Blake at 11 months

"Baby Blake," as we have called little brother since we named him in utero, won't be a baby much longer! He turned 11 months old on Monday. Tear :-( Although it is sad that we are nearing the end of the baby stage, I love this age!

If I had to guess, I would say he is weighing in around 28 pounds, and I don't know how long he is (can't get him to be still long enough to measure!). He's wearing 18-24months, mostly for length. He and big brother are favoring more and more, in my opinion, although Blake has more hair and less teeth than JW did at this age.

Speaking of teeth, he has two more since last month: his top centrals. So he has been a drool machine as of late. This, along with separation anxiety, has caused for one clingier-than-usual baby boy. Makes it harder on this Mommy to leave him at daycare those days :-( 

Development:

• Started pointing last week, gives us "a five," and waves goodbye 

• Still babbling (and shrilling and shrieking) quite a bit! Don't know if the ear infections are the culprit or not, but he does not seem to say many words consistently yet. He knows our names and turns to each one of us when we say, "Where's so-and-so?" and he sure knows "Dada" when he sees Brett. He says "Daw-dey" for doggie (aka, Boomer, whom he LOVES). He mimics sounds (coughing, laughing, etc.), and I even heard him trying to mimic Jameston saying "Vroom" when they were playing with cars the other morning

As I said, B is obsessed with Boomer lately! Their morning greeting

His sign that he is "all done" when he's full (that, and he starts dropping food off of his tray...)

Sleeping: Blakey is sleeping about 12 hours straight most nights, even with allergies/resulting congestion and budding teeth. His naps are all over the place (1-3, depending on where we are that day), but mostly he naps twice a day, about 1-1 1/2 each. As I've said, he loves his lamb lovey

Eating: Well, the boy doesn't go without eating much as you can tell :-) He nurses/takes a bottle four times a day (no signs of slowing down any there) and eats three meals with a snack or two during the day. He loves blueberries, applesauce, home-made yogurt melts, spaghetti (or any noodles really :-), carrots, bread, peas and avocados. He usually eats what we're eating, except for breakfast. He is starting to master the sippy with two handles and the snack trap, surprisingly.

The boys is all over the place! Has learned to crawl on his knees now but still army crawls, and he has pulled up to his feet on tables/toys (so we lowered the crib this month) although it is hard for him to get that weight up I'd imagine! He has not started cruising yet, but I feel it is fairly imminent.

Blake's current loves are: finger puppet books, light switches and doorstoppers, taking the lids off markers, looking in the mirror, cars and balls. He LOVES to hold/pat/bang on books! I cannot read him/big brother a book unless he's got one in his hands

He is on his own in the bath tub now and loves it (far cry from his newborn days). He is all over the place like a little fish!

He can make a big mess in the blink of an eye and is very much like big bro was at this age :-) 

Blake loves to be in the kitchen "helping" Mommy make dinner:


He also prefers the outdoors like most boys! He could play in the backyard (and grass) all day. He will even let out a little cry when we head back inside!

Blake's ears: We were scheduled for tubes earlier this month, but his ears seemed to get better, until last weekend. We are going back and forth with his pediatrician and ENT regarding the treatment plan. His hearing is fine, so we are monitoring him for the time being...

Little brother has recently been introduced to some of Jameston's old toys since he is more confident on his feet:

Blake loves his Daddy and Jameston. I mean, he instantly smiles when he sees or hears them. I love my boys!

Melts my heart

Blake has the best expressions, and people comment all the time about his cheeky and gummy smile! Love. 

He has been scrunching his nose a lot lately, in one of the cutest facial expressions I've ever witnessed (I know, I may be partial :-) This is the best picture I have of it:

We love you, Blake-a-roo! Can't wait to celebrate your 1st birthday next month, sweet boy!!

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Jameston is 3-and-a-half!

Our sweet and silly oldest son turned 3 1/2 on the 20th. Really can't believe it! This is such a fun (and challenging) age, so I had to document what our buckaroo has been up to lately :-)

We love our big boy to pieces and all of his over-the-top expressions! 

I don't know where this funny face came from; it was early one morning before we headed off to work/school:

At this age, Jameston is such a joy! We have the best conversations daily about everything under the sun (seriously), and we are constantly amazed by his inquiring mind. He will ask the most unpredictable questions (analytical like Daddy and observant like Mommy I guess :-) to keep us on our toes! It really is so wonderful how much they are learning at this age.

