One and a Half Years Old

Michael is one and a half! He is completely mobile now. He walks with ease now and "runs" a little. He can go up and down small steps without holding on to the wall. He is showing that he has a stubborn streak. Sometimes he will refuse to eat his meals if he doesn't have an adult spoon and fork. He's also starting to say "no" and "hey" if he doesn't get his way. He no longer has his mush test! He's expanded his diet to eat many fruits and some pasta. The intial bite sometimes had to be forced and then he realized that the food didn't taste too bad, so he would eat some more of it. He loves going outside to go on his swing and slide. We are not sure how he will handle it when the snow comes.

He is back at day care full-time and having lots of fun there. He does lots of arts and crafts, some of which get sent home and some are posted on the wall at the day care. If you looked at his pumpkin compared to the other students you would think we had a budding Picasso. He also enjoys all the toys and songs there. He knows most of the motions to the song "The Wheels on the Bus".

He had a fun time at our block party at the beginning of October. He loves watching the kids in the neighborhood. He was able to see a fire truck and go inside it as well. He also got to ride his "bike" in the street (the roads are barricaded). He had his first taste of Capri Sun (which was gone in 15 seconds) and he asked for "moor". In mid fall he went to a farm and took a hay ride. He picked a pumpkin, went down the slides, went in a corn maze, and saw the animals in the petting zoo. He tried really hard to guess what the goat was, but was a bit dumbfounded after we kept saying no to "mooooo", "neigh", and "woof". Towards the end of the month he went to a birthday party and enjoyed a cupcake.

At his 18 month check up he weighed 27 lbs. and 11 oz and 32.5 inches. All seemed well, until the next day when we were back at the doctor's office because of a high fever. The doctor found there was an ear infection, so he was much better after he started some antibiotics and ibuprophin. Unfortunately, the ear infection and the weather put a damper on Halloween plans. We missed the parade in the morning, but he did go trick or treating in the evening. After the third house he got the hang of it and was quite good at grabbing candy and putting it in his pumpkin.

Happy Fall Everyone!

PICTURES:

Month 16

Month 17

Month 18

Month 19

15 Months!

Michael turned 15 months this past Sunday. Time goes by so fast! He has enjoyed his summer. He took two vacations. First he went to Florida in mid-June. There was record breaking heat. It was very hot for us northerners. He enjoyed spending time with his relatives (Daddy's side). He also become very interested in the dogs. He would walk up to them and say "HI" and he also learned to "woof". It's really funny as he has to purse his lips when he says "woof". Now all furry animals (squirrels, horses, bears, tigers, cats, etc.) go "woof". He did go into the pool down there and although the water was a comfortable temperature, he was not a big fan. His second vacation took him to Michigan to see the other side of the family. He also spent 3 days on Mackinac Island. He went on bike rides and visited Fort Mackinac. We also saw lots of horse ("woof") drawn carriages. He is quite a good traveler.

He also took a swim class this summer at the township pool. "Swim" should be used with caution since really all he did was get into the cold water and hang on tight to mommy. He still was not a huge fan of the water, but tolerated it since the other kids were also in the pool. He started walking really well on his vacation to Michigan (mid-July). Of course, he looks a little like frankenstein, but he is very mobile now. As much as possible has been gated and locked up. Lately he seems to be working on his climbing skills! He has many bumps and bruises from his falls.

He says "Hi" and "ball" and he says a bunch of other "words", but no one really understands it but Ian and I ("duck" is truck and "geaz" is keys). He's a pretty good eater, but won't eat anything if it is too mushy. He has a "mush test" - if he can stick his finger in it and it mashes apart, he won't eat it. So.. that rules out pasta, fruits and veggies. But at least his diet has expanded from cheerios, chicken nuggets, and french fries.

At his 15 month appointment he weighed 26 lbs. and 13 oz. He is 31.5 inches tall. He definitely has 7 seven teeth and there is one more coming in. The doctor says there are "a lot" coming in, but mommy and daddy don't see that. We're looking forward to see what adventures the next few months bring!



VIDEOS:

Mt. Lebanon Pool

HI, Beaver, Pulling Up

Mackinac Ferry Ride

Bike Riding

The Grand Hotel

PICTURES:

Month 13

Month 14

Month 15

One Year Old!

