Arthur: 20 Months

Life has been so crazy lately that I completely forgot to write and publish this... So here we go. Arthur is now 20 months old! I can't believe were are so close to him turning two years old. Time is flying by!

Likes: Trucks, cars, planes, boats, trains, anything that moves; Food food and more food

Dislikes: Not eating all day; bath time

Sleeping: After a very rough 18-month sleep regression, we are back to normal. The last month has been absolute crap, but no more! Thank goodness! I get to sleep again.

Eating: All the foods! Arthur is such an amazing eater. This past month we found out that he really enjoys roe, calamari, and edamame. He is definitely my child.

Playing: Arthur is interacting more and more with other children. I love watching him socialize with kids and even resolve disputes. We still get to see our Mountain View friends but the drive does get to be a bit much sometimes.

Schedule:After the big sleep regression, Arthur has adjusted his schedule slightly. He is now going to sleep at 8-8:30pm and wakes at 7-7:30am. Plus he takes a 2-3 hour nap at around 1pm. I'm okay with this schedule. I get to sleep and I still get a bit of free time in the middle of the day.

Out and About: We hit our usual play spots: Happy Hollow, Oakland Zoo, and CDM. We also went to our local park a lot. Overall a good month of fun activities.

Arthur: 19 Months

A full month back home which meant lots of baby activities and lots of enjoying the sunshine.

Likes: Swings, slides, running, animal crackers, his babies, Daniel Tiger

Dislikes: Sleeping in his crib, leaving the park, traffic, podcasts instead of music in the car.

Sleeping: Ugh! We have hit the dreaded 18 month sleep regression one month late. He is now waking up every morning at around 2am by screaming bloody murder. He then proceeds to scream and scream and not go back to sleep. We've allowed him into our bed a few times, but really trying to not make that a habit. It's so hard right now. We're going to attempt to sleep train again.

Eating: All the things! Some days he doesn't eat much in terms of amount, but he still has a varied diet. His current new favorite is calzones with pepperoni and mushrooms. And of course he loves getting the occasional treat of apple juice.

Playing: We're seeing more and interaction with other kids and adults. Currently Arthur loves playing trains, cars, and trucks.

Schedule:Our usual activities like the museum, preschool, and park playdates happen weekly. We're attempting to meet more Castro Valley families but it's not going very well so far.

Arthur: 18 Months

18 months big and Arthur's a handful! But he's also just so amazing. We're having lots of fun during the toddler years.

Likes: Trains, cars, food, running everywhere

Dislikes: Walking slowly, the cold weather, being away from mom

Sleeping: Sleeping while in Indiana was a challenge. Arthur basically boycotted naps. Not fun for mom. We've been back only one day, but he went to bed on time last night and took a nap today. Maybe just being back home settled him.

Eating: Still not the biggest fan of meat, but he will eat just about anything. His favorite food group is still fruit. Loves any kind of fruit. Would probably just eat fruit if he could.

Playing: So much playing! This month he really got into playing cars and trains. And he's started snuggling with his babies. Very cute!

Doctor Visit Stats: Arthur went to his 18 month appointment this afternoon. Just one shot (Hep A) and he's done with shots until he's 2! Woohoo! Other than that, everything else is good.

• Height: 32 3/4"
• Weight: 27 lb 8 oz

Schedule: Hopefully we can get back into a nice weekly routine of park visits, activities with friends, downtime, and errands. I'm really taking a look at our schedule and trying to not commit to as many things. We were feeling a bit rushed this spring.

Out and About: Another successful plane ride. He played during the Fort Wayne to Atlanta flight and slept most of the Atlanta to San Francisco flight. Today we mostly stayed near home. We did run to the grocery store and then went to his doctor's appoint in the afternoon. but he got a lot of play time in today.

Arthur: 17 Months

Likes: Playing with everything! All the food. Bath time.

Dislikes: Not being able to eat constantly. Staying in the house all day.

Sleeping: Doing well again. Usually he sleeps from ~7:30pm to ~7:00am with no wake ups in between. I am loving this new schedule. Thank you Arthur for sleeping so well!

Eating: Arthur's been trying all kinds of new foods. I love his willingness to try even if he doesn't always like the food.

Playing: Seeing a bit of struggles over toys with friends, but they usually work it out. I prefer to allow the kids to try to work it out before stepping in. Thankfully Arthur isn't particularly violent when it comes to these disagreements.