Jameston is 42 1/4 inches tall about about 35 pounds (which he has been for while now). He is still rockin' a forward combover as he/his Daddy have decided to let his hair grow out :-) His gold locks are are getting wavier and a little darker with time.

His language skills continue to amaze us. Of course, we are partial and think he's a smarty-pants :-) He spouts off up to 15-17 word sentences (and not run-on) that make perfect sense. Because of Jameston I no longer believe the age-old statistic that says men/boys talk half as much as women/girls!
Some recent favorite "Jameston's Jargon" sentences:

"Did the sidewalk trip you?" after I hit a curb when making a turn in our car, "that's Q" (instead of "cute"), and "I need to wait for my tears to turn off," when I called for him when he was up in his room for a timeout. He also says the following many times during the day: "Thank you, sir"..."Hmmm, let me think"..."I mean, really really neat, (or strong, or yummy);" all statements he hears from m-whah, I guess. It's funny how you find out, as parents, what things you say a lot thanks to your little recorders, a.k.a. children!

We are having less temper-tantrums in the "Terrific Threes" and more discussions on how to behave like a big kid. He has become a little quarrelsome (he has to be right, don't know where he gets that from, Mommy :-) and could argue with a wall! If he gets in trouble, we do not really have to resort to "the spanking spoon" nearly as much as, say, 6 months ago, and he will walk himself up to his room for a little bit of a "time-out" to think about what he did wrong. He is also a little bit dramatic, if you've witnessed it you'll agree! He recently spent quite a few nights away at "Cousin Camp" with his older (girl) cousins, and he has since had a little more attitude/bossiness :-)

Things I don't want to forget about JW at this age are that he:

• Now calls us "mom" and "dad" instead of "mommy/daddy," which makes me kinda sad
• Often gives a thumbs up to show you he's on board with whatever we have suggested
• Closes one eye (or both as in the pic below) when he's pointing at something

• Loves to read books (hard to name a favorite!), so much so that we had to start a timer at night (that usually only allots for one book) because he wanted to read 2-3. Plus his nighttime routine was getting outta hand. The time has worked well, but we are working on having him go to bed earlier...I digress, but the boy loves to be read to, that's for sure!

• Isn't as enthusiastic as he used to be to take a bath nightly. It's a battle some nights, but once he's in the tub, he had a grand ole time and sometimes acts his silliest!

Developmentally:

• Since he knows his letters pretty well and loves books, we are sounding out words as we read
• He brushes his teeth, goes to restroom, washes hands, and gets dressed fairly well on his own. Ever since little bro has arrived, he has regressed in his independent ways, but I guess that's to be expected
• He plays hard and naps hard, too! Still taking a 2-3 hour nap most days around 1:00 after lunch

• Loves soccer and baseball, any sport really! We are hoping he gets to play 6 t-ball games in the spring. He is very active and runs everywhere if he can, although he's got two left feet like his Mommy at some things

• Eating: the boy eats almost anything. He is great at eating his veggies and fruit, and his favorites would be avocado, green beans, broccoli, tomatoes, oranges and pineapple.  He still won't eat melon of any sort, but I cannot think of a main course that he has tried and not eaten. Thank goodness! If he could eat what he wanted for a day, it would include blueberry muffins in the morning, peanut butter crackers and handy-snacks for his two snacks during the day, a "wrap" aka turkey/cheese tortilla roll, Italian for dinner, and a pudding cup for dessert ;-) 

Favorites:

• Cars, or anything with wheels for that matter. Favorite movie would be Cars 2, which he got from Santa
• Just lately he has been inducted into the the obligatory "superhero" phase
• He could color  or paint ALL.DAY.LONG This is a fairly recent obsession (two months or so), and I feel like it is a healthy one, so I color along with him, even though I feel like my hand could fall off! 

• He loves to wrestle with Daddy. I think this is his favorite part of the day!
• Favorite games would be "Duck-Duck Goose" and "Chutes and Ladders"
• Loves to be outside. Duh! Although he has been going through a anti-playground funk...

• He loves to sing and dance and play instruments, and his favorite songs at the moment are "Five Little Speckled Frogs," "Martyr" by Rusted Root, "Never Going Back Again" by Fleetwood Mac and "Jesus You're My Firm Foundation," to name a few

• Although his behavior can more difficult some days, he does still manage to melt this Mommy's heart and thank the dear Lord for him every day

• He is also such a tender-hearted little boy who loves, loves, loves his little brother, family and friends. And I think he is one of the best and sweetest big brothers around! Blake adores Jameston and instantly lights up when big bro is around. I love watching these two and envision lots of antics to come!

