Felix News

We haven't been able to find the camera computer cord to upload the most recent photos of our rapidly growing (and now one-year-old) little Fe, but here's what's new as of late:

• Felix started daycare on March 1st. He goes 2x per week, and is loving playing with his new friends. His daycare provider told us recently that he is a "one year old who thinks he is a two year old". Good thing, because his peers there are all older than him!
  
• He has been climbing up and down stairs, and on and off of chairs, couches, and other things that he should not be climbing on of course. I am always impressed by his sense of balance!
• Though we stopped signing with him regularly because he wasn't signing back, he has started using the signs! He'll flop his hands to say "all done", and touch his fingers together to say "more" (not just for food, but for more singing, more bouncing, etc.), and he's been waving bye-bye, high-five-ing, peek-a-boo-ing, blowing kisses, and tapping his mouth when he wants to "eat" for a while now. Also, he will mimic Oompa gesturing at the fan in his room while making whirring noises.
  
• He's getting closer every day to saying complete words, but for now has been sticking to just monosyllabic declarations (e.g. book, bird, bottle are all "ba").
  
• Felix eats just about everything that we do now, though half of whatever he is eating ends up in his hair, or newly - down his onesie. Guess that's just another way for his food to end up in his diaper!
• Speaking of "thinking he's a two year old" - he has given us a glimpse of the terrible twos, complete with temper tantrums and writhing on the floor when he doesn't get his way.
  

I hope we can find the camera cable soon, so we can show you how big Felix is getting. Stay tuned!

The boy loves books

Felix has always been interested in books, whether they are his board books or our paperbacks/hardcovers, but he has just recently shown more interest in what books contain than in how they taste. He surprised me the other day by bringing me a book and plopping himself in my lap as I sat on the floor. I read him one of his favorites (Chicka Chicka Boom Boom), and he helped me turn the pages, and I even saw him smiling when I delayed on the next to last page (where the big boom boom comes in) because he knew what was coming. He'll flip through books on his own too, pulling a bunch down from the shelf, and then picking from the pile the one that he wants to spend some time with. He seems to never get bored with his book shelf, whereas he does seem to get bored with his toys from time to time. I also notice that with his toys he is constantly distracted by whatever he is not playing with at the moment, but with books, he seems to have a greater focus, and will turn and turn the pages of a book cover to cover without a single glance in any other direction.

Happy face!

Forever fondly facing
Energetic everything
Lovely lashes looking
Interested
X-man.

It's a brand new year!

This January 1st, I resolved to blog more often. I hope I can keep it up! The days off surrounding the holidays have given us ample opportunity to spend time just the three of us, and we have been having a great time! Happy New Year to our loving family and friends - I think 2011 is going to be great!

Sick day

Felix and I were both sick today, fortunately mom was home to wipe noses and feed us. Three cheers for mom. Aside from a scratchy throat and stuffy nose, it was a great day with lots of fun time with Felix. We played, went for a nice autumn walk and stayed in our pajamas nearly all day (the walk would have been a bit weird in my PJs). Even in his slowed state he was a serious handful: crawling, pulling himself up and trying to stand on his own. It is amazing to watch his progress and imagine future Fe and so much fun to soak up every present moment.

Gradually... sunddenly.

Felix continues to reside in the 90th percentile: 18 pounds, 27.5 inches! Though cliched, the phrase, "They grow up so fast," really hits home. Not that I have noticed his exponential growth day-to-day, but on reflection of our time in the hospital and looking at pictures, it is quite shocking to see the difference that is right under my nose. I think I favor the less cliche, though completely banal: "It happened gradually, then all of a sudden." This is preferable to me because it is so applicable to so many aspects of life and can be said without employing a grandmotherly tone while requisite cheek pinching. However you slice it, "Life comes at you fast."

Tap, Tap... Tooth!

We've been singing the Yum, Yum, Yam song (something I made up) lately and Felix has been drinking a bit of water from a metal cup with his meals. Fe is a really good eater and drinker, and when he takes a sip of water from his cup, he will kind of munch on the rim. Just a couple days ago, I heard a tap, tap while he was sipping, and I didn't think much of it until Alex asked "does he have a tooth?" when we heard the tapping together yesterday. I immediately stuck my finger in Fe's mouth to feel for it, and sure enough there was a sharp spot on his gum! We have yet to get a good look at it - just glimpses because every time we try to peer into his mouth or gently pull his chin down, he'll stick out his tongue. I'm surprised that he hasn't been more crabby through this tooth cutting, but I'm not disappointed! I hope they all come in this easily. On another note, the Big Latch On was today, and it was really fun to be in a room full of mamas and babies. Fe latched on right away, and I checked the blog later - Portland had 518 mothers nursing simultaneously!