19 months old

19 months old. Can this be true?? I remember last year thinking when you were 7 months old at Halloween "This time next year he will be 19 months!!" And it was so hard to picture a little toddler running around at the time. Next year you will be 2 and a half year old talking up a storm in complete sentences! Your dada and I are enjoying you SO MUCH! You are SO funny. And SO expressive. New things this month: You are obsessed with the roomba vacuum robot cleaning. You say "Wo-bot!" My all time favorite word this month is your way of saying "Ladybug"...."beak-a-bug". I love it!! You call daddy's mustache a "mutmash". You are still big on doing something you know to be naughty and wagging your finger in the air while you pout so sad and say "No, no. Break-able". You know the word "naughty". And you call Ruby "No no, naughty. Knuckles". Since we call her knuckle head for being so naughty! You LOVE your little red piano. And you like to play songs, and then say "Mama!" and you pull me over to your piano so I can play you songs. You sing "EIEIO moo moo", "ABC" (the first 3 letters and then you hum and sing random words for the rest), and Hush little baby "You sing 'baby' and then hum along". And funniest of all? Dada taught you the word "butthole", which you love to point out on the cat. You were curious as to what that thing was, and dada told you. I wasn't going to tell anyone else you knew that word, but then your wonderful nanny Erica was watching you and you went up to the cat, pointed, and said clear as day "Butthole". She found it hilarious too. You love saying "Erica" (it's more like a Ear-ica". You love stickers. You learned the word "Hippo" and that a hippo says "Blub Blub Blub". You love throwing rocks down the storm drain, and think a hippo lives down there. I love it when I'm teaching and you are playing on the front porch with Erica and you say "Mama!" and you stand in the doorway of my music room and smile at me and watch me teach. Sometimes you dance along to the music. Today you said clear as day "Have a good day!" to our neighbor Tommy! You talk about Poppy playing piano and guitar. You still think the Quaker Oats man and the Newsmans own boxes are your great grandparents PopPop and GG. You have been having fun with an ap on our iphones called autorap. Are you going to be a rap artist?? You know what everything belongs to (tutu's glasses, dada's shirt, mama's shoes etc).
I took my first trip ever without you. It felt so weird at the airport. Like I was missing my head. I was anxious and I cried a few tears, but I knew you would have so much fun with your dada and grandparents. I had a wonderful time with my best friend. The highlight was sitting on the couch from Friends on the WB tour. I can't wait to take you to Disneyland one day. It's my favorite place on earth!

Typical schedule

I'm taking my first trip without my baby this week Thursday! I'm going to see my best friend Jenna in California. I have spent every single day with you the past 19 months! I wonder how I will do! Dada and Tutu and Bycle will be manning the monkey for 3.5 days. I printed out this schedule for them to follow and thought I'd put it on your blog!

TYPICAL SCHEDULE FOR ALISTAIR

Wakes up anywhere between 5:30-7am. If he wakes early, I stay silent but give him a bottle in bed with me and let him read books till 6:45am. Quiet time. If he wakes up 6:30-7 I don’t feed him a bottle but fix him smoothy at 7am instead.

Open his curtains/windows and air out bedroom. Change diaper

7am Smoothy. He usually doesn’t have a huge appetite until closer to 8am. Drinks smoothy on his walk.

7-8:30 playtime. Lots of outdoor time.  Good time for beach.

8/8:30 breakfast: Oatmeal with yogurt, scrambled eggs and avocado, granola w/milk

8:30-9:30 more playtime.

9:30 or 10am Change diaper. Fix a bottle of 10 oz. Ergo, dark room, sing songs, nap. Make sure panda bear and some books are in the corner of his crib.

Usually naps 1.5-2 hours. Change diaper.

Open his curtains/windows and air out bedroom

12am snack (string cheese, apples/pears, raisens, banana, yogurt, goldfish)

1pm Lunch (ham and cheese sandwich, left over dinner chicken/pasta, mac n cheese)

2:30 Change diaper. 8oz bottle and quiet time in his room for 30 mins (read books, cuddle)

5 or 5:30pm Dinner

6:30 bath time

7pm Night diaper. 10 oz bottle, sing songs, bed time. Make sure panda and books are in crib. Put him in crib awake but sleepy after bottle. Press the mobile. Hand him panda. Sit on the floor next to his crib and put hand on his tummy.  

A Year and a Half!

