First of all we are no longer the parents of a baby. When I told Justin this same statement a few night ago, his response was "What, do we have a monster now?" And although that is not far from the truth (in a good way!), it isnt exactly what I meant. We are the parents of a TODDLER! yes a TODDLER!! There are so many things about Harlan these days that are so far from baby, it makes you wonder if he was really ever a baby at all. (OK, i dooo remember those days putting him on the floor just willing him to crawl)
BUt crawl? these days crawling is only used as a means to get somewhere super fast after walking a little too quickly and wiping out half way to the destination. I have seen it probably 100 times now, but it still amazes me to look over and see little man on two feet coming towards me. Although he does resemble somewhat of a zombie with his arms out front, and still looks at his feet when he walks, there is no stopping him.
Harlan is also becoming quite the little eater. He still has some picky tendencies. But what he likes one day, he may not the next and vice versa. His favorite foods are yogurt and cheese and sweet potatoes. He also enjoys goldfish crackers and animal crackers. There have been several mornings that I have witnessed Daddy feeding Harlan yogurt and Harlan feeding Daddy animal crackers. It is a team effort. Harlan has also been eating hot dogs, cheetos, fresh fruit, and french fries. He is becoming more interested in different foods and loves to feed himself. He also like to be in control of the spoon, so most meals he gets his on spoon to practice with. He will even give you a bite of his food, whether you want it or not.
We have switched Harlan over to whole milk, and that has gone smoothly. He is doing great with a sippy cup and we are down to one bottle a day (at bedtime.) We are in the beginning stages of trying to teach him sign language to be able to communicate what he wants. This is going slowly, more bc we have to remember to show him the signs, but he is smart and i think he should catch on soon. As for communication, this kid is a talker. He will have a conversation with you, and although i may have no idea what he is saying, I am convinced that he knows exactly what he is saying. The most frequent word he uses is dada, but he can also say mama, baba,(ball,baby and bye bye all sound similar) ok, all done, hi, ah da, and no.
As for bedtime, we are trying a new approach. Harlan has never went to bed on a regular schedule, and we have decided that he needs a more consistent bedtime. We have changed several things around here to help facilitate this. First we moved around his room to fit a rocker in. We have started warming up Harlans nighttime bottle and then take him into his room and give him his bottle. We used to sit on the couch with him and let him fall asleep taking a bottle while we were watching tv. Well that isnt working bc the tv is a big distraction for him. He also no longer really falls asleep eating his bottle anymore. So i let him have his bottle until he is done (and he lets you know when he is done, no question) then i rock him until he seems really sleepy (or falls asleep) then put him in his crib. And he cries. Everytime. But he doesnt cry for long. He turns on his musical crib toy thingy and will then watch it til he stops crying and and falls asleep.
This is in no way easy. It is hard to listen to him cry. And there have been several nights after he falls asleep, i go in to check on him, and inadvertently wake him up, so that we have to start all over again. (Remember back to when he was rolling over in his sleep??? sound familiar?? mommies never learn!) But we are getting there. I am learning that he will be ok in there crying (it doesnt think i dont love him) and I have hope that there will come a day we can put him to bed and he wont cry.
My days at home with little man are so fun. We have a blast playing with toys together, or playing outside. Then there are days like today when he would prefer to cuddle on Mommys lap and watch Dora (what he is currently doing)and even though I am in desperate need of a shower, we are out of milk, and I need to go to the post office and the bank, it can all wait, bc rarely does Harlan want to snuggle with his mama anymore. There is way too much to explore and play with.
And i promise, next time there will be pictures (well if i can find my camera!)
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