Daniel got 5 more shots this month during his 12 month visit. Two in each leg and an oral vaccine. Needless to say he was NOT a happy camper. Additionally, he had to have a blood draw to rule out anything concerning. So he got lots of pokes that day, poor guy! It was good we had the test though, as it was determined that he is actually anemic. So now we've been giving him iron drops (I feel terrible because they taste SO SO horrible, but its the most efficient way to get it into him), and trying to get him to eat more red meat and iron fortified things. Its hard though because he prefers chicken over beef, and wont eat much cereal or bread and the only veggie he really loves are peas. So we are doing the best we can. We have a follow up blood draw next month where we will see if any of our efforts have paid off!
These days Daniel mostly prefers Michael over me (except when hes hungry), and he gets SO excited when Michael comes home from work. He will often throw a big fit if he knows that Michael is home and he doens't get to be held by him right away. The other day Michael came home from a bike ride and Daniel was with me, nursing. His back was to the door so he didn't see or hear Michael come in. But the minute I said, "hi sweetie!' he whipped his head up and around so fast I thought he was going to strain his neck, then got down and crawled as fast as he could to Michael. Apparently he knows that I call Michael 'sweetie' and was not going to miss his opportunity to get some dad time! If Michael comes in the door and doesn't at least acknowledge or pick Daniel up, he also has a fit over that. 
On the physical front, Daniel can go up and down stairs really fast now on his belly. He likes to slide down like a park slide, as fast as he can. Walking is just around the corner too as he has taken up to 14 steps and practices a little more every day! I don't remember the other kids taking quite this long (from first steps to fully walking), to master walking, but he is slowly getting it. I can't WAIT to be done with the crawling stage. Goodbye dirty hands and knees!
One funny thing we've noticed, is that he poops really loudly. Its super obvious whenever he is doing it, because he suddenly stops all activity (and the boy is constantly moving), and starts grunting REALLY loudly. Like hes trying to expel a brick or something (spoiler: hes not!). Michael and I always catch each other's eyes and laugh every time because its so funny how babies and small kids just have no shame!
Daniel is also really fascinated with balls and containers. Specifically he likes to put balls into containers and then take them back out again repeatedly. He also like to play with containers and their lids. Hes surprised me a few times by being able to get a twist top off of an empty vitamin bottle and being able to put the lid back on an empty yogurt container. He is also starting to love cars just like Will. Hes gets so excited when he sees Will's hotwheel cars. He will grab one in each hand and zoom them along on the floor. He especially loves when Will is also playing hotwheels next to him. Then he feels like a really big kid!
He LOVES the tomato plants we have growing on the patio. One of his favorite outdoor activities is to crawl over to the tomato bush, and pick and eat as many cherry tomatoes as he can. Sadly he does not like tomatoes, so he ends up spitting the pulp and seeds everywhere and its a huge mess all over him and the ground. Hes such a little stinker! His other favorite outdoor activity is playing in the sandbox. He will crawl over to it and sit right in the middle and play with the sand toys in there. I love that he can play quietly by himself for surprisingly long periods of time, for a young baby.
Suddenly he can understand a lot of what we say and can follow simple directions. I find myself speaking to him more and more like I do to the other kids, because I know he knows what I am saying. He also recently said his first real word - ball (which was one of Wills first words too!). Of course he has been babbling 'bye bye' and 'mama' for a while now, but this is the first time I've asked him if he can say a word, and he repeated it back to me perfectly clearly. Daniel is trying as hard has he can to be a big kid these days. He mimics us (but especially his older siblings) as often as possible. Whether its using a plate at meal times, or sitting up in a real chair by himself, he does his best to act big and capable. Its really cute to see and its so nice to think that he is becoming ever more independent by the day. He still loves his milk and snuggles and puppy, but he is starting to become a real toddler at last!
Comments
Post a Comment