I guess I already did a post just a week before you officially turned 1.5 years!
But here you are, at a year and a half! You are obsessed with Bikes. Bycle afterall is the nickname you gave your Grandpa. Now when we ask "Do you want to go for a walk?" you squeal "Bike 'eyed"! We got you a balance bike which you have been apprehensive to use. I think the seat just doesn't make you feel secure enough. So I went on amazon and found the coolest tricycle that is a 4 in 1. It starts with a back seat that supports your back with straps and an adult handle that controls and steers the bike. Those items can come off as you grow. You love it, but you love riding on the front of the bike in the child seat with Dada the most! Mama isn't very good at bike riding so I don't dare take you myself.
Today, you tried singing for the first time!! ABC's! You even matched my pitch. I've noticed you could match pitches even back at 11 months. Most kindergarten and first graders can't match a pitch. You have a puzzle that makes noises and you imitate the ship noise with the perfect pitch. But today you were so cute singing "ABC", you clearly understood what it meant to sing a song.
The other day we were reciting all the different dogs you've met. This is how our conversation went:
Me: Boo Boo
You: Boo Boo
Me: Cleo
You: E-O
Me: Rocco
You: Rock!-O
Me: Coco
You: Co-Co
Me: Miley
You: My-O
Me: Ruby
You: NO!!! KNUCKLES! Re-bee-o (Re-bee-o is how you've been saying Ruby lately)
We call Ruby a Knuckle Head and more often than not we are yelling NO RUBY! You are such a Knuckles!"

You were weaned just after we got back from Seattle (so you were almost 17 months old). You just stopped trying to nurse/didn't ask for it/didn't seem to need it. So I just stopped with the mindset that I'd nurse if you asked. And you never did! I was sad of course, because it meant that you were no longer my little baby. And breast feeding was such a wonderful bond and time together. I was waiting for the time to feel right to wean you. And it sort of just worked its way out naturally and beautifully.
2 weeks ago it was really hot and I went into your room to change my shirt. I looked up and saw gardeners across the street, so I immediately dropped to the floor to hide behind the bed to finish changing (they couldn't see me anyway, it was just my instant reaction). You were playing on the floor next to me with a puzzle and saw me without my shirt on and you smiled wondrously and said "Mama! A-mum (I want some)" and you stood up with your mouth flapping open and closed as you walked towards me. I stopped you and said "Remember? You are a big boy now. You drink from a cup". And you stopped and touched my chest and said "Baby". And I said "Yes, that's right. This is how I fed you as a baby!" and you smiled and turned around and went back to your puzzle.
You are so smart, putting things together. You understand everything I say. "Give this to daddy; Can you bring that shirt to mama?; Go show Daddy your toy; Go get your shoes" etc.
You learned the animals noises to donkey, hippo (blub blub blub) and whale this week!

18 months

In 6 days you turn 18 months! A year and a half! Time is going by so fast. Luckily you are the most photographed and documented little boy in the world. Words cannot explain how much we love you. You are just the light in all of our lives. Tonight when I put you to bed, laying on the bed with you in your dark cozy room, you finished your milk and snuggled against my face and breathed deep, relaxed, sweet smelling breathes and hummed your sleepy song. I swear I wanted to stay there in that very moment with you forever and ever. Our bedtime ritual is play outside, take a bath with dada and brush our teeth, get in our PJ's, drink a little bit of milk while we sing you songs, you get nice and sleepy and drowsy on the guest bed in your room, we scoop you up and give you a big kiss and say something sweet to you, lay you in your crib sleepy but awake, hand you "bear bear" your beloved panda, play your mobile, and sit down next to your crib and hold your hand while you fall asleep. It's all so sweet.
This month you discovered puzzles (or met meow as you call them!) and can put the pieces in the right places by yourself. You love your pull along bee. You love magnets. You love your bubble mower, and call lawn mowers "bubble". You are so well behaved. We took you to lunch in Kona at the thai restaurant above Costco, and you behaved better than any adult in the restaurant. You know what people "go together". When we facetime with Seattle you go through all the names "Poppy, Ama, Li-a (Lisa), Rocco, Bao Bao (Uncle Panda) and you remember things at their house (lights, clocks etc). You know Bycle and Dudu go together. You and Bycle are kindred spirits and are so bonded.

17 months old

On my iphone notes I write down little words and memories from each month so I don't forget. I know years from now I'll be saying "How old was he when he...." so I'm motivated to keep this blog up! At 17 months you had a vocabulary explosion. Every day has been a new word. Whatever word we say, you imitate it right back to us. I said "Oh man!" and you chimed back "Oh Man!" My favorite word this month? "Mut mash" (Mustache). On dada's face! Anytime you hear a motor sound you say "Airplane!" and we have to look for it. You point up at the moon (boon) and sun (nun). This month you have also learned the words "Ham, Bucket, Chin saw, boat, big cup, trees". You know the animals sounds to Cow, Kitty, Dog, Sheep, Frog, Elephant, Lion, Tiger, Penguin, Bird (you learned bird in Seattle so you saw Caw Caw like a crow!) You can count to 3! 1, 2, 3! You love your panda bears (you say "beo bear). You LIVE to be outside. You could seriously spend all day outside. 