Schedule:Argh! We still haven't found a good schedule for each week. We still drive down to South Bay 2-3 times a week for activities. I'm seriously thinking about starting my own parents' meetup group when I return from Indiana. If we don't have a daily activity, Arthur gets very antsy. Thankfully grocery shopping counts as an activity.

Out and About: This past month we hit a few new parks and a fun special place, CuriOdyssey. In a few days we are traveling to Indiana for an almost month long visit. Hopefully we have add some fun activities to our wrap up next month.

Arthur: 16 Months

We are fully into toddler territory now...

Likes: Playgrounds, running away from mom, playing with friends, all the food!

Dislikes: Not being allowed to eat all the food (even the chocolate), getting dressed, diaper changes

Sleeping: After a few nights of wake ups, we're back to normal. Thank goodness, I was not loving those random screaming wake ups in the middle of the night.

Eating: All the food! Seriously this kid eats just about anything. He especially loves crab rangoon and clam chowder right now. He also mastered drinking from a straw this month. Makes my life a lot easier. Beyond his non-pickiness, he's been eating constantly. Must be all that growing he's doing.

Playing: He's becoming more and more interactive now. Preschool Thursdays are perfect for him to try and play with friends. All the little toddlers together are adorable. We've been working on playing with cars and putting together puzzles. His new favorite toy is a dump truck. He loves putting things, especially his stuffed monkey, into the back and pushing it around the kitchen.

Medical Milestones: In the past two weeks, Arthur has gotten four molars and two canines. It's been a rough time, but at least they're down. Hopefully we get a bit of a respite before the next ones come in.

Schedule:Arthur's been waking up around 7am lately. I'm loving this slightly later time. We drop J off at the BART station and then head to the park or South Bay for an event. We have to make sure to be back home after lunch for nap time. He's been sleeping 2-3 hours a day. After naps, we play or sometimes watch an episode of Sesame Street while I cook dinner. I think we've finally got a good schedule going...

Out and About: We've been driving down to South Bay for parent group events about three times a week. I haven't found a decent parent group up here yet... I might just have to start my own. Instead, we rejoin our SB group for park playdates, museum visits, preschool, and Shoreline walks.

Arthur: 15 Months

Arthur's officially a toddler! Full of new skills, discoveries, and even tantrums. It's been a crazy month. We started the month in Indiana and ended it back in California, but we had some fun along the way.

Likes: All the food, being independent, friends, dogs

Dislikes: The cold, waiting for anything, green beans

Sleeping: While in Indiana, Arthur often slept with me. Of course I didn't want that to continue once back in California. We've had a few rough nights, but we seem to be getting back onto a more normal schedule.

Eating: All the things!  Well, almost all the things. He's not huge on green beans and most meat. Overall he seems to eat almost everything and I am very grateful for that. We can go and eat almost anywhere.

Playing: I love watching Arthur interact with all his friends. It's amazing to see their development. They don't always share and sometimes get a bit handsy, but they are so cute to watch.

Schedule:We're still figuring out our weekly schedule back in California. It's an ongoing issue.

Out and About: While in Indiana we rarely went anywhere. It was just too damn cold. Since being back, we've already hit the Children's Museum and Shoreline. Plus we hosted preschool at our new house.  And we have explored part of our new area including two different Targets, Michaels, and a new park. We will definitely be doing some more exploring of our area. I'm sure we will be back to that park soon.

Arthur: 14 Months

The past month has been a big one.  We packed up the apartment and moved to East Bay.  Two days later Arthur and mom flew to Indiana for the holidays.  And in between we had a ton of fun with friends.

Likes: Being free to run, all the dogs ("hi da"), fruit of any kind, alphabet cookies grandma bought, remote controls

Dislikes: The cold, being stationary in his car seat (he wants the car to go!), bed time, eggs (no idea...), Santa (he got a chilly reception from Arthur)

Sleeping: Naps are good, night time not so much.  He's had no problem transitioning to napping in a pack n play at grandma's.  Unfortunately the same cannot be said for night time.  I put him down in the pack n play for bedtime, but 3-4 hours later he cries until he can get into bed with me.  Bad habit I know, but while in Indiana it seems like the best option.  We will have to sleep train again once we get back to California.

