Archive for the Category »Development «
Ashland had his 1 year check-up today (a little late I know…). And he’s doing really well! He’s even gotten bigger slightly beyond his own growth curve. The doctor was impressed with all the things he learned to do: walking (running more like!), stacking 5 blocks, saying some words (his favorite lately is “all done”). He hated having his ears checked and vaccinated. He was so upset that he had tears streaming down his cheeks, which I hardly ever see since he almost never cries 
It’s sort of become our unwritten tradition to go get coffee and bagel at Java Mama, a coffee house near the pediatrician’s office after appointments…but we got there only to find it closed (probably permanently!). This was such a shock to us since we’ve known the owner (he’s really nice) and it’s the first coffee house we ever found in Portland when we moved! Anyhow, we drove further and ended up at Tea Thyme and Lavender for afternoon tea. By this time though Ashland fell fast asleep and spent the entire tea time not having treats.
When Ashland is done with his bottle (I’ve been giving him 6 oz at a time the past 6 month now, but quite often lately he doesn’t finish it because he would rather eat real food), if I don’t take away the bottle promptly, he’ll start painting with it! I give him lots of credit for creativity but…
He does take his bottle very yummily though when he is eating (drinking?). I’ve offered him sippy cups with water in them a few times but he hasn’t really liked it at all. I haven’t offered him any other milks of any kind yet — I thought I’d wait until he sees his pediatrician for 1 year check-up. After Ashland weened himself off and went 100% formula around 6 months, he really hasn’t looked back. It’s definitely been more expensive, but admittedly it has been so much easier for me.
Today is Ashland’s 1st Birthday! We are celebrating it with a breakfast outing — it’s totally gorgeous out! He is having some french toast.
And then after dinner and wee bit of playtime, Ashland got his birthday cupcake.
…Which he devoured despite his HUGE dinner (he’s got serious appetite!).
…And now fast asleep tired from extra special day!
Of course a part of me can’t believe Ashland is ONE already, but then I also feel that he might as well be one because he has been more toddler like than a baby for some time now. He is walking well (he can carry stuff or kick a ball while walking!), starting to talk (he says quite many words, and he seems to understand what we are saying sometimes) and developing problem solving skills (he is obsessed with putting lids on things now). He is a sweetie who loves kitties and his sister and laughs a whole lot. He loves to eat, sleeps well, and enjoys adventures outdoors. I’m often amazed that he seems to have natural inclination towards “boy”-ish things like playing with cars (or anything with wheels on) or balls, and generally really athletic. But then again Immi has been a big influence on him too…he recognizes Hello Kitty (calls it HahKuh like immi does) and even said that it was “cute”! He also wants to walk around with immi’s purse — I’m not sure how to tell him that boys don’t usually carry purses…maybe I should get him a murse?
…And Ashland now has 4 upper teeth! Along with the 2 on the bottom.
Ashland has been saying a lot more things. He says “cat!” every time he sees one (this was really his first word). He also points and says “This!!” — exactly like the way immi does it! — when he wants something. He also pointed at my knitting project bag and said “cute!” (learned it from immi no doubt). And then when I asked him if he wanted “more” of his dinner, he said “Done!”.
Ashland suddenly got much better at walking. He can also make a turn walking, and bend over to pick stuff up off the floor. He’s still a bit faster crawling though.
I’ve had this stacking rings in plain sight for months, but Ashland suddenly took interest in actually stacking the rings a few days ago. He was a bit fumbly then, but he’s already gotten very good at it. He doesn’t stack them by size yet though.
Every time Ashland reaches a ‘milestone’ I can’t help thinking how Immi and Ashland are so completely different from one another. Immi never stacked these rings at this stage in development — it was a bit later that she took interest in it briefly, but at that point, she was already able to stack them in correct order (descending and ascending in size) and seemed to be experimenting with concept of permutations. Same thing with blocks, immi never engaged in such mundane activity as stacking just a few of them. When she did finally stack blocks, she had finesse comparable to adults’ in building a very very tall monument. I’m supposing that they just have a different learning style.
Ashland has short attention span (or maybe Immi’s is abnormally long for her age…) he got bored of stacking already after a few rounds and decided to chuck them beyond the gate. He is pretending to be upset about them being out of reach.
Ashland is playing with the baby blocks. …And to my surprise, he can stick together and stack-up 3 blocks quite easily!
He’s getting better at walking too!
Ashland took his first three steps this morning! He was standing at the edge of the entertainment center shelf and he wanted to go over to the gate, so he stepped off took three steps and then power crawled the rest of the way. Won’t be long now until he will be walking and running!
Almost walking, but not yet. …But he’s gotten really good at standing!
He is talking more though. When he sees a diaper, he says “di-di” (We don’t make up baby words, but immi has called diapers di-di and this one stuck around since ‘diaper’ is such an ugly word anyhow. Only one other modified word that gets used is “nu-nu” for noodles.). Also, when he gets sleepy, he rubs his eyes and says “nite nite”, when he is feeling sensible enough to know he is tired. He’s been imitating more words too — when I asked him if he were “all done” with his meal, he said “all done!”.
Ashland said “Hi, Mom!” when I sat him in his highchair for breakfast! …And I don’t think that he has ever heard anyone say this exact phrase (immi just says “Hi!” and she calls me “mama” and not “mom”) ever.
He also pointed at a sticker of pink cat and said “The Cat!”. …so perhaps Ashland is really starting to talk. Or not, we’ll see!
He’s been imitating new word or two every other day or so. Today, the new one was “Meow”.
It’s about 10 pm here, and Ashland is fast asleep. He goes to sleep around 9pm and wakes up around 8 am. Sometimes he wakes up early in the morning, but I just have to find his pacifier (he’s usually lost it by then) and he goes back to sleep.
We’ve noticed that Ashland is really interested in (and quite good at!) imitating. He has imitated a few words, and some musical rhythms (it’s good enough to be recognizable sometimes now). He also actively engages in interactive play — he tries to help out immi with her project (usually involving organizing smaller objects into various containers), and he initiates playing Tug-of-war. He has also learned to tantalize Miss Monroe with a shoe lace — this makes Miss Monroe go nuts over catching the string’s end and Ashland very happy (I don’t let Ashland play like this with Oskar because he has his front claws intact, I think that the chance of accidental scratch is too high…).
Also, I think that he is starting to recognize some words. When I say “No, Ashland!!” (which is really often…), he looks at me and shakes his head side ways. And when I asked him if it was time to change his diapers, he promptly crawled over to the diaper basket to grab a changing mat.
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