- Walking (pretty much running these days)
- Standing without having to pull up on anything (just stands right up)
- Catches the football
- Hugging
- Can point to his head, hair, fan, doggies, etc.
- Points to things that he wants
- Let's you know when he is done, by bringing up his hands to say "all done"
- Gives the dogs their treats
- Feeds himself finger foods (and the dogs)
- Throws and rolls the ball
- Puts his face in the water in the bathtub (tying to get him to blow bubbles)
- Helps to undress himself
- Shares with others.... at times
- We swear he has said a couple of words besides DA DA, like doggie and hot..... NO MA MA YET!
- Makes a car noise when playing with his cars
- Mimicks people and their actions
- Knows how to work his toys
- Brushes his teeth (the best he can, no toothpaste yet)
EATING
We are officially bottle free!!!! No more bottles, just sippy cups. We thought it was going to be a very difficult transition, but it was actually very easy. We started be replacing his afternoon bottle with a sippy cup, did that for a couple of weeks, then replaced the mid-morning bottle. I will have to say I was really worried b/c I felt he was not getting enough milk, however, the say that they will drink when they are thirsty, and the calcium comes from many other foods as well, such as cheese, yogurt, etc. So, after his 1st birthday we decided, let's just get rid of the morning and night bottles all together, cold turkey. Which we did, and it was great. Our old morning routine consisting of him coming downstairs, having his morning bottle, then his breakfast, was replaced by him coming downstairs and going right in the highchair for some cheerios, while we prepared his breakfast! He did not seem to mind the change at all. The night time routine was my biggest concern, but again, no problem, we simply cut out the bottle after the bath, did books at that time instead, and then just put him down. He made it so easy!! Way to go Gavin! Now, with that being said, his appetite for solids is CRAZY. He is eating us out of house and home! He absolutely loves food. His current feeding schedule looks something like this:
Breakfast around 7:30: Cheerios, Milk in Sippy, 1/4 cup of oatmeal, and yo baby yogurt. Lately, we have added some fruit in their as well (mango, melon..)
Snack around 11: Milk or Water, puffs, fruit, cheese, animal crackers, etc.
Lunch around 12:30-1: Milk or Water, Fruit and veggies, grilled cheese, mac and cheese, pasta, and more (just some examples)
Snack around 3:30: Milk or water, Same as above snack, changes by the day
Dinner around 5:30-6: Milk or Water, and then he experiments with a lot of different dinners these days, he will eat a lot of what we are eating. We have been trying really hard to eat together every night, and it has been working out very well, he loves it.
Desert: Sometimes Mr. Gavin gets some pudding or jello!
He certainly has a big appetite! He is a growing boy! Oh yeah, one last thing, no more formula, we are on Vitamin D milk. We started off with half milk and half formula for transition sake, and he seemed to be fine with it, in fact, he really seems to like it, so milk it is!
Sleeping
Naps have not changed much, still at 2 per day. One around 9am for an hour to an hour and a half, and one around 2 for an hour or hour and a half. He goes down on his own these days, Grandma Ryan and Aunt Amy do very well with this routine, they read a couple books, then lay him down, and off to dreamland he goes. At night, the routine is pretty much the same, minus the bottle. We go upstairs around 6:30 and play for a little bit, then bath ( HE LOVES HIS BATHS!), now books, then bed. We simply kiss him goodnight, lay him down with his blanket, and he falls asleep within minutes! It has been so easy. Not to say we have not hit a couple of bumps in the road, where he woke up in the middle of the night, but it usually has been when he was sick, or when we thought he was teething. Morning wake up time has changed a little bit, it has seemed to get earlier, like 5:30-6am earlier, but we just bring him in bed with us most of the time, and he will sleep with us a little bit longer.
TEETHING:
Still at 6 teeth. We feel like he is always teething, but no teeth. I guess we would rather blame the runny nose, ear rubbing, drooling, and coughing on teething, when in actuality it is a cold. Those darn colds have seemed to be around for a while this winter, he even had a small ear infection.
New Category
PERSONALITY AND TEMPER
Gavin is certainly an outgoing, social young guy. He seems to really enjoy being around people, and other children. He is sweet as can be, and loves his mommy and daddy. Then, there is his Irish side that comes out once in a while.......Gavin certainly has a strong personality. He knows what he wants, and if he does not get it at times, he will let you know he is not happy with you (i.e. slapping, throwing, screaming and crying). Although we know this is not abnormal, and every child goes through these stages, we are still in the process of learning how to handle these situations, so stay tuned.
Our little man is one, I can't believe it. It feels like just yesterday he was so small, in our arms, so dependent on us. Now, he is Mr. Dependent, venturing out, and exploring the world around him! Sometimes he wants our help, and other times, he wants to do it on his own! It has been a great first year Gavin, Mommy and Daddy love you so much! We can't wait for the years ahead!
