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Year-end reflection post
Before everyone leaves for the holidays, I thought it would be fun to think about how much our kids have grown and changed in the past year. Kind of like one of our regular update posts, but looking back at an entire year instead of the past month.
How old were your kid(s) in January and what were they doing at the time (if you remember)?
How old are they now, and what things are they doing now? How have they changed/grown?
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Re: Year-end reflection post
January - He was 5 months old and had just started daycare while I went back to work PT. He could roll over very well, but couldn't sit up unassisted yet. He was still EBF and we started experimenting with purees around mid-January. We had just moved him into his crib in his own room at night, but he was still waking up at least once (sometimes more) at night. He obviously wasn't talking yet, other than babbling.
Now - 16 months old, runs around like crazy, talks up a storm, has started putting words together into short phrases ("bye bye dada"), has several favorite foods and can ask for them, runs up to us and gives us hugs all the time.
Good idea!
C has literally grown in leaps and bounds. In January he was just walking and talking (but mostly single words) and was still nearly a baby. Now he is a full blown kid. He knows his colors and his letters and talks. Wow, can he talk. And stall and pass the blame and try to weasel out of things . . .
I'm continually impressed with his speech, but also with his creativity and imagination. Almost every toy in our house (and many things that aren't intended to be toys) have a dual purpose. A water bottle is a "monster sprayer", a spoon is a "little purple shovel". Anything stick-like is a "poker thing" (don't worry - he's not allowed to actually poke with it). It so awesome to watch his mind unfold like that. I love it.
DD #1 - I don't remember exactly what she was doing last January, but I can tell you she is now doing math and reading simple books at school so that is a big change! She also has fallen very nicely into the role of Biggest Sister, helping me care for her baby brother and protecting her little sister at preschool.
DD #2 was at in-home daycare last January, and started preschool this past September, so she has really really changed - less like a toddler and more like a little girl. She has also developed a really strange and quirky sense of humor, and her personality is more and more different from her sister, so it's been fun to see her coming into her own. She's a total goof ball.
DS was only six weeks old last January and he was a horrible colicky mess. OMG I thought I was going to go bananas home with him on maternity leave and spending all day with a crying, miserable, uncomfortable baby. While he is still our "lemon" - has had troubles his whole first year of life (asthma, eating delays, dairy sensitivity, couldn't BF him) I can say that he's a LOT more fun to be around now!! He smiles a lot and pulls up and cruises.
I am a total wreck about not having any more little babies in my house - I just gave away a bunch of toys to my friend who works with pregnant/parenting teens and I was so emotional packing up all that baby stuff.
Most people I know would be shocked at how schmaltzy I get about this stuff - thank goodness I can "out" myself here. 
Last Christmas DS was in my belly and I was thinking, "imagine how different next Christmas will be..." and boy is it!
I know this sounds sappy but it is honestly amazing to me how we can make these amazing living, growing, thriving little beings with personalities all their own. I never gave it much thought before having one of my own, but I marvel at things like how DS looks so much like DH, how much DS understands even if he can't say so yet, the way DS giggles and reaches for the dog and cat whenever they come by, etc.
Last year DS was just rolling around inside and giving me terrible heartburn, but this year he is army crawling (especially to pluck ornaments from the tree or reach the dog or cat), starting to pull up and climb over things, loving any kind of table food and even starting to use a spoon himself, waves hi and bye, and is just so fun and interactive. I can't believe how fast time is flying and how much babies grow and change in one year!
Last January, J was 16 months. We had just stopped nursing, and were still dealing with his lactose intolerance issues. He was still taking two naps (on the weekends, at least) and using a mix of signs and words but getting much more verbal. He was super into buses, randomly.
Now--he's talking in full sentences, and actually listening to commands. He's totally weaned off of Lactaid and kind of inching toward potty training. He can entertain himself (reading, coloring) and is much more easy to deal with on long car trips. He's also lost most of his baby fat (except his chubby cheeks, thank God) and is getting lanky legs. And his bus obsession has been mostly supplanted by trains.
