14 Months

14 months

We are so enjoying spending time with our little BOY! Wilder is animated and happy most of the time. He laughs often and likes to tells us things in baby language. He hums as he eats his food, whether it's a few puffs or a delicious meatball. Doesn't matter--he'll let you know he's enjoying it. It is amazing to watch how he observes things in his surroundings. He's still cautious, but definitely an explorer. He'd love to be outside all day long. He has a sweet disposition, he is constantly trying to share, but he does show his will at times when we don't let him do something like go down the stairs on his own. He's got his own ideas about things! We're so happy God put Wilder in our lives, and we love watching him grow in mind and body.

This month, Wilder:

• Weighs 19 pounds (with clothes on and a slightly wet diaper, so that could be off!)
• Still wears 12 month old clothes, but he just got a pair of big boy shoes from Stride Rite size 4W.
• Still has 8 teeth but he has been teething off and on.
• Got a real, honest-to-goodness, little boy haircut from our friend Les.
• He can stand up ALL BY HIMSELF! This happened during our anniversary dinner. Sharon sent us a video at the restaurant! He's so proud of himself! Most of the time he cruises quickly grabbing onto things or the wall, but he's also taken a few steps toward a ball. And he's pushed a walking toy all over the place. But not really walking yet.
• This week he learned how to climb up the stairs and he can go up the entire flight. We follow right behind him but he's a man on a mission. The gate is a necessity now... we had it down the other day and he made it up three stairs in the time it took me to take away one of Wilder's toys from Ellie!
• He can make connections. He can go around the room from one spot and point at each photo of Zach and I together on the wall. If we read about a horse, he'll go point at his rocking horse. If he looks at a photo book with a picture of Pierre the cat, he'll go point at Pierre in real life. He'll pull out a stuffed elephant from a fabric box, point at the fabric stitched image of an elephant on the outside of the box and make an elephant noise. He recognizes people in photos and will then point to them in real life. He knows what the moon is in books and points it out in every book he has, just like he'll point at the moon in real life.
• He's obsessed with airplanes. He hears one and has to go look for it in the sky.
• He uses a spoon just about all of the time with his meals. He eats a lot now! Right now his favorite foods are stir fry rice, yogurt, pomegranate seeds and pears. And puffs. He also likes toast or bread.
• He pretty much only uses a straw cup now, no more bottle when I'm not around! He's not nursing as much as he was, but we still enjoy that time together.
• The biggest change this month is sleeping. We've dropped to one nap, but it averages starting at 10:30 or 1. We shoot for 1 and sometimes he doesn't make it that far. Either way, he's napping about 1.5 hours. We've moved his bedtime up to 7-7:30 p.m. and he happily sleeps till 7 am. Sometimes he'll wake once in the night.
• He is such a snuggler! He hugs often, cuddles when he's tired, hugs the kitty, hugs his stuffed animals--he is a lover.

We took these photos today after Wilder got to visit the zoo for the first time. These are in the front yard. :-)

13 months

13 months old!

I'm done with the monthly stickers, but I still like to capture a snapshot of the month, so here are some from Christmas morning, Wilder's 13 month birthday. :-)

This month, Wilder:

• Has mastered cruising and is beginning to let go of support. He's got pretty good balance, but our careful guy is reluctant to take steps without backup. He gets around quickly though, by holding onto things and crawling!
• Started stacking blocks and other items on Tuesday!
• Said his first words: mama and dada. He's also said "puffs" and "moon". He knows who people and pets are, and nods his head when you ask him things like "would you like a drink of water?" "Do you want to see the Christmas tree?"
• Loves all the Christmas decorations and the tree is a new fascination every morning
• Is obsessed with the advent calendar
• He'll do a spin on his bottom to get to a new direction
• Shares his food, toys, you name it with anyone!
• Still loves reading. His favorite books right now are Curious George Goes to the Zoo and Where is Baby's Puppy? He will point things out in the books and laugh when you finally find whatever character has been hiding.
• Takes 1-2 naps a day and wakes up once in the night.
• Eats lots of things. Right this second his favorite food is pomegranate seeds, followed by yogurt and strawberries. He enjoys almond butter toast too.
• Playing outside is his favorite activity besides reading. He loves leaves!
• He's wearing 12 month clothes. Pants are still a bit long.
• He's such a sweet, happy boy. He laughs at everything and loves participating in conversations with laughter. He is our joy!

More photos!

12 months old

12 months old!!

Today is the day, my friends. Thank you for walking with me through Wilder's first year! At 6:08 a.m. one year ago, Wilder Dean Boatwright joined our family. What a joy and a blessing he is--far more than I ever expected. As I've been looking through photos from the last 12 months(wayyy too many :-)) I'm overwhelmed with how much Wilder has changed. From a shell-shocked newborn to a happy infant, a charismatic baby to a curious little boy. He laughs all the time and he loves to cuddle. He's precise, determined and meticulous, but loves to explore his world and enjoys his foods. Wilder, I'm so very excited to watch you grow up!

