Angell Trails: April 2014

You are 10 months old, Little Man! You are looking more and more like a toddler every day and less like a little baby. I love this stage where you are teetering between the two worlds. You still sleep in my arms, have round cheeks and doughy thighs, and everything seems new; but at the same time, you are so mobile - constantly exploring - and you are really learning how to communicate with us. You are learning skills that will help you gain independence but for now you need your Momma close by your side as you learn. It's a precious paradox.

Likes:

Music - you have always liked music, and you continue to smile as soon as you hear it.
Talking - you are quite the talker these days. We love your sweet voice.
You love swinging! We brought you to the park a couple of times, and you had so much fun.
Swimming! You also got to go in a pool for the first time, and you took to it like a little fish. You were so relaxed and loved kicking your feet and splashing your hands.

Cuddling - you are still such a snuggly little guy and had no problem napping in Momma's arms on the plane rides we took this month. You also love to cuddle for a while in the rocking chair after you wake up, resting your head on my shoulder.
The outdoors - you are so relaxed and happy when we are outside. This makes your Momma and Daddy happy as we tend to spend lots of family time outside.
Finger foods - I had casually tried introducing finger foods to you in the past but you were more interested in playing with them instead of feeding yourself. While we were in Florida, it really clicked and now it's a big part of your meal time. You especially love your puffs and notice them any time they are out (even if it's not meal time) so I have to keep them hidden :).
Reading - you have always liked this but it has been the main activity that will hold your attention this month. You like to pick out the books and hold them up for me to read. While we were in Florida, if Auntie Kim or Grandma tried to read you a book you would pull it from their hands and hold it up to me.
Pointing - you are always pointing. You do it to show me where you want me to walk if I'm holding you, to ask for something or to ask what something is.
Electronics - you know there is something interesting about cell phones and computers. Even though you don't get to hold or use them, you are very curious about them.

Dislikes:

Being held by any one except Momma or Daddy
Loud noises
Long car rides - you do much better on airplanes where you can sit in Momma's lap. You are much better at riding in your car seat than you used to be, but we try not to push it.

Not much has changed. It's always hard for me to think of things for your dislikes list, which is such a great thing about you. You are a happy, content little guy.

Milestones:

You started crawling at the very end of last month, but this was really the month where we got to see this skill develop. You started out the month doing your version of the army crawl and increased in speed, but then you transitioned to a traditional crawl. We were in a dressing room with Grandma Pegelow and she suddenly said, "Look! He's crawling on his knees!" and you've mostly done it that way ever since. You gained confidence throughout the month so you can now go from one room to the other. You have also found some short cuts: for example, you've found it's much quicker to squeeze between the couch and the table than to go all the way around the couch.
You pull up on everything now. Within days of learning to crawl, you were standing and then cautiously cruising. We went from having an immobile baby to a mobile one at warp speed. You are very brave when it comes to standing, so Momma has to watch you closely. Soon after you learned how to stand, I took my eye off you for a second and you had pulled up on the laundry basket and were only holding on with one hand. The other hand was busy pulling the clothes out of the basket. Sometimes you let go with both hands (because you needed them for other things!) and then inevitably land on your butt. I am thankful that you seemed to learn how to lower yourself down from a standing position at the same time you were learning to pull up. I think it's because you're not very fearful.

Your balance has really developed this past month as you have become more mobile. You have started playing on your knees and it so cute to see your little feet sticking out behind you.

You have gotten some bumps this month, which are inevitable given how quickly you have become mobile.
We are already guessing you are going to be quite the climber, like your Daddy was (still is!). As soon as you could army crawl, you were getting yourself up on things like my suitcase.
We made a quick trip to MN for Lily's 2nd birthday. You enjoyed watching her and wanted to play with whatever toy she had. She was very patient with you. You got to spend time with your Auntie Kim as well, and you are so at ease with her. You warm up to her far faster than anyone else and even snuggle with her.