Eating: Anything and everything.  He does have his favorites (currently peanut butter bagels and grapes), but will usually eat some of anything on his tray.  The other night we went out for Korean and he slammed some steamed rice, a crab rangoon, a spring roll, a dumpling, some fish, and some fried seaweed.  I also had a good dinner, but was sad to give up my crab rangoon to the little monster. Yum yum!

Playing: Lots of interacting with friends and even strangers.  He played happily with a few big boys (4-5 year olds) at the playground the other day.  And I've seen him play with his similar aged friends at playdates and preschool. He's even making cars go now.

Medical Milestones: 

• Walking - Check!  He is even starting to pick up the pace to a run...  Watch out!  Here comes trouble!
• Going up and down stairs - Half-check.  He's got the going up just fine.  He crawls but can scale a staircase pretty fast.  Going down is not so good.  He gets onto his stomach and slides down, but if it's more than 2-3 steps, it's not a good thing.  I'm sure he'll improve when we get back home where we have stairs.  My mom's new house doesn't.
• Climbing - Check!  He's getting better and better and scaling objects and me.
• Says a few words, understands more - So far, all he says is "Hi" and "Hi da" (Hi dog).  He definitely understands a lot more.
• Follow simple directions - Check! If you tell him to bring you whatever he is holding, he usually will.
• Empties and fills containers - Check!  His favorite is the small little trashcan at my mom's.  It's become his play toy for the time being.

Schedule:Ha ha!  That's a joke right?  Moving and traveling make for cranky babies and tired moms.  I tried getting Arthur back on a schedule, but so far it hasn't really worked.  We'll have to really try when we get back home next month.

Out and About: Before leaving California we had our usual park playdates and preschool mornings.  We also hit up the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo (raccoon pics).  Plus two of Arthur's friends had their 2nd birthday part right before we left.  After arriving in Indiana we hit the town seeing the downtown lights, Botanical Gardens with Santa and reindeer, trains at Science Central, Jefferson Pointe playground, lights at Franke Park, Festival of Trees, and lots of shopping.  It's been a crazy month!

Arthur: 13 Months

Caution: Photo Dump Ahead I officially have a toddler on my hands.  He is walking.  He is throwing tantrums.  He is learning so much every day.

Likes: Playgrounds  (especially slides), milk, all his friends, walking, stroller rides

Dislikes: Milk (explanation below), not touching all the things, loud crowded places

Sleeping: Overall, we're doing good.  He usually goes down around 7:15pm and stays down until 6-6:30am. Rarely do we have a middle of the night wake up and even less do we have to get up if he does. If he wakes up, he usually just puts himself back to sleep.  Naps are a whole different matter. Some days he goes down without fuss around 12:30 and sleep for 2-3 hours.  Other days he cries and fusses for ~20 minutes before falling asleep. And yet other days he refuses a nap.  On those days, he becomes a whirlwind of destruction (even more than usual) that doesn't stop until bedtime. Wish he was more consistent.

Eating: As for solid foods, he eats a ton of variety, but not always a ton of amount.  Clearly he is past his 12 month growth spurt as the portions have gone down. He loves trying new foods even if he doesn't love all of them.  Not so picky yet...  As for beverages, we've started weaning off of formula and replacing with milk.  What a disaster!  For about a week, he refused to drink milk.  Then magically one day he started sucking it down.  And then for three days he screamed, had a hard tummy, and dirtyed many many diapers. We stopped drinking milk and everything cleared up. After talking with the nurse, we switched him to almond milk but have keep feeding him yogurt and cheese.  It seems to work well.  And we're down to two bottles a day (morning and evening).  I'm hoping to cut the morning one within the week but probably won't stop the evening one until Christmas or so.  We need to rework his bedtime routine to get rid of it, but being in Indiana will hamper that.

Playing: Lots and lots and lots of playing!  Now that he's walking, playgrounds with friends are lots of fun.  He climbs and slides runs around with everyone. At preschool (very informal weekly event with a group of friends), he always has to explore the new toys. Not too many playing/sharing tantrums.

Medical Milestones: We've got a walker on our hands!  He's been taking a step or three for months, but no consistent walking until right around Halloween.  He just started choosing walking over crawling.  And now he's getting his balance and picking up the pace. Pretty soon he will be running!

