Time has gone by so fast! On April 2nd we celebrated Vincent’s 1st birthday.
Just today I got to see my neighbors new baby (he’s 3 weeks old) and it was amazing to think that at this time last year my son was just about the same size. Wow, where has the time gone? In the beginning things moved so slow and I never could have imagined that by 1 year my son would be doing all the things he is. I must say that the baby human is a pretty incredible thing.
Since most of the time during the week it is just my son and I, we’ve had plenty of time to learn how to train one another. Oh yes, you better believe it, he does have me trained. He’s still not sleeping all night long and is taking at least 1 4oz bottle at around 1am every morning. His body is definitely on a schedule and it is my goal to figure out how to break that schedule and get him back to sleeping all night. He hasn’t done that since 3 months old! Unfortunately it’s not working. He decided that he was going to try to cut out his afternoon nap and consequently my free time. Not cool. As much as I love spending time with him I do need to do things like take a shower, wash dishes, do laundry etc.
Speaking of time, my own schedule is out of control. I haven’t quite figured out how to manage my time yet. yeah.. a year later lol. Things have been happening so fast that it’s really hard to keep up. Like most stay-at-home moms my husband doesn’t come home each night and help out. He usually comes home every Friday and if I’m lucky I get to catch up on sleep on Saturday. However, that doesn’t mean I really sleep. I mostly just lay in the bed half awake scared that while I’m asleep something may happen. It really is hard to let go and just relax.
Anyway, this post wasn’t about me! It was about Vincent and all the milestones he’s hit lately. For which there are many. Seeing as he’s running around behind me getting into anything and everything I’m quite sure I won’t be able to think of them all at this time but I’ll try.
Mastering Blocks:
Believe it or not in my naivety one of the very first toys I ever bought my son were blocks. I thought that somehow he was going to master colors and stacking and who else knows what before he was even out of his bouncy chair and able to sit up lol. That did not happen. Instead he eventually learned how to take the top off the box and chew on it. After that he learned how to dump all the blocks out but not put them back in and eventually to just lose all the blocks and hide the top under the couch.
For his birthday my friend bought him a new set of blocks that also consists of a cube type box that has inserts for the blocks on all sides of it. It requires that you turn the box to find the right slot to fit the block and it also has a lid that doesn’t just pull off. Apparently this is exactly what he needed to get interested in them. It took about 3 weeks of him trying each and every day to insert the blocks into the hole but he finally got it. His fingers obviously needed the practice in order to flip the block and push it into the slot. If you think about it, it is a pretty complex task. He now can insert the blocks into the box but he needs help from me. He’ll bring the box to me and I’ll sit down and flip it to find the spot it goes into. He has 3 shaped holes to choose from and almost each time he’ll pick the right one. It was a great day when he was able to accomplish this. He stopped whining and throwing it across the room out of frustration and just had fun playing with it instead.
Responding to simple commands:
Within just the past month he has learned how to bring us our shoes when we tell him we are going outside. He has also learned how to throw away his own dirty diapers when I tell him it goes in the garbage. He puts the wet ones in the garbage and has learned that the poopy ones go on the porch in the diaper pail. He has also learned how to retrieve a clean diaper when asked.
Dressing himself:
Of course he obviously hasn’t masterd this but he does know that his shoes go on his feet and his shirt goes on his head. He still helps us to get him dressed but now he also tries to “step into” his shoes.
Throwing a tantrum:
Not actually but you know what a kid looks like when the stomp up and down to get their own way? He recently learned this type of movement with his legs and feet. It’s hilarious to watch him run around the house doing it. The one thing that helped with this was that his dad tries to play soccer with him and I’m pretty sure the baby is just trying to imitate the foot movement.
Mimicking Behavior:
I’ve now come to realize that whatever I am doing, I am being watched. When I go to the bathroom and flush the toilet, when I get the spatula out of the kitchen drawer, when I blow my nose or type on the computer or even take a drink of pop. I have to be careful of my every move now because turning my back for one second can lead to a disaster. The baby has learned how to climb up on the rocker next to my desk so that he can then climb on the desk itself and click the computer mouse or grab the cup I’ve left from the night before and drink out of it. When I’m paying the bills he sits next to me and grabs any loose paper he can and tries to ‘help out’. As a matter of fact that is what he’s doing right this second. I’m kicking myself for not getting completely organized BEFORE he arrived.
Blowing and catching kisses:
This one is by far my favorite. For obvious reasons. I’ve been doing it for about 4-5 months with him and he finally got it. I blow him a kiss and he either takes my hand and puts it on his cheek or once in a great while he will use his own hand all by himself and say “isses”.
Well, I have a whole ton of paper to pick up now. See you later.
