HAPPY.
Noah, as it happens, LOVES reggae. So does Sam. This makes Sam so happy. I really want to be unhappy that he likes this music, but when he is dancing and clapping and bopping his head, it is hard to be upset. Our baby is a Soul Man. He’s got moves. I made him a CD of all of his favorite songs (I know, so dated, but it is really easier than dealing with a ipod in the car). Here is the playlist from Noah’s CD:
Three Little Birds (Bob Marley)
The Lion Sleeps Tonight (The Tokens)
Day O (Harry Belafonte)
Little Red Caboose (Some children’s artist)
They All Ask’d for You (The Meters)
Don’t Worry, Be Happy (Bobby McFerrin)
Sympathy for the Devil (The Rolling Stones)
I swear, I tried The Beatles, They Might Be Giants, The Talking Heads, Pete Seeger, Belle and Sebastian, but he gave them all a pretty solid “Meh”. So this is what I listen to in the car now.
On Friday I created a Pandora station for him and so far it has been brilliant. Sam and I had a discussion about the moral dilemma of whether it is OK to give a song a thumbs down if we hate it but Noah seems really in to it, for example, say Jason Mraz comes on. I think we resolved the issue that if he REALLY loves it we give it a thumbs up. If he kind of likes it, but we hate it, it gets a thumbs down. I mean…we have a responsibility to protect him from some music right? I’m pretty sure he never needs to be exposed to the likes of John Mayer, but if that Over the Rainbow song by IZ that we heard on repeat EVERYWHERE when we were in Kauai, I’ll give it a thumbs up (by the way, what is the deal with kids and this song? Is there a kid out there that doesn’t like it?).
Here is the link to Noah’s station if you’re feeling irie:
http://www.pandora.com/?sc=sh215061008501407484
To tell you the truth…I might be starting to like it. shhhhh.
So tonight I made tofu for the first time. Ever. I know, it is embarrassing. I was even a vegetarian for four years and never actually prepared the stuff myself. In my defense, I was a vegetarian in high school, so really wasn’t so great at making choices at all, especially when it came to what I ate. I mean, you should see some of the boyfriends I had. Or you shouldn’t, you really shouldn’t.
Getting back to Noah…he loved the tofu! He also had beets last week and loved them too. I know it is totally silly, but when Noah eats things like vegetables or fruit, or basically anything besides O’s, I feel like a good mom. I get so excited when he likes something new. I really prefer making meals we can all eat as opposed to making something just for him and it has been working pretty well so far. I made the tofu with fried rice, except that we didn’t have any rice and I used quinoa. It turned out pretty well. Sam said it reminded him of Santa Cruz.
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Last week I was playing with Noah on the floor when he picked up one of his books Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs by Byron Barton, put it in his lap and started turning the pages and saying “Mlaha buoauy alomaoaa ppttthth.” I almost died from the cuteness.
Noah’s attention span never seems to last an entire book and I always feel like I don’t read to him enough. I try to read a book a day and we have certain books we read before bed and before naps, but I still feel like he should have more fun book reading. Having him do this was another one of those silly things that made me feel like I was a good parent. See! He knows what books are for! He likes them!
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We finally have a sand box with actual sand in it! The cousins came over to break in the sand box while Noah was finishing up a nap last weekend. When he woke up he was very excited and interested in what they were doing. When it was clean up time Noah got right in with the boys and splashed in the water and grabbed the hose. It was the most he has ever interacted with them. This time next year there is going to be some serious fun being had by those boys together. His youngest cousin is just one year older than him (13 months) and that has seemed like such a huge gap for so long, it is really exciting to see that gap shrinking and them having fun together.
I don’t have any pictures of him playing with his cousins, but we did take some this Saturday when we went out to enjoy the weather in the backyard.
He really enjoyed smushing the castles that dad made for him.
I don’t know WHAT I’m doing with my hand. Don’t look. Look at that cute butt instead.
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Last Thursday while we were eating lunch Noah used a fork for the first time. He was watching me and his Grandma Kerry eating with forks and I thought he might want to try it out. I gave him his little bambu fork (up until then he had never seen it), he picked it up, stabbed his sweet potato chips and then put them in his mouth. Just like that!