Schedule:This is becoming less and less of a thing. We keep bedtime the same, but every day is a new adventure.

Out and About: Lots and lots of great activities this past month!

• Three different farm visits: Deer Hollow (our usual), Ardenwood, and Emma Prusch. All were fun, but I think I prefer Ardenwood Farm.  Extra awesome: it will be the closest to the new house.
• Halloween activities: We went trick or treating at Santana Row and the SJ Children's Museum. Lots of fun for little ones.
• Fall Social: Our fall social was a trick or treating costume theme. Arthur and I both dressed up for the event. We had a great time trick or treating, socializing, playing, and making crafts.
• SJ Children's Discovery Museum: I hadn't taken him until October because I just didn't want to spend the money on admittance to something he doesn't care about. Now he loves this place.  They have a special room (the Wonder Cabinet) designed for the under 6 crowd. Arthur loves playing with the ball wall and the sounds room.  I had a few passes from Pam to save on the entrance fee.  Now that those are gone, I'm thinking of buying a membership when we get back from Indiana.  The parent's group schedules a visit once a month, so it would be worth the money...
• Usual playground playdates: We have a usual weekly schedule, but then visit others sometimes. Love the amount parks in the Bay Area. Lots of fun!
• Preschool: The members of the babysitting co-op have started a small weekly preschool.  We rotate who hosts and prepares the activities.  While we are pretty loose, we do have a basic schedule of welcome song, theme songs (themes change monthly), art and craft, snack time, and storytime. Usually there's lots and lots of free play in between activities. It's been going great!  We are going to miss it while in Indiana.

My Little Astronaut

Happy 1st of November from Halloween's littlest astronaut!

Arthur: 1 Year Old!

A busy pre-birthday week!  We had so much fun!

Likes: Pumpkins and gourds; chocolate cupcakes (birthday treat); mud

Dislikes: Eating what I actually put on his tray; when daddy is gone

Sleeping: We are doing very well. Sleep training paid off big time.  Down at 7pm, up at 6am, no waking in between.  Naps are usually 1-3 hours right after lunch.  It's been awesome!

Eating: When he's actually hungry, he eats anything and everything that I put in front of him. If he's not that hungry, most of it goes onto the floor. I am encouraged by his willingness to try new foods.  Just hope he becomes a little less destructive with the food.

Just born

Playing: So much with all his friends! His favorite game right now is to play peek-a-boo with friend E.  They are too adorable together!

Medical Milestones: 

• Babies usually range from 27 3/4" long and 18 lbs to 30 1/3" long and 23 lbs. -- Check!  Arthur's right about 30 inches long and 24 pounds.
• Showing his independence -- Check!  Even if he can't speak, Arthur lets me know what he wants and when he wants it.  I've been giving him small choices (holding up two different snacks) and letting him choose. Seems to make him happy.
• Scribbling with crayons -- Not yet. Maybe I should let him try...
• Drinking cow's milk -- Not yet. We've had a crazy week, but this is next on my list.
• Fussy eating -- Check! Right now his favorite feeding activity is to throw food on the floor.  He still eats, but my goodness, some days it is a struggle.

Schedule:Our usual activities with a few hiccups along the way. Check out our fun below.

Out and About: Crazy week past!

• Monday we visited the pumpkin patch with some mom friends. Arthur especially loved the hayride.
• Tuesday we ended up at the VW dealership for almost 3 hours. So of course we missed storytime and playground visit!
• Wednesday we made it to Rengstorff for playdate.  The ground was very wet and Arthur ended up covered in dirt.
• Thursday we walked Shoreline with friends.
• Friday was preschool playdate at Janine's house.  We had an awesome time learning about leaves and pumpkins
• Saturday was party day!  Arthur ended the party covered in dirt and chocolate.  I'd say that is a sign of a great party.  Tons of friends came and shared in his special day. Even when I twisted my ankle falling a hole, the party went over great. Unfortunately I don't have any pics of the party ready to show yet.
• Sunday we had brunch at Olympus Cafe in Mountain View so that mom could lead a info meeting. And then he spent the rest of the day with dad while mom went to a movie.

Arthur: 51 Weeks

A whirlwind of destruction this past week.  He is into anything and everything.  On the plus side, his vocabulary and physical development have jumped this past week.  I think he is on the verge of saying actual words and truly walking...

