This was a big month of changes for Reed. On the development side, he has pushed out around 6 teeth in the span of only 3 weeks! He’s been a constant drooler, as seen by the constant ring around his neckline of any shirt he wears. He is also pushing his limits on stairs by taking little steps up without the aide of a handhold or even bending over to step up. He is doing the same thing going down little steps, but that is a little uneasy for us to watch since it is inevitable he will bite it one time… but he IS pretty resilient.

The biggest change for Reed this month was his move from the nanny to full-time daycare. We had already discussed the change for the fall, but the nanny’s own situation had changed where she would need to leave by 4:45pm everyday. That just wasn’t going to work for either of us working parents, so we had to jump on the situation and find what was available. Luv ‘N Care is literally right across the street from our neighborhood. It was our first choice of 3 options, and they had an immediate opening for his age range. We made the move and gave the notice to the nanny that we would be leaving after one more week. The nanny was very sad to see Reed go, but we took pictures of her and the boys, and framed them for a “thank you” gift to her.

We also had to inform Granny B about the change… you see she has grown quite accustomed to watching her first grandchild about once a week, so we knew this was going to be the hardest bombshell to drop. Her response: “Well, you are not paying me, so couldn’t you just keep bringing him here one day a week?” Not so fast, Mom…. I mean Grandma…. sorry. She did understand and knew it wouldn’t last forever…. but then she can always just wait for the next one to come around.

RB

Month 12 has been quite an exciting one with Reed. Walking, curiosity and a short attention span add-up to non-stop entertainment around the house. We swear that he is walking for the sake of walking as he meanders through the house and changes direction sometimes in mid-stride. Those that have dangled cowbells on their toddlers to always know where they are… I can see the logic now… if he is not babbling as he wanders, it’s always a guess if he is standing right behind you.

As for recent changes, we have stopped giving him a pacifier, except when we put him down to bed. We had to team up with the other family that he shares a nanny with so that he wouldn’t have that influence from the other boy either. It turns out it has been quite a success for both boys and we are glad he is not dependent on it.

We have also cut WAY back on bottles. We have not given him a bottle in the morning in several months, but recently stopped relying on them at night to put him down. Instead, a sippy-cup of whole milk and a pacifier, and he is content. He will usually babble for a while in his crib after we have put him down, but give him about 10 minutes and he is out. We’ll go back in to cover him up in whatever funny position he ended up in (usually knees tucked under in the corner, but lately has been using something as a pillow).

He is showing his (mother’s) personality at the dinner table now (hehe). When he does not want something he will scrunch his face and push it away. The same goes for when he is tired of eating a particular food and is ready for something else. Nothing pissed Julie off more than when he  started spitting something out intentionally. He prefers to feed himself (of course), and also knows that Logan will scoop up anything he throws down.

Now for the birthday party…

Most that know Julie, know that she loves hostessing. How much more special of an occasion can you get than your firstborn’s first birthday party?! It’s a right of passage that every new mother gets to plan it, and planning means thinking of the theme MONTHS in advance… or is that just Julie? I’m not sure… Whatever the case, it was very important to her to and she took it on: the cake, the cupcakes, the decor, the goodies, the invitations… all handmade.

The theme: Bath Time (Reed’s favorite part of the day). Rubber duckies everywhere! We had balloons for decor since Reed carries them around whenever possible. We used bubbles as accents, including bubble wrap as place-mats!

We invited all the boys that were born on either side of Reed. Three of the four boys were born within 2 weeks of each other in Dec 2008. It was amazing to see their differences in development, as well as see them all thrown into our playroom to duke it out (for our entertainment of course). I truly hope that these boys stay friends through the years… how cool would it be to see them grow up together!

The party was a success and we have made a full recovery. Julie did a great job and the cake tasted perfect! We are equally excited that it is over now, but it’s bittersweet since it is likely the last party we will throw in this house.

-RB & J

Lots of women say they “like football”. Many of them even have a favorite team. Julie, however, is in a league that few women could claim.

We went over to a friend’s house earlier this year to watch the UT-Texas Tech game. It was a prime time game, so Reed made it through 3 quarters and was ready for bed. We packed up and headed home to catch the final quarter.

Now, we had been watching the game on a nice 52″ flat screen TV. The picture was crisp and clear, and the field had never looked so green. This was not the case when we got home. It was as if Julie had actually seen a side-by-side comparison, and said, “Our TV sucks!” I, of course, knew this already, but we don’t watch a lot of TV in our house so it was never a priority to us. All that seemed to go out the window in an instant.

We started talking about upgrading and that Christmas was coming up. We had gone this long without it, why not wait just a little bit more? Julie’s response to that was one that I will treasure for a long time (and validated one of the reasons I married her!) Instead of opting for any logical reason to wait, she said…. “I just don’t want the entire football season to go by without a new TV!”

I kissed her immediately. Best… Wife… Ever.

RB

It’s been about 2 weeks since Reed first let go of whatever he was holding onto while he was standing up. Both of us were there to see it happen and we were ecstatic to say the least. It kinda freaked him out like when he gets scared at sporting events when everyone starts screaming, but we calmed him pretty quick and let him know that we were happy about what he did. The kid loves the spotlight, so once he caught on that it got him even MORE attention, he never looked back.

Now, he almost always stands up against something with the intention of letting go… and it’s usually in one fluid motion, no pause. Once he lets go, he holds his hands way out and the smile goes from ear to ear. Then he starts exciting himself and usually looses his balance at that point. He’s certainly not afraid of falling down anymore, as he is getting MUCH braver and taking more risks during transitions. Julie says she saw him take a step, but almost by accident since he came crashing down after it.

We know it’s only a matter of time before those first real steps. I’m actually wondering if it will be before the new year!!

-RB

Reed has started to show a lot of favoritism to his left hand when he grabs toys and then shakes them up and down in excitement. He almost always does this with his left hand, and has even shifted an item from his right to his left only to then shake it up and down.

We know it is very early to tell, as we have heard that this kind of development isn’t usually significant until about 12 months, but we also know that “lefthandedness” runs in both families. However, I think Reed would be the first MALE lefty. We shall see….

RB

We started with the nanny, Kelsey, about 2 weeks ago. She speaks about as much English as I do Spanish, so it is a challenge when I don’t have either one of the other couple there to translate for us. However, she is great with the kids and took to Reed immediately. (who wouldn’t?)

Anyway, Kelsey took Reed into the play room on the first morning that Julie and I dropped him off. Without even asking what he was capable of, she set him on the ground and sat behind him. He was sitting all on his own!! Julie and I were dumbfounded because we had not even TRIED to sit him up yet, and here he was, sitting all on his own (although very wobbly still)! Needless to say we were immediately pleased with Kelsey even though she really had not done anything yet… I guess it was just a realization that allowing Reed to have other influences in his life was going to make him grow in ways that we would not have done ourselves.

Now, with this new found independence, when we set Reed on the ground, there is a good chance he is going to get SUPER excited and squeal at the top of his lungs. Most of the time it’s so bad it makes him cough. I swear he is going to lose his voice over it sometime. He is certainly more entertaining and interactive when he is sitting on his own.

-RB