This month, Wilder:

• Height: 29.5" weight 17 lb, head 45.75 cm. His 12 month appointment isn't until December 1, so these stats are what Zach and I put together. He wears 12 month clothes, but his pants are too long.
• Wilder says mamama, hey, and wow. He'll nod his head yes and shake it no, but he doesn't always connect words/actions with what's going on. He points things out all the time though!
• Wilder is standing holding on to things all the time. ALL THE TIME. He's cruising too-- taking little steps while hanging on. And every so often he lets go of everything for a second or two and just stands by himself! He can crawl really fast.
• He eats 3 meals a day with a snack or two. He loves yogurt, any kind of meatball and fruit, especially apples and pears. He's started using a spoon for soups and yogurt and is very deliberate about it, but he mostly still eats with his hands. He'll also "dip" things into his bowl. He can drink from his cup and water bottles with help.
• He goes to bed between 7:30 and 8 and wakes up between 6:30 and 7. He usually takes two naps, sometimes only one (Mama does NOT like that). He will occasionally sleep from bedtime to morning, but usually wakes once to nurse.
• Wilder LOVES airplanes right now. He can hear them from inside the house and will point toward the ceiling. Outside he can hear and spot them before we can. They've been flying around here a lot lately, so he really enjoys walks and being outside spotting planes.
• Wilder will sit in front of his bookshelf and choose books to read--pulling every single one off the shelf. He loves Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Huggy Kissy, Sophie the Giraffe books, Where is Baby's Belly Button? Barnyard Dance and those bathtub dollar store books. He will read for a very long time (like 10 books in a sitting).
• Wilder loves to flip light switches on and off. On and off. Off and on. And he'll open his kitchen cabinet and take out every single cup and piece of tupperware. And sit in front of his toy box and systematically take every toy out. We've not graduated to putting anything back... :-)
• He recognizes people and pets, and is starting to connect things like turning a switch on to the light switching on and off overhead. He'll sit and play with a bead pusher toy or toys with buttons for a long long time.
• He still has 8 teeth - 4 on top, 4 on the bottom, but he's been teething all month. I think some molars are next!

As always, here are some more photos!

Eleven Months Old

11 months old

I wrote this post on Wilder’s 11 month birthday while we were in Italy, but I waited to post it until we took the monthly photo. I’m trying to come to grips with my baby turning one in November. It’s coming on too quickly!

This month I’m seeing Wilder mature into a little boy. He’s a crawler, he’s starting to pull himself up and he has so much personality. He’s a bit cautious and precise in his movements, but he laughs easily and it doesn’t take much to make him smile. He loves interacting with people, petting Pierre, smacking things to make noise and throwing balls. He eats just about everything (except tomatoes and eggs) and loves blowing bubbles in water. Our little boy is the joy of our life, and we’re so happy to spend this time watching him grow.

This month, Wilder:

• Stats—I don’t know how much he weighs or how tall he is. He doesn’t have a pediatrician appointment this month, and we don’t have a scale around. He’s a bit small for 12 month old clothes and too big for 9 month old clothes.
• Wilder says “Hey” when you come in his room after a nap or when you bring him into a room where people are. He says ohlohlohl a lot too. His big thing this month is nodding “yes” and shaking his head “no.”
• He crawls really fast now and can pull himself into a standing position. He’s even started trying to climb up stairs. he’s stood without holding onto anything for a few seconds, but hasn’t started cruising. He’s super careful to sit down deliberately after he’s stood for a while.
• Wilder eats three meals a day with the occasional afternoon snack. He loves cutie oranges, peaches, pears and strawberries. He can feed himself yogurt and soup somewhat with a spoon as well as his other foods. He drinks water like a camel from his cup and blows bubbles in water and yogurt. On our trip to Europe, he’s tried: croissants, pastries, foi gras, pate, gnocchi, gelato (just a smidge), all kinds of pasta, prosciutto…
• Wilder sleeps through the night most of the time. In Europe, he would often wake up when we went to bed because he heard us come in the room, but when he slept in a separate room he slept all night. He takes two naps a day.
• Reading is by far Wilder’s favorite activity. We read him about 20 books a day… or like 4 books, 5 times a day. He is content to sit and be read to for many many minutes at a time. If he’s fussy, pull out a book and he will laugh and clap his hands as he turns pages on cue. His favorites right now are: Huggy Kissy, Brown Bear Brown Bear, Sophie the Giraffe books and a couple of bath books I got at the dollar store. I will always remember reading Huggy Kissy literally 20 times in a row nonstop while traveling on planes, trains and automobiles in Europe.
• He recognizes people and pets, and he will look at the correct person/pet if you ask him “Where’s Mimi?” “Where’s Pierre?” etc. He’ll also wave “bye bye.”
• He got two more teeth on our trip--both on top! That makes 8 teeth in all--three all this last month. Yikes!

Here are some more photos!

This is his fish face. He'll do it if you do it to him too!