Likes: All the fruit! Especially if is comes from Miss Lauren.  Apparently her snacks taste better than ours. Splash pads. Swings. Playgrounds.

Dislikes: The vacuum. Diaper changes.

Sleeping: Randomly he woke up and stayed awake around 5am twice this week.  Those made for two very long days for this momma. Generally he is sleeping well with good naps. That sleep training really was effective!

Eating: Anything and everything.  He has been constantly eating all week.  I think we've hit a growth spurt.  I can't keep enough snacks in my bag for our activities out the house.  And then we come home and he demolishes lunch and dinner. Plus, he's still drinking about five 6 ounce bottles of formula throughout the day and night.  He is going to eat us out of house and home.

Playing: At each playdate or activity, he's now interacting with the other kids more and more. They play together, sometimes share, sometimes steal toys, and generally are adorable. Twice this week, he's had fun playing peek-a-boo with friend E (one month older than Arthur).  I think E's his current favorite play buddy.

Medical Milestones: 

• Possessive about toys, lovies, etc. -- Check! For his blankets only.  Babies can take any of his other toys and he doesn't care.  Try to take his blankie and he'll put up a fight.
• Figuring out sharing -- Sort of.  He's now handing me and friends toys, but sometimes forgets to let go.
• "No" -- Not yet thank goodness.
• Handling more than one thing at a time -- With his increased dexterity and mobility, he's definitely attempting to carry multiples items or manipulate multiples things at the same time.
• Separation anxiety at bedtime -- Nope thank goodness.

Schedule:Arthur's settled on one nap right after lunch.  Usually he goes down for about 1 1/2 hours.  Sometimes he sleeps for 2 1/2 and sometimes he sleeps for only an hour.  We plan our activities around that one nap.  Most of the activities are either before lunch or after 2pm, so it works out fairly well.  At this point we have scheduled parent's group activities for Monday through Friday.  Arthur's a busy bee!

Out and About: So much fun this past week.

• Grocery store, Target and Michael's
• Playdate at Seven Seas Park and Splash Pad
• Playdate at Rengstorff Park
• Pool party at our house with lunch at Firehouse afterwards
• Preschool playdate at Miss Dianna's house
• Crafting meet and greet at Panera
• House hunting in Fremont most of Saturday
• Book club at Lisa's (J had to work, so I took Arthur; he played with all of E's toys)

Arthur: 50 Weeks

Such an active little boy this week.  I'm finding it hard to keep up.

Likes: His blankies, fruit of any kind, snuggling, park playdates

Dislikes: Nap time (we're struggling a bit), when mom takes a shower

Sleeping: We've had a few rough nights, but nothing like last month.  Mostly sleep has been good and fairly consistent.  Still hoping for no wake ups at night.

Eating: All the foods!  He eats almost anything that I put on his tray. The only issue is when I'm eating something different than what's on his tray.  He always wants what i have. Usually it's not a big deal, but the other night I had spicy chili.  Obviously not a good idea to give the 11 month old spicy chili.  Even with the whines, I resisted giving him my food.  He got over it.

Playing: He's been interacting more and more with his friends at playdates.  The other day, he played peek-a-boo with a few others babies at the park. Love it! At home, we've been playing with the cars and trains. I am definitely a mom of all boys...

Medical Milestones: 

• Unpredictable moods and wants -- Check!  We are all over the place right now. We've definitely entered the tantrums phase.
• Using a handful of words -- Nope. Although I'm starting to think that there are some actual words coming soon.
• Communicating nonverbally -- Check!  He has his own language right now, but at least it's effective.

Out and About: Our usual activities for the week: storytime, playground playdate, Shoreline walk, and errands. Monday we had a great day visiting the Happy Hallow Park and Zoo with tons of friends.  We must go back soon! Friday Arthur spent a few hours without me at a friends house.  He did great.  No tantrums at all.  We'll be using the babysitting coop again soon.  For the weekend, we had brunch at The Original Pancake House and Sunday afternoon at Lily's birthday party.

Arthur: 49 Weeks

Lots and lots of play this week.  We had a full week of fun activities with tons of friends.

Likes: Playing, eating, walking with assistance, sleeping... it was a good week

Dislikes: Staying away from the lamp, computers, xbox, and cabinets.  It's an ongoing struggle.