Sure, we are having the daily sharing issues (I feel like I am going to be a referee for quite some time :-) but their brotherly love is such a joy to witness!

We love our big boy (and his silly antics and strong will) so, so much. There is never a dull moment because of our Jameston Wade!

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10 months!

Cannot believe this boy turned 10-months-old on Monday. WOW! 

This month has been a BIG month for your BIG boy (who is 27 lbs.+, which we know because we took him in again recently for another ear infection---he is scheduled for tubes on March 14th :-( Anywho, despite chronic ear infections and his top centrals coming in, he's been pretty chipper. And he's been tackling milestones left and right. This past month he started:

Army crawling (video to come in a separate post)! He is hiking knees up, but has not made forward movement on them...

Standing up supported!

Pulling up to his knees on anything that is in sight! He will also go from crawling to sitting up.

Phew, that's a lot. Love this boy!

Blake's favorite things these days:

• Balls of any kind. He loves his soft baseball, and any of his big brother's sporting goods. We have a crate of them, and it seems to be the one he goes for first!

• Baths! 'Nough said!

• Tupperware containers/lids and cups (especially in the bath). It's the little things...

• Soft ring stacker (was also one of his brother's favorites at that age)

• Music! He likes to be loud (hitting, banging, etc.), so if the object makes noise back, he's impressed!

• Boy things, such as cars, Lego's and blocks, probably because he sees Jameston playing with them

• Anything that Jameston is doing, he wants to do. Proof:

Blake's top teeth are right under the gum. This, along with his ears, has caused him to wake up about once a night the last few weeks :-( 

He's a momma's boy, but one thing is for sure, he LOVES his Daddy. When he sees Brett for the first time in the morning (or in awhile), he lights up and flashes his sweet smile. Love.

Sleeping: Blake takes two naps a day now, usually around 9:30 or 10 for an hour or so, and then an afternoon nap around 2 (for about an hour-and-a-half)---glad he isn't showing signs of going to one nap a day at 10-months, like his big brother did! He goes to bed for the night between 7-8 9except on Wednesdays :) and sleeps 10+ hours. I may feed him around 6, and he usually goes back to sleep for an hour or so, and is up ready for breakfast after that!

Eating: Loves to eat (can't ya tell? :-) Usually eats what we are having. New foods this month are cheese, berries (all sorts), tortillas, broccoli, tomatoes, brisket, ravioli, applesauce, and that's all I can remember! He is drinking water or juice one time a day, and he has yet to master holding the sippy cup. He continues to love bananas and avocado, so those are our go-to foods several times a week. We know he's full when he starts to drop food off of his tray :-)

He is taking a bottle/or nursing 4-5 times a day, 6-8 ounces at a time. No sign of self-weening, and I am able to keep up, thank goodness. Big brother wanted to feed him one night, so sweet!

Several things I want to remember about our precious baby boy, who won't be a baby much longer, are:

• Blake knows his name and will turn to/look for you you when you say it
• He is throwing/dropping/banging on all things. He's loud!
• He repeats (or tries to repeat) certain sounds and words and hand movements (we are working on signing). He says "Dada" all the day long, and his first non-babbling word was "hey" after we listened to the Lumineers' hit song several times :-)
• He claps and waves a lot. So cute!

Look at those cheeks! Love to kiss 'em!!

• Blake dances when I hold him on my hip, and he'll bee-bop/bounce when he's in his carseat/highchair or sitting
• He has quite the little temper, if I have to set him down and he wants me to hold him, or if we take something away from him that he really wants (mainly paper products). He has started arching his back when he doesn't want to be put in his car seat. And changing his diapers has become quite the challenge/fine art these days!

Who can calm Blake when he is upset? His big brother, "the baby whisperer!"

They adore each other so much, and both can make the other laugh. Even though Blake is now somewhat mobile and getting into Jameston's things, big brother sweetly redirects him to something else. So, so sweet these two. Can't wait to watch their relationship grow! So blessed by these two!

We love you, Blakester, Baby Blake, Blakey, B., Bubba, little fella (these are just some of the nicknames we, especially your big brother, call you)! It's been another fun month in the Winters' household because of you, little guy!