Handmade by Linds...Introducing the offspring: October 2015

He looks so grown up here!

If you ask me, one of the best parts of raising little humans you've helped create, is watching their little personalities evolve and picking out physical and character traits that take after you or daddy that make you think, "yep, that child is definitely mine/yours/ours." One thing that Andrew does that is SO from me is I'll wave his blankie in front of his face and tease him and say "you want your blaaaaankieeee?" Then I'll toss it to him and he'll bury his face in it, or lay his head down on it for a moment and give it a big sniff and sigh. It makes me laugh every time. I totally do that with stuff that's important to me. Heck I bury my face into THEM and sniff. One thing my sis-in-law Leah had said one day when Eli, aged 1 1/2, had offered her a sniff of his blankie was "mmm, smells like home and comfort!" and now that has become a common saying around here. Ha ha. So thanks Leah for hitting the nail on the head! No truer words have ever been spoken about the beloved blankie. Now that Andrew is out of the baby stage (insert emotional mess here), and entering the toddler stage, these mommy/daddy physical/character traits are really becoming apparent and it's so fun!

So onto our stats from our one year well visit...

Size:Just like Eli, he's turning into my string bean. I don't quite get it when they are both bottomless pits but this kid only weighs 20lbs (a pound more than Eli was) and is 28 3/4 inches long (Eli was longer though at 30 1/2 inches.) But I think that's why he looks fuller than Eli did even though it's only a pound difference, because it's a pound more on a person almost 2 inches shorter who's short to begin with so it makes a difference! Ha ha. Still on target with 12-18month clothes.

Likes: Being held, his blankie, momma, food, going down steep slides on someone's lap, climbing things, putting things in and out of buckets, his brother (I'll often times here him yelling "EEEEE-EYE...?" on the baby monitor or in the car looking for him) baths, playing in water and stealing toys from Eli.

Dislikes: Lying still for diaper changes, being laid down to nap if he's "not ready", having his hair fixed, getting washed up after eating, running out of food to eat, and having anything taken out of his death grip.

Feeding: Well it was a sad day here in the Scicluna household last Thursday when mommy and daddy returned home from a glorious and much needed get-a-way to Napa Valley and Andrew decided he didn't want to nurse anymore. *Ugly cries.* He showed no signs of being ready to wean before I left but had since made up his mind he was done by the time I came back. I'm not ready to be done nursing and I'm not ready for him to be done with breast milk. I LOATHE pumping and now I'm stuck doing that, as sucky as it is because i suppose in the back of my mind I'm still hoping he'll come to his senses and take it back up. Ha ha. But I doubt it since it's been over a week now. So sad. I nursed Eli for 2 years and had plans to do the same for Andrew (at least let him lead anyways. Like I said, he didn't seem ready to be done) I don't know if I have it in me to pump for another WHOLE year but I am stubborn when it comes to breast milk and its benefits for babies and toddlers so I'll have to, as depressing as that thought is. So if you're the praying kind, please pray that my "baby" comes back around. Other than that, the kid eats constantly and eats everything. I thought my grocery bill was bad with just Eli :( I feel like I need to shop ALL THE TIME and I have less time and opportunity to do it! Faves include, all finger food appropriate fruits, cheerios, toast, yogurt, oatmeal, beets, eggs, muffins and mommy's homemade veggie filled meatballs.

Sleeping: It seems I swapped one bad thing for one good thing. He doesn't nurse anymore but at least he sleeps through the night! Lately he's even been sleeping in until 8am! It's been glorious for this night owl momma. Eli will get up early and go occupy himself until I ~~drag my butt out of bed~~ get up but when a baby wakes up early, you're kind of forced to be a responsible parent and tend to them, ha ha. I'll occasionally hear him on the monitor talking or stirring at about 6 or 6:30am but then he puts himself back to sleep. I mentioned last month how I planned to push his nap time back until noon when Eli was in school so I could get Handmadebylinds related business stuff done and I'm happy, no strike that, ELATED to report that it's working out as planned! **Happy dance** He now naps while Eli is in school and I've been crazy productive. My next plan is to tweak cousin Liam's nap time from 2pm down to noon as well so ~~his nap doesn't ruin our plans to get together and out of the house after school and in general works better for MY schedule~~ we can coordinate. :)

Milestones:He's taken a breather on teething so no new teeth to report. He hasn't officially started walking yet either but daddy texted me while I was at work the other day to say he took 2 solo steps by himself. But the nurse in me says if it wasn't documented (by video) it wasn't done. He's a helluva climber though, let me tell ya! Gotta watch him constantly. Other than that, nothing noteworthy to report here really.