Sleeping: We are in a great place right now! Sleep training really paid off. Arthur's going down without a fuss at about 7:30pm every night and sleeping at least until 5am, usually 6am. If I lay him down for a nap sometime right after lunch, everything seems to go great! We're are going to try and keep this going...

Eating: All the things! He's finally in love with eating cheese, especially Baby Bels.  I'm so excited to have such a good eater!

Playing: So much interaction with other kids right now!  He spent at least 20 minutes playing peek-a-boo around a stroller with another little boy.  They were amazingly adorable.  And he's more interested in manipulating toys and objects.  Excited to see the developments.

Medical Milestones: 

• Preference of right or left hand -- None that I've noticed yet.  Pushing for a lefty!
• Separation anxiety -- Nope. I have a fairly independent baby.
• Waving -- Nope. He loves to clap, but hasn't gotten the waving thing.  Or maybe he just thinks it's silly.
• Asserting his independence -- Oh yes! Arthur is very vocal now about what he wants and when he wants it. Of course, he doesn't use words, but he lets me know!

Schedule:Now that sleep has stabilized, I've been trying really hard to keep naptime consistent.  Occasionally we get off track, but usually it works.  Other than sleeping, we have our usual weekly activities with the parents group.  Those keep us out and about.

Out and About: We had a jam packed week of activities.  Something every day to keep us occupied.

• Monday -- Mariposa Park playdate
• Tuesday -- Sunnyvale library storytime and Serra Park playdate
• Wednesday -- Blanket babies at Rengstorff
• Thursday -- Shoreline walk with friends
• Friday -- Mountain View library storytime (crazy time!)
• Saturday -- Excursion to Fremont to see a few rental houses (mostly duds)
• Sunday -- Book club with Miss Pam and Miss Angi at Hobee's (yum apple walnut coffeecake)

Arthur: 11 Months / 48 Weeks

It seems we made it out of non-sleeping hell and into a much happier little baby!  And guess who turned 11 months old yesterday?  It's Arthur!!

Likes: Dirt (playing and eating), playing in the ottoman, his blankie (just call him Linus now)

Dislikes: Chicken (random, but he now boycotts it), being barred from the kitchen cabinets (see the picture evidence below)

Sleeping: Finally!  We have turned the sleep corner. All last week, he's been going down around 7:30pm with little to no fuss and sleeping until 6am with sometimes one wakeup to eat.  So much better!  And naps are fairly consistent now.  I put him down right after lunch and he sleeps 1-2 hours.  Glorious!

Eating: All the things, except for chicken.  He randomly decided to stop eating chicken this week.  Oh well.  Not a huge deal. We will keep offering it to him.  Otherwise, he loves most food that I offer.  His new favorite was my crab and shrimp tempura sushi rolls.  Devoured it!

Playing: We've had a few playdates at playgrounds around the area.  Arthur has been interacting more and more with the playground equipment and other children.  I love watching him play.

Medical Milestones: 

• Organizing objects (recognizing patterns) -- Not yet. We're still working on putting things in instead of just taking things out.
• Drop in appetite -- Not yet. He's still ravenous, eating a ton at lunch and dinner.  Breakfast has never been a huge eating event.
• Speaking a few words -- Not yet.  Although he does imitate "all done" fairly closely.  I think it's just sounds to him and not an actual word.
• Communicating wants and needs -- Definitely!  He gestures, grunts, screeches (if I don't answer), and even reaches.

Schedule:We've settled back into one.  I am so excited about this turn of life!

Out and About: Lots of errands. We had a couple of small incidental playdates: a home inspection and a open house crafting.  Arthur and I also traveled all the way to Valley Fair Mall (roughly 15 minutes away) to get a new power adapter from the Apple Store. We finished off our week with a trip up to Fremont to see a few rental properties and lunch.  A very eventful week!

Arthur: 47 Weeks

We are back on track!  Thank goodness!  This past week went much better...

Likes: Watching other kids play, playgrounds, grass, my phone

Dislikes: Sleeping (but getting better), being confined (crib, stroller, jumper, lap, etc)

Sleeping: We started sleep training again and this time it actually worked!  We are following the Ferber method of putting Arthur in his crib awake and then going in every 10 minutes if he's still crying but not picking him up.  The past few nights, I've had to go in one or twice before he's completely asleep.  We have had a few 5:30am wake-ups, but he has been sleeping through the night once we get him down.  I'd call this week a success.  So much better with sleeping!