I will say, for me, things have gotten a lot easier over the past year. It's so much easier to deal with someone who can say "I don't want the purple bowl, I want the blue bowl," instead of freaking out for no discernible reason when you give them the purple bowl. And I think at this point last year I was still in the "I don't know how people have two kids" camp whereas now I am definitely more, shall we say, baby-friendly.
TTC #2: BFP 12/17/11, m/c 1/7/12 and D&C 1/12/12
baby blog/cooking blog
Last January, DS was 7mo old, crawling and eating solids, not talking and not even close to STTN. Still eBFing and a baby. We are co-sleeping. Today, he needs Mama by his side to fall asleep (this has been going on a month and I am about to lose my mind) and waking up at night, sometimes all I have to do is pat him and he'll go down, other times he won't so we go back to our bed. Jeez, not much has changed, has it? But he's also talking a lot more, the other day we had a conversation!! (In Russian: where are you, mama? - I am here, where are you, DS? - I am here. It was so damn cute, I wrote it down). He said 3 new words in the last 2 days. He is still very attached to me and is the sweetest toddler ever. He is also a destroyer and a trouble-maker and a real boy in every stereotype you can think of!
DD was just over 2 and talking in sentences; she was going thru the terrible 2s but also very helpful with her brother, and very loving. Today, we can talk about anything under the sun (she wanted to go on a rocket ship the other day), her comprehension is amazing, she can reason and her imagination is out of this world. She is still a very loving and caring sister. The kids must have what the other one has, the exact.same.thing (is this common??) She is learning to write and I think she'll be reading by this time next year. Her ability to count backwards from any number is pretty impressive, IMO. The tumulous 3s rear their ugly head pretty often. She is still a picky eater, only now she gets up from her chair a gazillion times during dinner. She loves to make deals (no, you can't have 2 M&Ms! - can I have 1?).
artslvr, giving away baby toys is on my to-do-list; I do that with clothes periodically, but for some reason, toys are so much harder!
C made his debut on January 20th, but he wasn't expected until Feb. 2nd, so I was taken by surprise to have a January baby! I was thrilled that he waited until 1am on the 20th, so he was a true Aquarius. Not that I have anything against Capricorns.
I never really understood just HOW FAST babies grow. I am truely amazed by that. I look at the outfit we brought him home in, and I cannot believe he was that little not just a year ago.
Like umdbride, since having C, I am now in awe of our (women's) bodies abilities to grow, birth and nurture such complex beings. It's extrordinary!
I thank you ladies so much for being so knowledgable, supportive, encouraging and friendly as I have successfully navigated my way through my (almost) first year of motherhood! Y'all are invaluable!
Last year we were on the tail end of colic/reflux issues. Ben (4 months) spent most of him time in the Ergo and we listened to Bob Seger and the Beach Boys almost constantly - those soothed him for some reason.
Now he will only get in the Ergo for short periods of time and prefers to be on the ground - walking, running and exploring. In the past year he sat up for the first time, began solid foods, started crawling, crusising and then walking. We celebrated his first birthday and moved to a new house - where he learned how to go up and down stairs.
He loves to be the "helper" He will help clean anything. Currently, he loves to pull the towels off their stand and load them in the dryer for me. He is super close to being able to turn it on - and Steve told me soon we will find my Nook has been through the spin cycle;)
Life is so much easier. In the midst of colic - it just didn't seem like it would ever end. And now everyone comments on what a happy boy he is.
Nice idea!
Well, my biggest reflection is that DD#1 was not walking until the night before Thanksgiving (at age 17 months old). I was so worried about her gross motor skills development last year. Now she is running, jumping, and climbing these complicated bars at the playground (which always makes me a bit nervous). Last Christmas, we took her to Jamaica and she knew a few words. Now she is talking in full sentences and it's so nice to hear what she's thinking. This morning, the first sentence out of her mouth was "I want chocolate". LOL.
With DD#2, I was pregnant last Christmas and just had a tiny little bump. We were anticipating her arrival.