Since then he has been more in to the stabbing then the eating with the fork. Speaking of stabbing, being the enthusiastic mom that I am, I’m always wanting to encourage whatever he is doing that is good and I keep finding my self saying “Good stabbing! Good stabbing!” probably not the best thing to be so excited your kid is doing. Poking? Forking? Stabbing is really what he is doing. You should see.
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After turning my back to adjust his bedding yesterday, I found Noah doing this:
Hi, I’m Kim and I’m addicted to the Angelcare Monitor.
For those of you who are not familiar with what this monitor is all about, it monitors your baby’s breathing so that you can rest assured they are still alive in their crib. If they stop breathing for more than 20 seconds an alarm will sound on the base unit to wake them up. If they still are not breathing a god-awful screeching siren noise will emanate from the base unit as well as all of the monitors. There are also other fun features like a thermometer so you can see the temperature in your baby’s room on the monitor, and of course there is a nightlight on the base. Basically, it is super fancy and if you think about it better than a video monitor for totally paranoid parents because you don’t have to squint at the screen to see if your baby is breathing.
My sister-in-law gave me hers to use when I had Noah since her boys were older. The funny thing is, I didn’t start using this monitor until Noah was 8 months old. I used the sound monitor part, but I never actually hooked up the motion sensor. Noah slept with us so much of the night, and he was pretty noisy when he was sleeping in his crib for the few hours he spent in there, I didn’t want to mess with it.
Then he got The Croup. The croup affected his breathing and I had been spending his nap times in our steamed up bathroom so I could make sure he was breathing and had him sleep with us while he was sick. Once he was better and it was time for him to sleep in his crib again I was seriously paranoid. What if I don’t hear him if he is having a hard time breathing? What if he just stops breathing in his sleep?! I know, totally unlikely, and I should be over this particular fear by now.
Sam HATES this monitor. There are a few times that I have forgotten to turn off the monitor when I bring Noah back to bed around 4 or 5 in the morning and the horrid “Dead Baby! Soon to be Dead Baby! Your baby is not breathing!” Alarm goes off. There was also that time when the monitor went off in the middle of the night when Noah was in the crib. Sam and I rushed back there in a terrified panic being roused from a deep sleep. Noah was breathing just fine and somehow did not wake up during all the alarms and whatnot. He was just sleeping on the far end of the crib all scrunched up next to the wall, at least that’s why I think it went off.
Now a friend of mine is having her second baby and a few days before Noah got sick I told her she could have this monitor since I don’t really use it. Ha! She had her baby shower over the weekend and all week I kept forgetting that I needed to pack it up and ended up not bringing it to the shower. I keep telling myself I didn’t forget on purpose.
Dear Katie,
I am sorry for not bringing the monitor. I am giving it to Kerry tomorrow to bring to you. I am going cold turkey on the monitor. When you reach the point where you need to give the monitor to someone else, I’ll be there for you. You can just call me when you wonder if your baby is breathing and I will tell you, yes. Unless you can’t give it up and end up using it until they go away to college. Actually, wouldn’t this monitor be awesome for when we have teenagers? We could just look at the little tic feature to see if there are in their beds or if they decided to sneak out and go to that party. Also, I suppose there is a chance I may not make it through the week and end up breaking down and buying myself another monitor. No. That won’t happen. Here’s to being strong.
Kim
Has it really been almost a month since my last post? Somehow my getting more sleep has led to me posting less. As for how I’ve been getting more sleep? Well, Noah has taken to sleeping 5+ hours in his crib for at least two stretches a night… !
I have posted before about my lazy night parenting habits and my inability to think clearly at 2 AM in the face of a screaming child, but this time there is good news. I now have hope that I may one day go to sleep at night and then not wake up (or be awakened) until…the morning. Last month the cosleeping with Noah finally reached a point where I was getting less sleep having him in bed than I would if he slept in his crib and I walked all the way down the hall to get him every hour. Not only was he waking up every hour to nurse, but between the hours of 4 and 7 he would not sleep unless there was a boob in his mouth. That means if I fell asleep and moved or was uncomfortable and tried to get him to unlatch, he would wake up and cry. I was a pacifier. This last part is what finally drove me to make an effort getting him in the crib.
