Angell Trails: May 2014

Little Man, this month feels like a big one to capture. You are just becoming so YOU. You exude personality; you are making your preferences and opinions so apparent to us; your communication skills grew exponentially; and how you play really matured this month. Your mind is processing so much and becoming very curious about how things and people work and interact.

The first part of the month we had several days where we said you had a "heart of passion." You knew what you wanted, and even more what you didn't. This only lasted a short while, as you and I adjusted how we communicated so that you could express what you were thinking and I could help you anticipate what to expect (i.e. putting some food on your tray before you putting you in your seat so that you could remember why you were being strapped in). Last month you signed for the first time, and this month you realized that the signs have meaning. You started using your signs a lot this month which helped ease some frustration, I think. For example, I noticed that a lot of your fussing occurred when you couldn't do something yourself, so I taught you how to sign "help." You picked this sign up within a day or two and LOVE to use it.

One of the biggest ways I've seen you grow this month is in your play. One of your favorite thing to do is to sit with different cups, lids, and balls and see how they interact, specifically which object will fit inside of another one or which lid will close on top of which container. You can spend large chunks of time taking a lid off and putting it back on. You are also very good at matching shapes. In previous months, you loved pulling things off of bookcases, but this month you wanted to put them back on the shelf as well. Your hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills seem to be areas that you were focusing on this past month.

Likes:

The outdoors - you get upset if you see someone go outside and you don't get to go. On the flip side, when you realize we are headed outdoors, then you start your happy-laugh.
The playground - you've loved the swings for a couple of months, but this month you found out how much you love the slide and merry-go-round.
You are a good eater and like most foods, but you LOVE bananas. You also love puffs, cheese and sweet potato.
Music - I realized how much you love having music on while you play. You will often find a toy with music and turn it on, even if you are playing with something else just so you can listen to it. Your new toy house has a "radio" on it that consists of four different buttons that each play a different song. You like to keep it playing continuously as you play with other features on the house. I used to keep your electronic toys off, but now you are old enough to remember which ones play music, and will sign for me to turn them on. I don't mind, though, since I now realize how much you enjoy it. I often turn on music while you eat lunch, and it always brings a smile to your face.
Shoulder-rides with Daddy - he usually carries you like this to the park when its just a boys' outing and you seem so relaxed up there.

Getting dinner ready with Daddy

Dislikes:

Getting your diaper changed - this got easier as the month went on (more on that later)
The nursery at church - you don't like being left without Momma or Daddy and I think the chaotic environment overwhelms me. It is loud in there and you are usually the youngest one in there.
When someone goes outside without you. We usually have to walk outside when Daddy leaves for work or when company leaves, or else you get upset that you don't get to go outside.

Milestones:

We left you in the nursery this month but it was upsetting to you so Momma or Daddy always came back and stayed there with you for the rest of the service. You get overwhelmed by the other kids since you are often one of the youngest.
We also had a babysitter (someone from Momma's Bible study) come and stay with you for 30 minutes to see how it would go. You were sad, but were ok when she took you outside. When she brought you back in, I think you expected me to be there, and got very upset. Luckily, I arrived home just a few minutes later.
At the beginning of this month, you had just started doing a traditional crawl. You have become a very confident crawler now and can crawl with speed and ease. You have become confident moving around the apartment, and you will come find me in a different room.
You are really cruising now! You go back and forth across the couch with ease. By the end of the month you were standing for 10 seconds or so all by yourself. Usually you sit down because you lose interest or are distracted rather than from losing your balance. You are very steady on your feet.
You love pushing your walker. You figured this out all on your own. One day I looked up and you had turned it in the right direction and were pushing it without ever having been shown how. You got progressively faster as the month went on. Now you "run" behind it. A few times a week, we take your walker to the gym where there is a long, wide carpeted lobby. Plus, the front desk worker thinks you are so cute!
Nothing is safe anymore, now that you can get anywhere in the apartment, pull up and reach high. We are so proud of these skills, but we have to be extra careful about where we put things.
You were dedicated at church. Grandma and Papa came for the weekend so that they could be a part of the event. You seemed to remember them from our extended time with them in Florida, because you went to both of them without hesitation soon after they arrived.

You started sleeping through the night consistently! It started out with you proving to us that you could make it through the night without nursing, but that you just needed a quick "hug" from Daddy. He would go in and pick you up until you calmed down (first you would cry really loudly when you realize it wasn't Momma, but you settled really well after that), then Daddy would put you back in your bed. You would cry briefly, but quickly make yourself comfy and go back to sleep. This lasted a little less than a week, and then you started sleeping through the night all by yourself. We haven't looked back since! Every once in a while you wake up and cry, but you settle yourself in less than 5 min. It took Momma a week longer than you to sleep through the night.
We celebrated Easter, my birthday and Mother's Day together for the first time. You make everything so special.

Helping Momma open her presents

I think you are starting to recognize words. For example, I said "ring ring" and you went and got me the play phone we use. You like when I say "shake! shake!" if you're holding a toy and know to shake it up and down.
You learned how to blow this month, and it is very cute. You love to mimic, so when you saw me do it, you immediately tried to copy me. You make a cute noise and very little air comes out, but you are so proud of yourself.
For a while now after you wake up, nurse and get a clean diaper we go to you crib and Momma says, "Please put your paci DOWN in the crib!" For a long time I would help you drop it and then you'd clap. This month you started releasing the paci all on your own and then cheering for yourself.
You still love finding the smallest piece of lint or food on the floor. When you find something, you will pick it up and then raise your hand up high to give it to me. This is very helpful, since you seem to prefer doing this rather than sticking it in your mouth.
You got your first pair of shoes. You stand often enough now that it was time. The biggest reason we got them was for the park. Now you can stand on the ground and play while we are there.