Oh, and last December, we decided to move into my inlaws' former home (where DH grew up) which is also around the corner from the inlaws' current home. It was crazy trying to move and get the house ready in 2011. However, it's so nice to be settled in. Also, we just sold our other house so that's something to be thankful for.
I think about this so much. I didn't have a colicky baby until I had my third. I always think, if he was my first, would I have even had a second? When you're in it, it's just like a cloak of exhaustion and frustration. And then it's over. Totally amazing. (for the record, yes, I would have had more kids even if my colicky one was my first - only because now I know - the colic does end!)
In the middle of it - both DH and I swore we were never, ever having another. But it does pass and we are hoping for another now. The positive spin is that colic has made everything else seem easy;)
DD had just turned one last December/January. She was toddling along, and we had bought her first pair of real shoes. She would eat (or at least try) almost anything we offered her. She barely had any hair, and was beginning to call things what they were (maybe 50-100 words). I also remember that she gave me my first unprompted hug and said "I love you" for the first time unprompted too.
Now I have a full-blown two-year-old. She's running around non-stop, loves to play with any and everything, and can no longer sit still. She has begun to get picky with eating (and drinking). She has had three haircuts and is "reading" books to us. We understand mostly everything she says, and the other day I counted a 6-word sentence.
We went through the colic and dairy sensitivity thing, too. I'm still kind of traumatized by it and I'm not sure if I can go through it again. I actually talked to my therapist about it, and she said colic is legitimately traumatizing and can bring on PTSD-type issues. Good to know we're not crazy.
I can speak to this and it's TOTALLY true. DD1 had reflux, projectile vomiting, was MSPI and had chronic ear infections the first year of her life. When DD2 was born (DD1 was 25 mo), I spent the first 6 weeks waiting for the other shoe to drop. I even told my mom I felt like I had PTSD and that I should have gone to therapy before I had DD2. I could not believe that any baby could be so easy. I analyzed everything she did and was sure it was a sign things were about to turn bad.
As for my girls, DD1 was just under 2.5 at the start of the year. She got her second set of tubes and her adenoids removed. She was mainly potty trained (except for #2 on the potty - would hold it till she got a diap) and she was talking full blast. She loved her little sister and loved to eat and was just a happy kid. Now she is 3.33 and totally cracks us up. She is funny (she makes the best faces) and we have the best conversations. She is like a little adult and a little momma. She loves to negotiate and she is really fair - she shares really well and always lets her sister have a turn. She is just now starting to not listen when we tell her to do something. She is starting to be way more independent and loud noises, while they still concern her, bother her less. She is overall a happy kid.
DD2....what to say about this little monster. In Jan she was 4 months old and I was getting ready to go back to work. She was the most chilled out, happy baby I had ever met that I was actually sad to go back. She didn't roll over (8 mo), still needed to be swaddled (8 mo), but had been sleeping through the night for more than two months. Now, she is 15 months old, walking (started two weeks ago) and talking (maybe 30 words). She does not sleep through the night (GRRR - she stopped that month ago). She started cruising at 9 months and we thought she would skip crawling, but right before her birthday she started crawling. She didn't really eat any solids until right before her 1st birthday. She is starting to get picky about what food she wants to eat and has decided she doesn't like WCM anymore. We are still BFing but only at night, in the morning and at sometimes at nap time (I think she may BF forever). She is off the bottle and is starting to use a fork pretty well. For a long time she was content just to play next to DD1, but not anymore. She is up in her face, snatching her toys and generally insterting herself in whatever DD1 is doing. I love seeing them interact this way (though the fights are already starting. Oy.).
What a great idea!
This time last year I was pregnant with DD. She was a very active little baby in there, which is funny because she's the least physically active kid in her daycare right now. The two other babies her age have been crawling for a while, but she just sort of scoots here and there and doesn't seem terribly motivated to move yet. Although she has shown interest in pulling up on things.