Eating: His new favorite food is sweet potato fries.  Of course, I love them also... Other than that, he eats whatever we have and it's not usually an issue.  If anything is an issue, I can just make him some more veggies and fruit for extra dinner.

Playing: Lots of fun play lately.  He's loving exploring and manipulating new activities and toys. He's even starting to play with other kids.  So adorable!

Medical Milestones: 

• Understanding simple words and effects -- Check! I've noticed that when I say I'm coming back, he does quiet down.
• Standing unassisted -- Check!  He's constantly standing, but hardly ever takes a step.

Schedule:I feel like we're actually getting a schedule back.  We've settled into one nap a day (usually in the afternoon), and bedtime is just about set.  We have regularly scheduled activities Tuesday through Thursday.

Out and About: We hit up two home inspections which translated into two mini playdates with baby friends. We also visited the library, a new playground (Las Palmas), Rengstorff, and Deer Hollow.  Lot of fun with our baby friends.

Arthur: 46 Weeks

Looks like we are going to need to start sleep training...

Likes: Food, food, and more food; his blankies; his sock monkeys (all three of them); playing with the big kids

Dislikes: Sleep; mom leaving; being barred from the remote, table, xbox, etc

Sleeping: His sleep is not getting any better.  We are going to have to start sleep training and probably use the crying it out method.  This week is going to be rough, but it can't be any worse than the last few weeks of no sleep.

Eating: Really enjoyed a potato and cheese empanada on Sunday.  Other than that, he's been enjoying the usual foods.  Although his appetite has definitely increased over the past week.  Growth spurt?

Playing: We've been playing a lot of ball and reading a lot of books.  Plus, he's loving riding Benny the Bull and walking with the walker.  More and more, I'm seeing him figure toys out.  So cute!

Medical Milestones: 

• Showing more opinions -- Check!  He has specific grunts and screeches for more food, done, give me, etc.
• Starting to use utensils -- Not yet.  Well, actually we've tried a spoon a while back, but that ended with food everywhere.  I guess I should reintroduce utensils this coming week.
• Engaging in more interactive games -- Check!  He loves hide and seek (he "hides", I seek), stacking blocks, and rolling the ball to different areas.

Schedule:Hoping sleep training can help get into an actual schedule...

Out and About: We had our usual baby activities (playground tour and blanket babies).  And we ran a ton of errands.  The usuals... This coming week we have some fun different activities planned.  We'll see how it goes.

Arthur: 45 Weeks

A slightly better week, but we're still struggling with the sleep issue.

Likes: Music, clapping, food, sock monkeys (all of his)

Dislikes: Sleeping, schedules, when mom leaves

Sleeping: We're still in sleep hell.  Sunday night he decided to just not sleep.  I got maybe 4 hours of sleep spread out over a 10 hour period.  Not fun at all.  Consequently he was cranky all day Monday (me too!).

Eating: Still all the things.  His new favorite food is potato salad.  Weird!  But he chooses it over fruit so I guess he really likes it.  He also loves pizza (big surprise) and pasta right now.

Playing: Besides clapping all the time, we're still rolling balls back and forth and stacking things.  He also got an early birthday present that we will debut next week.  Right now he's checking it out, but still a little wary.  At playdates, he's been interacting more with the people and things around him.

Medical Milestones: 

• Engaging in parallel play with age-mates -- Check!  He really enjoys playdates now and tends to watch other babies play.  He then jumps in and starts playing. So cute!
• Starting to speak specific words/variations of words -- Well, sorta.  When he wants something specific, he yells and gestures in the general direction. We then have to decipher the meaning.  No recognizable words, but communication is improving.
• Venturing away from mom and dad and exploring -- Check! At playdates, he's out and about and not usually by me.  He tends to cling at home, but in public he wants very little to do with me.  I guess that's good.

Schedule: Oh what I wouldn't give to have a schedule again!

Out and About:

• Playdate at Mariposa Park
• Playdate at War Memorial Park
• Coffee with a friend (and soon-to-be new mom)
• Grocery store visit
• Playdate at Rengstorff
• Deer Hollow Farm visit
• Book club brunch at Hobee's

Arthur: 44 Weeks

It was a weird week.  Arthur's off schedule has resulted in us missing a few group events.  All of our pictures for the week are from the house; a bit boring but that's what we've got.

