14th month

Okay, this should have happened at a year old, but Isaac is now officially bottle and pacifier free. Both seem like big accomplishments to us (especially the pacifier). His teacher, Kristen really helped him break the paci-habit at daycare. He hasn't been using it at home, but seemed to need it at daycare to comfort him. As it turned out, he has started to do better at daycare since the pacifier has not been in sight. He is interacting more and not as fussy; although, he still does not seem to really enjoy daycare yet. Dropping him off is still difficult. I am hoping he adjust soon, because it is so hard to leave him, knowing that he is crying. I do think the amount of time he cries when I leave is much less compared to what it used to be, so I guess he's making progress.

Isaac just had 2 top molars cut through, which I'm sure makes eating a little easier. He now has 6 top teeth and 2 bottom teeth, for a total of 8. He is also using a fork (at least the best he can) sometimes with eating. He is pretty good with using a spoon, but still tends to flip the spoon upside down. We just discovered that he really likes Mexican rice and beans. Yummy! Some other favorite foods are: yogurt, chicken sticks, Gerber breakfast bars, Pediasure, eggs, potatoes, grilled cheese, strawberries, bananas (likes to eat them like a big boy now), apples, prunes, oatmeal, applesauce, crackers, toast, bagels, and chicken nuggets. He's still not a big vegetable fan, with the exception of potatoes. He actually goes to the refrigerator when he is hungry, and tries to open it. He is not a big eater, but seems to be some better.

He seems to be feeling much better now. He's finally over his virus!!! This is odd, but I actually pulled out one white hair in the back of his head. Hopefully I didn't make 2 grow in it's place. The Coats side of the family is known for having some white hair in the front. Isaac's was in a different location, and only one hair, but definitely white.

He is becoming more and more vocal every day. It almost sounds like he's speaking Chinese at times, because I can't understand much of what he says. Some specific new words he's said are: itty (for kitty cat) and more. He uses sign language for more when he wants more to eat. It also sounds like he's tried to say Grampie and Grandad, but it wasn't clear. Even though he still doesn't say a lot of understandable words, it's amazing to me how much he really understands. I'll tell him that it's time to put on socks/shoes, and he sits down and raises up his feet for me (trying to help out). When he cannot reach something, he will grab my hand and take me to the object he wants to grab, so he definitely is communicating. In story hour at the library, the librarian was reading a truck book. Each page followed a storyline with one specific truck. Near the end of the book, there was a page with numerous cars and trucks. Laura (the teacher) asked where THE truck was, and Isaac went right up to the big book and pointed to it. It was cool to see that he was listening, retaining information, recognizing objects, and following directions. He really likes pointing (using his pointer finger), especially at people.

Other new things he has started to do include opening doors (by actually pulling the handle down on our apartment doors) and hiding behind the high chair. For some reason, he thinks he is invisible if he squats behind the high chair. He is does something he knows is wrong or if he is trying to get away from me when I'm making him do something (like brush his teeth), he runs as fast as he possibly can and gets behind the high chair. It is so funny! He really likes to throw things too. The daycare teacher told me that he stands at the baby gate and throws balls over the gate. He also likes to throw his toy duckies out of the bath tub, and he just giggles while doing it.

He attended his first football game this month...a Western Kentucky University game. He just had sensory overload. He loved it. He wanted so badly to just be turned loose so he could run around on the bleachers. I have to admit, I don't think he even realized the football game was going on. What was really funny, was his response to the halftime show. He was moving nonstop during the actual game and had to be passed from person to person to keep him entertained. However, when the marching band started to perform, he was as still as he could be. He loved the band. He was just concentrating and staring in amazement during each song, and would clap appropriately afterwards. It was so cute!

We are still occasionally trying the potty chair. He still squats (and usually tries to hide when doing so) when he poops. When he does, I'll put in on the chair, but he doesn't have much interest in it. He just stands up and tries to put his feet in the bowl of the potty chair. Now, moving onto sleeping. He is sleeping very good. I even have to wake him up sometimes on daycare mornings because he is not quite ready to get out of bed. If he wakes up before he is ready to get up, he hits the button on his Baby Einstein crib music toy (that is a turtle) so it will play music and help him go back to sleep. It's almost like the turtle is his snooze button.