We had her 9 month well check-up today and the pedi was impressed with her fine motor skills. She loves pressing buttons and is very adept at putting rings on pegs and activities of that nature. She also just said "uh-oh" today for the first time! She kept dropping her rattle while we were waiting for the doctor and I said uh-oh and she looked at me and said "uh... oh" very slowly. When she dropped it again she said "uh-oh" unprompted so I was pretty excited. She even did it when the pedi came in and we both laughed. Such a joy to see her imitate me and then figure out how to put it in context. I'm really excited to see what will come in 2012!!
fun!
Then:
Tomas was newly 4 and for the first time, really getting the world around him in a conscious way. His awareness was beginning to transform from older toddler to small child and it was really neat to watch that happen this year. He had his gold belt in Tae Kwon Do (the second belt) and was really into doing everything his dad did (jogging, Wii, raking leaves, shoveling snow). His letter writing was mostly good, but he often had to look at a printed letter to know how to write it. He could count to 20 and do simple math on his hands (addition and not more than the digits on his hands).
Audrey was an infant - just 4 months old. She cried a lot and didn't nap well. She slept fine at night and was sleeping in the bed with us in January. She was very alert and wanted to know what we were doing all.the.time! She laughed a lot and smiled at everyone. She LOVED to take cat naps on her daddy's shoulder (boy does he miss this).
Now:
Tomas just turned the golden FIVE! He is definitely turning into a bigger kid. His thought process, analysis and logic are maturing and he thinks about things in the bigger picture now, rather than only himself and his world. He'll be getting his red belt in Tae Kwon Do soon (only two more to black). He's reading 3-4 letter word books, adding and subtracting numbers more than 10. He still loves to do whatever his dad is doing (at the moment, that's kickboxing, golf, raking). He is really excited about starting kindergarten this summer (our elementary school is full year).
Audrey is 15 months and is a little firecracker. Everyone who knows her says she is a piece of work. She is hysterical with her antics - rolling her eyes, turning her back on you when she's mad, pouting, totally fake wails, etc. DH and I frequently have to leave the room to LOL before we can address her. She's eating like a champ, waving us off when she's had enough, and still nursing several times a day. I can finally say that she's STTN (as of 2 weeks ago - I didn't say anything about it to anyone b/c I didn't want to jinx it!). She loves to play with her big brother (and steal his toys). She has many words of her own (Mommy, Daddy, cat, eat, more, please, milk, water, night-night, morning, bye, see-ya, up, down, PopPop, mama for Grandma, and of course...NO), but she also mimics us and may repeat just about anything we say.
DD was a May 2011 baby so she was still in my tummy in January 2011. I had a good size bump at that point, but the nice thing about having most of your pregnancy fall in winter months is that bulky sweaters make it easier to hide a baby bump until you want to announce.
Similar to PP's, I'm in awe of not only DD but myself. I'm blown away by the idea that this darling little baby grew inside of me for 9 months and that I was soley repsonsible for providing her nutrition until she was just shy of 6 months old. I'm pretty awesome!
Now DD is a happy baby who loves to "talk" and is just getting the hang of rolling over. My guess now is she is going to be one of those babies who barely crawls, if she does at all, and goes straight to walking. We'll see.
I'm really looking forwarding to her first Christmas in a few days. I know she is too young to really appreciate what is going on, but I'm still looking forward to it!
it is amazing how much things change in a year (and i am glad my blog chronicles things because I just checked to see what we were up to and wow she has changed)! She is still ever the stalling professional and now has a whole new arsenal of ''just one more kiss," or "I just need to tell you I love you," before collapsing to sleep.
last year at this time we were worried because she was not talking that much and now we are having full blown conversations and it is funny the things she wants to talk about. Or, the things she stresses about (this weeks' dilemna is where Santa is going to park because a) he is not allowed on the roof and b) mommy's car is in the garage) Looking back at the pictures- she has changed so much. This has been a fun year!
I'm looking forward to reading everyone's reflections later.
Last January DS entered our lives. It's been amazing watching him grow and develop. He's so physical and so wants to do everything his big sister does. By 5 months he was army crawling and at 10 months he was walking, he has a few words and he is and has always been such a happy, sweet, content child. I can't wait for this second year because I remember how special and magical it was with DD.