It's hard to believe, but Michael is a year old! Most importantly, we all survived the first year! He is 30 inches long and weighs 26 lbs and 4 oz. He had a nice birthday with his family in Erie. Mommy and Daddy went to a wedding on Saturday and he stayed with his Grandparents and Aunt Holly. He had no issues with being away from Mom and Dad for the extended time. On Sunday - the BIG birthday - he went to the Erie Zoo. He wasn't too interested in the animals, but he did enjoy the Merry-Go-Round and Train. Later in the day he refused to go near his cake, preferring cheerios over the cake (health nut!). And he had a nice time opening his presents. He got all kinds of fun stuff from his family.

He is drinking regular milk now, mostly out of a cup - which he chugs. He likes little pieces of cheese, cheerios, toast, and french fries (we've been trying everything!). But he spits at (literally) chicken, bananas, scrambled eggs, etc. Oh well! Experts say it may take 10-15 times before one likes a new food (we really can't understand how he cannot like cake). He does the army crawl, but is still working on using his legs to do a "normal" crawl. He will walk with help and really likes pushing around his walker (he needs some help steering). He just pulled himself up this past Saturday for the first time and was cruising along furniture. He can wave hi and good-bye, but sometimes his timing is off. His favorite thing to do is to throw things on the floor and have people bend over to pick them up. He also likes riding the swing at the park. At day care, he loves going to music class and watching the other babies.

There are several new videos, but most are long. So either don't watch them or get some popcorn. Also, there are new pictures.

VIDEOS:

PeekABoo

Early Days of Walking

1st Birthday at the Zoo

Presents and Cake

PICTURES:

Month 12

11 Month Update

This posting is a week late because I was waiting to see if Michael's March Madness Bracket would win. However, since Villanova lost last night - he's done. We had Michael pick his teams by picking his preferred colors. We would show the team's colors to him and whichever he picked was the team we wrote down to win. His final four was Villanova, Clemson, Cornell, and Cleveland State. He would have won (out of the three of us) if Villanova won the National Championship. Oh well.

Anyway, only one month away until Michael is one year old. It is hard to believe that a year has passed so quickly. He can pivot around on his butt - he can turn in a circle. He likes to play peek-a-boo with us. His favorite toys are the computer desk chair (it spins!) and the TV remote. He likes to "walk" around the house with help (still shows no interest in crawling). He loves going new places and using his smile to win people over.

Here are some new videos:

Ten Month Birthday

Adventure in Snow

Couch Dives

Here are new pictures:
Month 11

10 Month Update

Well, not too much has changed with his motor skills in the past month. He can move around on his tummy in a circle, but still doesn't go forward which makes it easier on Mom and Dad. He finally made it through a full five day week at day care. He hadn't had a full week previously because of either school being cancelled for mom or him having a cold. He had his first official "boo-boo" on February 7th. He reached for a toy and landed on it and it left a little mark on his forehead for a few days. He had his first non-family overnight visitors the weekend of Feb. 14th. He was excited to entertain new people. We tried to take him out in the snow after a big storm. We dressed him to the point he couldn't move (it took about 30 minutes to get him dressed). We stayed outside for 5 minutes because he was miserable. He's a master with his sippy cup now, but hasn't progressed to any people food yet. It must be a texture thing as he turned up his nose at mashed potatoes several times now. Here are new pictures:

Month 10

Nine Month Update

Michael is three quarters of the way through his first year of life! We went to the doctor for his nine month well visit. He weighs 25 lbs and 4 oz and he is 29 inches long. The nurse's comment in his doctor book was "Miniature Linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers." Needless to say, Dad wasn't very happy with that comment. Fortunately, there were no shots at this visit.

He is still not crawling or moving around (although he does do the upside down scoot). He is just content with us moving him around. He does roll around a lot and no longer minds being on his tummy. He has been going to day care now for two weeks since Mom went back to work. He is known there as "The Happy Baby" as he is always smiling or laughing. Apparently, it is much more entertaining there then it is at home with Mom and Dad.

Here is a link to new pictures:

Month 9

Here are links to new videos:

Nine Month Old Sign

Funny Corn

Michael's Skills

Michael has developed many new skills or is working on new skills. We wanted to share them with you in this video. Warning: The video is long.


Michael's Skills 1/7/09