We went to Memphis this month, and Isaac met some new friends. He had lots of fun playing with them, or should I say next to them. He is still not exactly sure how to play with other kids yet. We were a little nervous about the long drive, but he seemed to be pretty entertained with watching Baby Einstein on his portable DVD player. We were definitely glad to have that for our trip.

Isaac loves playing with all his toys. He really has discovered that he enjoys playing with his Megablocks. He likes to stack them and then tear down his tower. His tower is never very sturdy though, because he does not get them lined up perfectly (just good enough to stay on top of the previous block). He also likes coloring with crayons. He does pretty good with coloring, but does occasionally want to eat the crayons. We did have one incident where he tried to color his toys, the coffee table, and the door...I'm sure this won't be the last time this happens.

My favorite thing he has started doing this month is shuffling his feet to dance. When music is on in the car, he kicks his feet. When he is standing, he no longer bounces to dance, but shuffles and stomps his feet.

I know there is so much I am probably leaving out. It is just such a joy to watch his grow and develop. Little ones truly are miracles from God. We are so thankful for our little man!!!

13th month

What's new at Isaac's 13th month?

Well, he is continuing to get busy and faster. It almost feels like he can run from me. He loves to climb anything possible. One day I was doing laundry and Isaac said "Mama." I turned around, and he was standing in the middle of the kitchen table. Wow, I didn't even know he could that yet. Another cool thing he does now is open the doors to the apartment and my car. I give him the keys, and he finds the apartment key and puts it in the keyhole for me. This is really handy when I have my arms full of stuff. He also likes to push the button on the car that unlocks it. He is definitely interested in pushing buttons and turning knobs. He has discovered how to open the doors between the rooms in our apartment. It was funny when he first got interested in closing doors, because he would shut it and then realize he was stuck (because he didn't know how to open them). That phase did not last long though, because he was determined to learn how to also open the doors.

He is using a spoon much better now with eating and is more independent with eating. When he likes what he is tasting, he has started saying "Ummm" for "Yummy." He seems to be growing and gaining weight, but he is still small for his age. He is still resistant to veggies (it's weird because he loved those baby food vegetables, so it must be the texture).

Daycare is still not going great. He has transitioned to the toddler room and is taking one 2-hour nap a day (11:30-1:30). He still screams when I drop him off in the mornings. It's funny because he will be fine as he waits on me to pick him up in the afternoon, but cries as soon as he sees my car pull up in the parking lot or when he sees me. He actually recognizes my car from a distance. One of his notes from his teacher said "Isaac enjoyed sinning in chapel." I believe she meant to say singing in chapel, but that was kind of humerous. This has actually happened two different times. He is fussy when he gets home from daycare, and it seems it's because he is very hungry and tired. We are hoping he starts eating better soon. He is still sick with a runny nose and chest congestion, so he really doesn't feel well either. One day at daycare, I was called to pick him up because he had a fever. The doctor said it was just a virus (and ruled out ear infection and swine flu/ h1n1) and he would just get over it with time.

Isaac is definitely starting to test his limits with us. We are finding it more and more crucial to set boundaries and really be consistent with discipline. This is very difficult for us, and feel we have much to learn in this area. If anyone has any tips, please share with us!

He is so observant. He really has always been that way it seems. I will be walking through the grocery store and not even look up, and Isaac goes "ohhh, ohhh" as he points up at balloons. He notices everything up high (balloons, planes, lights, fans, etc) and points at everything he recognizes.

I am not sure when to start potty training, but Isaac squats (as has since he could stand) when he poops. I decided to buy a little potty. He knows where his potty is, but just doesn't understand it's purpose. He likes to remove the bowl and stand inside the hole. I just thought since he already squats, I could just slide the potty under him so he would understand the process. It is just too early for him I guess, but it's not really working. Maybe in several more months he'll be more interested.