Likes: Clapping (his new skill!); still all the food; playing with the remote and the xbox (big no-noes)

Dislikes: Being barred from the craft room; sleeping and napping (still!); staying in the house for multiple days

Sleeping: We're still in the weeds when it comes to sleeping.  His naps are all over the schedule. He usually takes one nap a day, but I never know when.  Bed times are a struggle. He actually fell asleep Sunday night at 8pm (woohoo!), but there is no actual set time to speak of.

Eating: All the food!  I can usually feed him directly from my plate and I must say that it's great.  I don't have to make a separate meal for him.  And he feeds himself, so I an actually eat while he's eating.

Playing: This past week we've been having fun clapping, rolling a ball, and handing things back and forth.  He's become much more interactive throughout the day.  He also loves loves loves knocking down block towers.

Medical Milestones: 

• Walking while holding onto our hands -- Sometimes, but not always.  He's still fiercely independent when it comes to attempting to walking.
• Helping getting dressed -- Check!  He actually figured out how to put his arms through sleeves when I put the shirt over his head.
• Climbing -- Check! Check! Check! His favorite climbing obstacle is the ottoman.  We have to change things up again.

Schedule: Ha ha!  That's a funny joke!  Right?

Out and About: Last week was a bit slow for activities.  His varied schedule led to some interesting days.  We did make it to the library and Shoreline.  That's about it.  Hopefully this week will be filled with fun activities.

Arthur: 10 Months / 43 Weeks

A slightly happier baby this week, although now he has random bouts of crying.  Teething?  I have no idea.

Likes: Toys, toys, and more toys

Dislikes: Sleeping (still); sitting on the living room side of the fence when I'm in the kitchen

Sleeping: All over the place.  I thought we were getting better, but every night is a surprise.  Hoping it will get better soon.  He's taking naps again, so that's an improvement.

Eating: Raspberries and coffee cake are his two new favorite foods.  Working on chewing harder foods.  His favorite snack is currently goldfish.  I made the mistake of giving him some of the goldfish left over from the twins summer.  Now it's all he wants for snacktime.

Playing: We're been working on exploring new toys.  He loves his walker currently, more playing with the front instead of using it as a walker.  We've also read more picture books lately.

Medical Milestones: 

• Harder transitions between activities -- Not really seeing it yet...
• Disliking being confined -- Check! He only tolerates the stroller when we're moving.  Stop and he fusses.
• Crying with loud noises, vacuum, etc -- Check! Pulling out the vacuum results in instant tears.
• Object permanence -- Check!  It's harder to "hide" snacks and remotes.
• Responding to single-step commands -- Check! His understanding of language is getting better and better.
• Grinding teeth -- Check!  Ugh!  It's the absolute worst noise in the world.  And there's not good way to make him stop.

Out and About: We had a our usual weekly baby events (blanket babies, library visit, Deer Hollow Farm).  Plus, we visited a new park (Washington Park) to check everything out.  Then for the weekend, we attended two 1st birthday parties.  Lots of fun!

Arthur: 42 Weeks

Ugh! What a week!  I feel like we're back at that newborn stage; all sleep deprived and cranky.  It's been rough.

Likes: Sleeping on mom or dad; cornmeal biscuits (finally found "bread" that he likes); playing ball

Dislikes: Sleeping; diaper changes (such a struggle now); the hall gate

Sleeping: Arthur's started taking naps again (woohoo!), but they are fairly inconsistent in terms of time and length.  I'm think he's now transitioning to one nap, but it's been really rough.  Night time sleeping is incredibly complicated.  He's not allowing us to put him in his crib until 10 or 11pm.  Then he wakes up at least once before morning.  Argh! We've tired changing to the bedtime routine, but he's very resistant to bed time.

Eating: Such a good eater lately!  Anything and everything from my plate.  He tried and loves raspberries!  He also tried cornmeal biscuits and loves them!  We're having so much fun trying new dishes.

Playing: Since Arthur seems more and more interested in structured play, I am pulling some activity ideas for the coming weeks.  So far, we've explored his puzzles, train track, and lots of rolling balls.  I'm loving the new play developments.