Caleb is 14 Months!

I am WAY overdue on a milestone post for Caleb! I've been feeling really bad about this, and have been accummulating a list on the chalkboard, but it had become such a long list and this post had become so monumental, that I kept procrasinating. What's new, though, right?

I'll start with his stats from his one year appointment on 7/17/08:

Weight: 27 pounds (92%)


Height: 30.5 inches (67% - I'm not sure if this one was accurate...he was really squirmy and the measurement is not that much more than last time)


Head Circumference: 48 cm (87%)



I was having a lot of heartburn about what to do about his shots, and had decided to ask them to split the MMR into separate shots and do just the measles that day. As much as I promised myself to stick to my guns, he ended up getting the combined shot anyway, but we did wait on one of the others. I really thought that the MMR had the highest risk of side effects, but the doctor told me that ones he had already received had higher risks and also that splitting them out really wasn't going to make a difference for that particular shot. I was a little frustrated, but I'm just thankful he didn't have any reactions, other than the brief fever a week later, which is a normal side effect (so I've learned).

Basic Patterns


Eating: EVERYTHING. Except when he's cranky or teething, he'll pretty much eat anything you put in front of him, and in mass quantities. He loves crackers and particularly those cheese / peanut butter snack crackers.



Drinking: Whole milk, but thinking of moving to soy due to some recent sleepless nights. He probably drinks 24 oz of milk a day, and some water at meals. Still having the ba ba for milk and sippy for water, but he doesn't want to do either one himself - he'll hand his sippy to me when he's eating and I end up standing there while he drinks. He also loves to drink my water out of a glass.

Sleeping: Doesn't. At least lately. :-) We've been having some more of those brutal, up-for-3 hours-in-the-middle-of-the-night nights. He's not super sad, though, just awake and then usually waking for the day at 4:30-ish. We've been bringing him down and keeping all the lights off and some mornings he'll doze with us on the couch for an hour or so more. It's reminiscent of when we switched him to the soy formula, so I took him in last week and they suggested trying soy milk, but so far he won't take it. I should note that the no-sleeping has been going on for about a month, but before that he was sleeping great - through the night for a very long time.



Naps: Pretty much down to one a day, for up to 2 1/2 hours. On mornings when he's been waking early, I've been putting him down for an early morning nap, but then he doesn't want to take the afternoon nap.

Milestones

Teeth: His first molar (top left if you're looking at him) popped through on 7/15/08, and the second (top right) on our way to Maine, 7/26/08. Today I felt around in there and there's a third popping through (bottom left) and the fourth is really close. That's got to be at least part of our sleeping issue. I can't really tell what's going on with the incisors yet, and he's got all the rest.


Walking: He took his first step on 7/19/08 in Bloomington and Henry's birthday party! We were sitting in their living room and he was standing and took a little tiny step before he fell! He's pretty much walking wherever he wants now, not totally stable, but can usually get from point A to point B. I love the little waddle at this age.


Talking: He's really starting to say a lot of words and loves to mimic us and Gabe. Here are some of his words:

• hi - his first word
• baga / gaga - this seems to be his name(s) for Gabe (OK, it's not really a word, but I wanted to make a note of it)
• uh oh - by far his favorite word / phrase
• amen
• shhh
• kittie
• ba ba - bottle
• ba ba - bye bye
• something that sounds like "yellow"
• D (as in Miss D, he only said this once when we asked him to)
• tay too - thank you
• disssss - this
• da da - daddy
• nnnaaaahhh - this is a long drawn out sound he makes that sound like me calling up the stairs to Dan :-)

Favorite Activities




Flushing the toilet - he loves this and sadly, sometimes when I'm done, I let him flush for me. That might be TMI, but I think it's funny and let's face it, we all have to take them in there with us sometimes. :-)



Touching the garbage can - don't they always want to touch the gross things?



Playing with Gabe's potty chair - same note as above.


Flipping light switches - he LOVES this and reaches and grunt whenever we walk by one.


Playing bitesy witesy - he likes to play this little game where he tries to bite me and then I say "Noooo bitesy witesy!" and he just keeps laughing and trying.


Vaccuuming with the dustbuster - he insists that it be "on" and gets really irritated when it runs out of batteries.


Opening and closing cabinets (and taking out their contents).


Waving "hi" - loves to wave and give his high-pitched "hi" to passers by, especially in the grocery store.


Blowing kisses - this is one of my faves. This might also be another word, because it sounds like "Oma" when he does it.


Throwing food - and I do not mean "dropping" or "tossing." He literlly hurls his food across the table / kitchen now.


Playing with hats - he loves to play with Dan's hats and wear them. Sometimes he'll crawl in the other room and when he comes back he's wearing a hat. :-)


Rough handling his older brother - he's pretty strong, and more than once he has exerted force on his older brother! It's going to be interesting.



Pointing - he definitely knows what he wants and loves to point at things to tell us what he's after.

Hiding - he likes to hide under tables, chairs and behind his rocker when we're getting him ready for bed.

He's becoming more and more fun each day. He has a super contagious smile, and his personality is really blossoming. He adores his older brother and loves it when Gabe entertains him. It's so fun to watch the two of them together!

So, there you have it. I'm sure I've missed things, but at least I can check this off my list! :-)