Reed is obsessed with balloons.  As I mentioned previously, we knew he loved balloons, so we had tons of them at his birthday party last weekend.  This also means we have about 15 balloons in his playroom. 

Every night this week when we get home and put him down, the very first thing he does is walk into his playroom and grab two balloons.  Then he proceeds to walk around all night holding both balloons.  He rolls around on them, tries to bite them, shows them to Logan, etc.  He is so attached to these balloons that when we take our nightly walk he takes a balloon with him (I only let him have one) in the stroller and holds it the entire walk.  We really need to take a picture of how he holds it in the stroller.  It’s like the balloon is his best friend ever.  Funny boy.

Reed has successfully changed from a baby to a toddler, almost over night.  He is starting to have opinions and shows us when he is unhappy about something.

Sunday night we were leaving my parents house and when I was putting him in his car seat he looked at me and gave me a pouty face.  Then when I tried to hand him his lion (that he loves) he took his hand and swiped it out of my hand onto the driveway.  The entire drive home he kept the pouty face on.

He did this again when I picked him up from the nanny on Tuesday.  He was playing with Connor and Brody and when it was time to leave he kept walking away from me.  Once again when I put him in his car seat he started to pout and wouldn’t take his car toy.  During the drive home he would scream in short 2 second bursts.  Nothing was wrong, he was just pouting.

This is annoying, but also hilarious.  I’m so excited to see his little personality coming through (even if its bratty at times)

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

Reed has been taking steps since early January, but as of Feb. 13 he is a walker.  He is of course getting better and better everyday and his balance is improving all the time.  It is so fun to watch how proud he is of himself when he walks from one end of the room to the other.  He (as usual) loves for us to watch him and gets so revved up that sometimes he knocks himself down because of his excitement.

He is babbling even more this month but no discernible words yet.  If he is anything like me it’s probably best if he waits a little longer before he talks.  Between the two of us I think we will drive Randy crazy!!

Reed’s 10th month of life was a big one for all of us.  On January 7th he took his first step.  Yes it was during the national championship, and yes he was stepping AWAY from the tv.  Guess he’s a good Ag after all 🙂

During January is also when he started really babbling up a storm.  Some mornings I wake up to the sound of him talking to himself in his crib.  It is such a wonderful, unobtrusive way to wake up.  I only wish every single morning was like that.

He continues to be an incredibly happy child.  He loves to do anything to make us smile at him, which is pretty much anything he does.  One of his favorite tricks is to squint his eyes and smile.  We always pay off with a laugh so he does it all the time.

He has started to be a more picky eater and sometimes just won’t eat his vegetables.  His favorite foods are yogurt (I literally can’t get the spoon in his mouth fast enough when he’s eating yogurt) , fruit and jumbo rice crispies.  If I let him he would live on those few things and nothing else.  On second thought, add black beans to that list.  I have resorted to hiding vegetables in his yogurt.  He will eat the heck out of his peas and carrots if they are mixed in with his yogurt.  Sneaky mommy…

He still loves bath time more than anyone I’ve ever known.  I love it when we start the tub water because no matter where he is he hears it and crawls as fast as possible to the tub.  Then he stands at the tub and lifts his leg to try and get in the water all by himself.  Cracks me up every time.  He also LOVES rubber duckies.  He has a lion duck whose head he shoves in his mouth every chance he gets.

He still goes to the Davis’ house either 3 or 4 days a week to share the nanny with his best friend Brody.  He loves it there so much that some days I wonder if he would rather stay there with Brody than come home.  I tell you, for a working mom there is nothing more wonderful than knowing your child is well taken care of, and totally happy while you are at work everyday.

As for me I was finally able to lose the last of the baby weight.  I still have more weight to lose because I wasn’t in great shape when I got pregnant…but at least its a start!!

Month 10 was a great one.  I just can’t believe he’s almost 1 already.  It truly has been an awesome year.