Of course the first order of business was to make a spreadsheet. Isn’t that what everyone does? I decided that I was going to try leaving him in his crib or delay nursing him for a half hour each night for a week and see where we ended up. For example, Monday if he wakes up to nurse at 12 I would wait to nurse him or take him out of his crib until 12:30, Tuesday would be 1:00 and so on. I was also prepared with water in case he was thirsty. I had been told numerous times by my pediatrician that he does not need to eat at night so I wasn’t worried he was starving (besides the fact that he hardly ate when he was waking up to nurse, but just needed the comfort to get back to sleep).
The first night he woke up at 12:30 and I gave him some water and sang to him while I rubbed his back. He was back asleep in less than 10 minutes. He didn’t wake up for another three hours. Three! I was so confused. I was totally ready for him to wake up every hour after that. The next night was even better. When we put him down at 7:30, he didn’t wake up until 2:30 AM. Obviously he didn’t know about the spreadsheet. He was days ahead of schedule. The funny thing is that since I have been doing this every once in a while I will go in to his room and pick him up, because I’m basically asleep and forget myself, and the times I pick him up he totally flips out. When I pat his pack and sing he calms down in minutes, but the second I pick him up, he throws a fit. So, ok then! Baby wins! Mommy gets some sleep!
I was looking in the mirror the other morning and noticed that the whites of my eyes were, get this, white. I had convinced myself that they were always going to be sort of pinkish and I would always see red lines now that I’m older. Who knew it was about getting more than an hour of sleep at a time. huh.
In other news (I’m just going to throw a bunch of stuff on here I should have posted in the past month or so):
Our friends Ryan and Jen were asking us the other week if we had any Three Men and a Baby moments with Noah. They gave getting peed on as an example. I had to say that we get peed on every now and then, but it just didn’t seem movie worthy, just sort of par for the course as a parent. However, when they came over last night I was proud to say we have had our MOMENT. If you follow us on twitter you probably got part of the story. Now that Noah is eating solid foods his poops are, well, solid. Lots of times they don’t even stick to the diaper. This has led to poop getting in interesting places, even hiding for a bit. The other night as I was getting Noah ready for his bath I checked for poop and he was clean so I threw the diaper aside and got ready to step in to the bath (we bathe with him as he is so strong and squirmy)…and stepped right on to…a poop! The sneaky poop had rolled right out of his diaper and in to the tub without Sam or I even seeing it. I think this incident may be he one that is remembered above all other getting peed on or otherwise. While I actually considered just picking it out of the tub and going a head with the bath, I just couldn’t and had to drain and clean the tub before getting in again.
Last Thursday we had our first family trip to Disneyland. Uncle Matt gave us the VIP treatment and it was such a nice day. We had our silhouettes done (a tradition my grandparents started) as you can see above. I think what I love more than anything else at Disneyland is how baby friendly it is. So many places to change the babies with clean pads always well stocked. The Baby Care Center is really lovely too, with it’s private nursing area and tiny toilets for the newly potty trained. Our chef at dinner at the Grand Californian even sent out Noah his own personal quesadilla for dinner.
Speaking of getting special treatment with a baby, we have been getting so much of this recently. Well, he has been getting more special treatment than us. The chef at The York a local “gastropub” sent out Noah his own breakfast the other day too. I remember getting nice treatment when I was pregnant, but no one ever gave me free food.
Another reason I haven’t been able to write recently is I decided to start a Meetup group for parents in Highland Park. Hayley, I know you mentioned that I should do this a few weeks ago. Well, I did it. It is so fun. There are so many new parents in our neighborhood, even within just a few blocks of our house. I love getting to know all of them. I am of course totally obsessing over the group and spending way more time working on it than I thought I would, but so far, I like it.
I’ll try not be be such a stranger and I promise more pics next time!