Now that he is more vocal, we are starting to get an idea of what his little voice will sound like. He said "BYE-BYE" so country that Adam and I just cracked up laughing. I told Adam he better talk to Isaac as much as possible so he doesn't get my very country accent.

Isaac is so much fun right now. Every month just seems to get better. I love when he laughs. He laughs really hard now, so hard that he has difficulty stopping. I just love it! It's so fun seeming him smile and laugh, and show those little teeth. Piggy back rides and ride a little horsey, always make him laugh!

The sweetest thing he does is pat and rub my arm. When he is tired or just wants his mommy, he just rubs my arm, and it is precious. He is trying to show love to me.

We love him so much!!!

A Time of Reflection- 12th month

Okay, our blog entries have been scarce lately so I decided to do a month by month update of Isaac's milestones and stories.

12th month
Isaac enjoys playing with all his new toys he got for his birthday. We try to just give him one new toy a week, so he would appreciate each one. He is now 19.2# (12th percentile) in weight, has a head circumference of 45.5 cm (25th percentile) and 29 1/4 inches long (45th percentile). The doctor has encouraged us to give him Pediasure each day to help him gain a little weight. He started going to daycare 3 days per week. He was in the toddler room, but was having difficulty adjusting to only one nap a day and was not eating well. So, they moved him to the baby room for the remainder of his 12th month. He was still fussy, but did better in the baby room (which is less on a group schedule and works more on each individual child's schedule). On his second day at daycare, they had a water day, which lead to a 2 month stretch of a runny nose and congestion.
He is trying to talk more and more. He is saying bye-bye, mama, dada, ball, and baba (for bottle/sippy cup). He makes his car sound a lot more frequently (the past couple months) when he is playing with his trucks/cars. Isaac communicates with us more now. When he is thirsty, he goes to the refrigerator. When he is hungry, he goes to the pantry. He sometimes even brings us a diaper when he has dirtied the one he's wearing and lays in the floor or on a rug when he is ready for bed. When we say "it's bathtime," he goes to the bathroom, happily. He seems to understand most all we say.
He is recognizing more things now, such as pictures in books. For example, every night when we read "Goodnight Moon," he always has to find his monkey birthday balloon in his room whenever the book says..."and the red balloon." It is so cute! He loves to point at objects with his pointer finger, like airplanes and picture books. His other favorite books at this time are: "Go Dog Go," "Brown Bear," and "First 100 Words." He will sit in the floor at flip through the pages of "Go Dog Go" by himself, and he just laughs out loud when he gets to the last page (the dog party). It is so funny! In "First 100 Words" he loves pointing out the motorcycle (I'm sure his dad had a little something to do with that). He is also starting to recognize body parts...ears, nose, belly button, etc, and point to them on himself. He loves finding other people's belly buttons.
He enjoys going to story hour at the library and playing on playgrounds. He is really good at maneuvering on the playground equipment and loves swinging and going down slides. One problem we have at the playground is that he always tries to eat the wood chips on the ground. His favorite toys are balls, anything with wheels, push toys, toilet paper (as you can see in the picture above), and anything electronic (that he's not suppose to play with). However, his #1 thing to do is climb steps. If there is a step anywhere, he will find it and be playing on it. As soon as I open the door to our apartment, he goes as fast as possible to the steps that lead to the second floor.
Eating continues to be a challenge, but is gradually getting better. He mostly just likes chicken, bread/crackers, potatoes, and fruit. He always finds a way to stand up in his high chair. We have had to start disciplining him more. When he is put in "time-out," he just hugs me and rubs my arm afterwards (like he is saying sorry). He waves at everyone he sees, moves his feet to music, and is starting to give "high fives." The neatest thing he does now is put his hands together when we pray. It is so sweet!
He is a very busy, strong-willed little fella who desperately desires to be independent. He is social like his mommy, but so many of his characteristics and face expressions are like his daddy! He is a blessing to us!