DD became a big sister last January at 22 months. She has adjusted better than I could've imagined and 75% of the time is a sweet, caring, attentive older sister who wants to help and play with her brother. The other 25%, well, she's 2. This year DD has started pre-school, become far more articulate and conversant. It is a delight to talk to her and learn all about what is going on in her little world. Her creative play has taken off - a year ago she liked to hear about animals now she knows all about them and mimics them. She has this deep, abiding and consuming love for me that is both scary and wonderful and magical.
I say this all the time, but it just keeps on getting better. I could do without some of the two year old tantrums, but the rest is the stuff of pure miracle.
DD was one month old last January. She was sooo tiny (now that I look back on it!) and we were just starting to get into a groove with her and understand her. She was starting to smile a little and was showing more awareness of toys and things around the house. One of my favorite pictures from this time is her sleeping on DH's stomach, she was all curled up and in one of my favorite pairs of her 0-3 pjs. So adorable.
DD just turned a year old. She's becoming such a little person now, it's amazing to me! She has a personality, definitely knows what she wants and doesn't, and is getting more and more into walking (assisted) around the house. She understands so much, it seems like 20 new things a day at times, and loves pointing out things in books when asked to find them. She has favorite toys. She's finally starting to get excited to see my family's dog (which melts my heart!). She's constantly on the move. It's just so amazing and crazy to see how much they change in one year!
A year ago, LO was still an inside baby and I was on bedrest because of pregnancy induced hypertension. All I wanted for Christmas last year was for him to stay inside just a few weeks longer. He did, kind of! He was born at 36 weeks on January 11 (due February 8).
This year - he is just awesome. He is currently sitting next to me chomping away on broccoli and bananas and screaming when I try to feed him yogurt. I guess he wants to do it himself. He is still nursing and isn't showing any signs of weaning himself any time soon.
He is not yet walking, but he's cruising and is also trying to stand occasionally, and has done it successfully for 1 or 2 seconds at a time. He has a few words, and I am starting to realize that he has more than I think but I just can't understand them. He is a happy little guy and has the most magical giggle.
He loves our cat, who is very patient with him, and trucks, and watching big kids play. He's not really one for stories or sitting still anymore.
I can't believe all the firsts we've been through this year, and how many are yet to come! Especially his first birthday, which is right around the corner.
Love this idea!
Last Christmas, I was wrapping up ultrasound pics of DD and giving them to our parents to announce that we were expecting. I couldn't even feel the girl yet as she was just a wee peanut, 10 weeks into the pregnancy.
This Christmas, my mom spent several hours playing with the girl and was the first one to see her roll for the first time EVER the day before last. DD is AWESOME and makes life so full and precious. She's made me a kinder, better person who enjoys the small things in life even more than before. She's made me realize again how special christmas is and become excited about teaching her all the magical things that there are out there - Santa Claus and his elves, the magic of disney movies, singing along together in the car. I can't wait!
Like PP have said, i find it absolutely stupefying that our bodies can make this little individual and that we can then support them nutritionally. I'm a vet, i've seen it a million times with animals and yet, when it happens to you, when you're involved in creating a life...it's just awe-inspiring.
Then: DS was 14 months old, walking and just starting to get into things. He was in the middle of an awful bout of RSV and looking back at my blog from this week last year is no fun because we were just exhausted and back and forth to the ER and pedi. He was a cuddly little boy and loved to dance and listen to music. The biggest issue was that he wasn't anywhere near talking and I was a worrying mess about it.
Now: The kid never stops talking! He exploded at 17.5 months and hasn't stopped since. I think his favorite sentence might be, "I don't like that." I love that he can express himself and have a real conversation with us. He is always on the move but can sit and play with his duplos and read stories forever. It's a little crazy how much life has changed in the past 2 years, but at the same time just how awesome it is. We are anxiously awaiting 2012 as we will move into our new house in 3 weeks and DD will be here in April!