We made a day trip to Bloomington, IN and you got to meet some of Daddy's professors and Momma's old colleagues. You aren't much of a car napper, so you only slept for about 15 min of the 5 hours we were in the car that day, but you did manage to fall asleep in my arms while we were talking to a few professors. You've always preferred napping in my arms than by yourself.
You and I went to Florida for 8 days since Daddy was so busy with work. You have now been on 7 trips and flown on 21 airplanes. That's more than some grown ups have ever been on! Momma was a little nervous to fly solo with a layover in Atlanta, but you were SO good! Grandma flew back to Indiana with us, which was helpful since we were in the Atlanta airport for 5 hours and didn't get on the first two flights we tried. It was a long day but you were such a trouper. You did so well spending so much time away from home. You had a hard first night there but after that you slept just like you did at home. We got into a good routine with Grandma and Papa, and it was nice for you to spend some extended time with them. The first half of the trip, you wouldn't let them hold you even if I were in the room. You would immediately cry. You would also cry if I wasn't in the same room as you. Towards the end of the trip, you really relaxed and became comfortable with them. You let them hold you and even take you somewhere by yourself (without me!). You also learned that if I was in a different room, you just needed to crawl there to come find me. We had busy days at the park, pool, beach, and shopping! We got to have a few breakfasts on the beach. We may start making this an annual (bi-annual?!) tradition.

Grandma babysat you one night while Momma went to the opera Daddy directed. I put you to sleep before I left and you stayed asleep the whole time.
It is very tricky to change your diaper. You do not like being put on your back, and often roll over before I am done. Usually if I give you something new to hold, it keeps your attention long enough for me to get a clean diaper on.
Separation anxiety - you went through a rough patch this month where you would cry if you weren't with Momma, even for Daddy. It was hard for you to transition to him when he got home from work after playing with me all day. I hid in my bedroom a few evenings and with me out of sight, you had a great time with Daddy!
You have started "talking" a lot. You even talk to yourself when you're in your stroller or chat to me while you simultaneously nurse! You love to say, "Dada".
You started signing! After 4.5 months of Momma signing to you, you did it! During dinner one night in Florida, I looked up and you were signing "more" to me! Then you did it again so that Grandma could verify that you were indeed intentionally signing. Since then I think you've done "milk" and maybe "eat," but only after I did it. You initiate signing "more" although you don't know exactly what it means yet, kind of like how you say "dada" but don't associate it with your Daddy yet. I think you do it because you know it makes us very excited. You do sign mostly around meal time so you understand there is some connection with eating.
In earlier months, I have described you as an introvert since you were always very serious when we were out and about, taking everything in and being a quiet observer. You have now showed us that you are also the social butterfly and can be quite the extrovert. You love chatting and waving now when we are out in public. You work hard to engage others around us, and you really get excited if there are other kids around. If strangers initiate conversation with you, you will typically stare back at them with a serious expression, but a lot of the time you are shouting and waving at strangers, trying to get their attention. When we were on the airplane, you pointed and waved at everyone who boarded the plane. When we go to playgrounds, you try to get the attention of the bigger kids there.
You slept through the night twice in the last month and we are hopeful that one day soon it will become the norm.

Your schedule was very consistent this month. Your wake-time has stabilized in contrast to the past few months where it was constantly increasing. In fact, you seemed more tired at nap time towards the end of the month, which I think was related to how active you've become during play time.

7:00am wake up! (we are lucky that we always have to wake you up)
7:00am nurse
8am nurse (you usually like to split your morning nursing into 2 sessions)
10:00am morning nap
11:30am wake up (we wake you up since you are almost always still sleeping)
11:30am nurse
12:00pm lunch (usually pureed fruit and yogurt)
3:00pm nurse
3:30pm afternoon nap
5:00pm wake you if you are not already up (for most of the month you were up between 4:30 and 4:45 but towards the end of the month we had to wake you up at 5:00)
5:00pm nurse
6:00pm dinner (usually pureed vegetable and oatmeal)
7:30pm bath and get ready for bed

8:00pm bedtime

You fluctuated between waking up 1 and 2 times per night, but 1 is what we now consider a normal, good night. Sometimes if you have already nursed once but are up again crying, Daddy can hold you for a minute and then put you back down. It's like it resets you and you will go back to sleep.

Oh Little Man, you are our little guy with a big personality. You really feel things - if you are happy you yell and squeal like you can't contain your enthusiasm. If you are upset, you cry loudly and big crocodile tears rush down your cheeks. You are overall an upbeat little guy, just full of passion. We pray that you will passionate about the Lord, the one who created you and made you to feel. And that you will know your joy comes from Him who loves you.