You have a new nanny this week. Beloved Savanna (you called her Yay Yay Nana) had to go back to school. You were SO bonded with Savanna and hopefully she will still come visit us once and awhile. Erica is your new nanny. She is a kindergarten and first grade teacher so she has lots to teach you. She is very calm, quiet, and friendly. You have taken to her very well this week. You are such a social guy you would get along with everyone! Last night you slept from 7:15pm-7am!! That's the latest you've ever slept in to date. You also woke up happy (not crying!) You have a little babyproof photo album with everyone's picture and you love looking at it saying their names. Sometimes you find family member look alikes in your books. You think the Quaker Oats man is PopPop and show me him everyday in the cupboard. 

We are enjoying you so much Monkey. You are so smart and funny. You have so much personality. You are so busy and we love watching you explore your world. And you are just the cutest most beautiful baby anyone has ever seen!

Photos at 16 months

You are the most photographed child on this planet. I take multiple pictures every day! It's a little overwhelming trying to pick and choose my favorites! At 16 months you loved the aquarium, zoo, and you learned everyone's name! 

16 months

You and mama took a 3 week trip to Seattle while dada went surfing in Nicaragua! I flew by myself with a toddler! You were WONDERFUL! You slept for 2 hours, ate and played for 2 hours, and the last 1.5 hours you were pretty much over flying, but you behaved and I could still distract you with toys. We got in Seattle at 7:45pm and you stayed up and played till almost 10pm. Everyone was so happy to see you! We had a wonderful trip, with visits from Aunt Shaye Shaye(you learned how to say Yay Yay!), Great Grandma and Pop Pop (you learned to say GG and PopPop!), and Jenna (Nenna!) The first week you were fussy and irritable and I thought maybe it was all the changes and new surroundings, but then I discovered you popped 2 new molars! After they came in, you were back to being happy and content. We had a really great day at the zoo with Shaye, PopPop and GG, and Poppy and Grama. You didn't cry once the entire day! We went to Tutta Bella for pizza dinner and you were perfect at the restaurant too! We also had an amazing day with no crying going to Bainbridge island to see Jenna. You rode a ferry for the first time and loved it. Jenna's brother asked "Is he always like this??" (meaning so good and perfectly behaved!) 

You are a talking machine. Everyday you say a new word. It's hard to keep up, but I take little notes on my iphone. You newest words at 15/16 months are: Sock, PopPop, GG, baby, pee pee, Poppy, Rocco, moon (and when I ask "Where is the moon" you just stick your finger straight up in the air!), boat, thank you, sticker, Zebra, zoo, Lisa, Kimi (Mimee), Panda (baya baya), fan (ban), rock, gentle, knot (and you point to the knots in wood....we have no idea where you learned that!)

You have a loss in appetite which I've read is normal since you are gaining less weight than you did in your first year. You are waking up every night around 2am screaming for mama, so I come into your room, give you your "buck" (cup) which you ask for, and you sleep with me until anywhere from 5:30am-6:30am. I put black out curtains in your room (not sure why it took me 16 months to do THAT! It's been life changing for your naps. You slept/napped so well in Seattle thanks to the dark cave room we stayed in! You can't say Grama, but called her so many funny names in Seattle "Mimi, Mi Maw, Mommy, Mom, Ama". We facetimed with her today at lunch and you said "Poppy!" and she said "I'M not Poppy! What do you want to call me?" and you said "Poppy!"

You love playing with water and magnets (you played with magnets with dada for 45 minutes last night!) In Seattle, every worker man we walked by, and every truck or excavator we saw was "Dada!" Even the blue angel jets were "dada!!" When we landed in Hawaii you were asleep since it was 9:30pm. As I was transferring you to the car you sleepily opened one eye, saw dada, and your eyes FLEW open and you squealed DADA! DADA! And you were laughing and shrieking with joy. It was sooooo cute! You fell asleep on the ride home and when we went into the house you saw the dogs and squealed "BooBoo! Oooey!" and you saw your favorite toys and wanted to play (at almost midnight!)

Everyone thinks you are the cutest baby they've ever seen. I think so too!