Playing with blankets and sheets, shaking them with toys
You showed Momma how good you are at obeying this month. As I mentioned earlier, diaper changes were becoming very challenging. You would often throw your head back, arch your back and cry as soon as I started to put you down. Then you would only stay put for a very short amount of time before you would roll over and crawl off (your changing pad is on the floor). I would end up chasing after you to get your diaper on, and then chase you some more to get your pants on. The same workout ensued if I had to change your outfit. Since you had already proven your good communication skills, I decided to teach you to "wait" during diaper changes. The first time I did it, I had to gently flip you over and say, "You need to WAIT for Momma," 5 times or so but then you stayed until I signed, "All done!" Daddy had to change your diaper next and was amazed when you stayed on your back for the entire change! Who knew it would just take one time?! Ever since then, diaper changes have gone so much smoother. You go down more easily (usually!) and will play with a toy until we tell you we are all done. Sometimes you will fuss and sign, "All done!" but you won't get up. Every once in a while you need a reminder but we are very proud of you how you choose to obey.
One other thing we had to work on this month was biting during nursing. You hadn't done this for months when suddenly you started doing it again. However, this time after you'd bite me, you'd start giggling so hard that you would be oblivious to me telling you not to bite. To get your attention, I started taking you immediately off my lap and putting you on the floor. Being such a big cuddler and lap-baby, this got your attention quickly and it didn't take long for you to stop biting Momma.
You learned how to drink from your sippy cup. You dramatically throw your head back really fast to get the water to come out. It always makes us laugh.

Eating lunch while out and about

Since signing really took off this month, I thought I'd include a quick summary about it. You know most of the signs I have taught you but also made up a sign that we call your universal sign. You often use this in place of the actual signs, but in the correct context. You use your right hand to pat your left arm. Usually I know which sign you mean, and will repeat the correct sign back to you, but still respond to your request. Your signing is really clear, so people often ask me what you're saying.

Signs I have taught you:

Nurse - this is one that you will repeat back to me. I will ask you if you want to nurse and sign "nurse" and you will sometimes start crawling towards me, stop to raise the sign "nurse" and continue crawling towards me. At the beginning of the month, if you thought of it on your own, you would usually just get fussy and want to be held by me. You have used your universal sign for this as well but not often. Towards the end of the month, you initiated signing "nurse" to me on your own. You also started using this sign if you wanted me, so I have started showing you the sign for "Momma".
More - this was your first sign and you use it all the time - if you want more food, if you want me to show you more pages in a book, if you think something I did was funny and you want to see it again, if you want me to keep spinning the merry-go-round, or if you see something interesting, like someone on a bike.
All done - this is one of the signs I've never see you do the actual sign b/c you only use your universal sign for it. It's really confusing when you use your universal sign to figure out if you want more or if you're all done. You sign that you're all done when I'm changing your diaper. One morning I heard you on the monitor and when I looked at the video, you were standing in your crib signing, "All done!" You've also signing "all done" as soon as you are finished nursing signaling to me you want me to put you down. But again, you only use your universal sign for this.
Music - You have worked so hard on this sign since it is the most delicate sign. This was a sign that I had just casually used with you for fun. I never really pushed it, but would just sign "music" whenever I played music for you on my computer. One morning you adamantly showed me that you wanted one of your electronic toys turned on. I turned it on and then looked away for a second. When I looked back, you had not only activated the music but you were signing "music" all by yourself for the first time. Daddy came running so that he was able to witness it as well. I was intrigued since my mind hadn't classified the music I played on my computer in the same category as your toys, but you put together the connection. You would practice this sign randomly throughout the day, one time I saw you watching your hand as you did the sign during a diaper change. You always do the real sign for this and you use it all the time throughout the day now. You love to be able to turn on the music on your toys and then you'll usually look at me happily and sign, "music". This is the only sign that you do with your left hand.
Help - I've never seen you do this actual sign but you use your universal sign for this all the time. It has been extremely helpful in giving you an alternative to fussing when you can't do something. You will use this if you want your walker turned on it's side (which is often since you like to look underneath it), when you can't get a lid on by yourself, if you need an electronic toy turned on, and also if you can't reach something. Sometimes I will see you signing "help" because you want something you can't have like my laptop - ha! One time at a MOPS event two pre-school aged girls were playing with you. You seemed to like the attention at first but then I realized you were signing "help," since I think you'd had enough. Another time you were walking with your walker and lost your balance. You slowly fell backwards so that you were lying on your back with your walker on top of you. I looked over and you were calmly looking at me signing, "help."
Outside - we are working on this one.
Eat - you don't use this one, just "more".

Your schedule this month stayed very similar to last month:

7:00am wake up
7:00am nurse
8:00am nurse (you usually like to split your morning nursing into 2 sessions)
10:00am morning nap
11-11:30am wake up
11:30am nurse
12:00pm lunch
3:00pm nurse
3:30pm afternoon nap
4:30pm wake up
4:30pm nurse
6:00pm dinner
7:30pm bath and get ready for bed

8:00pm bedtime

One week you would go down for your nap without a peep and then the next week you would cry before every nap. I'm not sure what changes in your mind, but you usually end up taking a good nap either way. We did have one week this month where your naps got off track and I thought you were pushing to go down to one nap early. Thankfully, we got back on track and you still seem to be needing two naps.

I love watching you grow, Little Man. I love that you have definite preferences and make them known, and I love watching you make decisions, and I really love how you are communicating. So I say, bring on the "heart of passion" days. You're just showing us who you are, and we love every bit of you.