Boyd - 13 months

My sweet boy is 13 months old.

I had a dream last night that someone was threatening Boyd and I totally went into crazy protective mode. Like have you ever seen a mama moose stomp something in order to defend her offspring? That's how I felt during this dream. And that's how I feel in real life. If someone or something ever tried to hurt Boyd, I would lose it. I'm like that with Risha too. Years ago, some guy yelled at her when we were in a bar - I got up in his face and yelled right back. The look on his face was priceless. I'm pretty easy going and sweet, but get on my bad side and suffer the consequences.

Anyways, the updates...

• Boyd is walking a few steps by himself. Very wobbly but we're practicing. And he's so excited to walk! Lots of giggles and laughs when stumbling into our arms. I also love seeing him slowly make his way along the coffee table or kitchen wall - one or both hands providing balance.
• Loves sledding and is very good about wearing his sunglasses - possibly because he knows it means we're going outside? Did you know that most of the sun damage to eyes happens when we are kids? So I'm glad he's patient with wearing eye protection. 
• He'll place items into containers when I ask him to. Would much prefer to knock things over and drop them on the ground though.
• A couple times per week he's been napping only once per day. I wonder if he's moving towards dropping one nap. On one-nap days, he is exhausted by 6:15 or 6:30 p.m. (bedtime usually begins at 7 p.m., with sleep by 7:25). On the whole, nighttime sleep is excellent.
• We all make sure to say "please" and "thank you" to Boyd so he learns good manners.
• His stranger danger is diminishing but still prefers women to men. 
• We continue to name things and increase his comprehension of objects. He knows certain words really well, e.g. book, feet, mama, dada, grandma, kitty, puppy, etc. - all the basics. 
• Two baby molars have arrived. He's starting to bite me again at the end of nursing sessions.
• We called the doctor this weekend after noticing a quarter-sized red spot and little raised bump on Boyd's thigh. It is going away and the doc says it was most likely a localized reaction to the varicella (chicken pox) vaccine.
• I read books every night to Boyd before bed and he has taken to holding the books himself and flipping through the pages.
• On Monday, Boyd and I will attend a Music Together demo class with Risha and one of the girls she nannys for. It's a local music program that offers 6-8 week classes for children. It's great that they offer these demos to figure out if it's something that will work for your kid, especially since the package runs something like $150. 

I'm experimenting with a new iPhone app - PicFrame - which lets me consolidate similar photos into one frame and add captions. I'm liking it so far...

This weekend was absolutely breathtaking - blue skies, warm temperatures, minimal wind. I went out twice with Boyd to stroll around our neighborhood. He's wearing a new hat from the Gap, warm layers, a snowsuit and a Tuffo Muddy Buddy. The Muddy Buddy is waterproof so I don't have to worry about snow melting all over him.

We had to go through security at some place last weekend and D placed Boyd in one of the bins after we gathered our stuff. The security guards were so nice and didn't even mind when we took a few moments to take photos.

Baby loves bath time.

Da plane!

Last week I (and some of my coworkers) headed up to the roof of my building, 7 stories up, to watch a FedEx Boeing 727 land at Merrill Field. Merrill is technically a small plane airport, which is why everyone made a big deal of this event. KTUU Channel 2 story here.

FedEx donated two 727's to the University of Alaska aviation department (one to the Anchorage campus, the other to Fairbanks) and since the plane is so huge, it couldn't be trucked/hauled from the International Airport to Merrill Field. The landing had to be done while the ground was frozen to avoid damage to the runway.

The 727 flew over Cook Inlet, then Ship Creek and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. It turned to pass over the Northway Mall and land on runway 25, which runs parallel to 5th Avenue.

It was definitely an experience, watching the huge plane fly low over the city and make two passes over the runway before landing on the 3rd attempt! I'm mildly afraid of heights, so I didn't get too close to the edge of the roof. Still, it was AWESOME to see my city from up there, at a 360 degree angle. 

Looking south, and towards our house. Waiting for the takeoff from Ted Stevens Int'l Airport, which is more to the right (west) in this photo.

Merrill Field there in the background.

I think this was the first pass-through.

It got so low we thought it would land...

Taking off again.

Landing.

View of downtown Anchorage.

Boyd - 12.5 months

**I spent about 30 minutes updating this post last Friday and went to publish when Blogger sent an error message and my whole post disappeared! So frustrated. Now I'm trying to remember what I wrote...**

Boyd received 4 shots at his1-year appointment and was NOT happy about it! His growth stats are right on track, as usual. For weight he is right around the 55th percentile - meaning 45% of boys his age weight more than he does. For height he is in the 90th percentile, which makes me happy. Statistically he should be fairly tall in the future, since D is over 6 feet and I am 5'5". 

• Boyd has been saying "mama" for a few weeks now. Finally! Still says "dada every once in a while. No other discernible words yet, just a lot of babbling and sometimes shrieking.
• He likes to lay his head down on pets, toys and sometimes us - just being very affectionate in general.
• He will put his arm out and push it through when we say it's time to put a coat on or get dressed.
• I took him to a friend's house for a monthly play date and he was in heaven. He needs more interaction and socialization with other kids, I think At Costco and the grocery store he is fascinated by other kids. 
• Also at our monthly play date/mama brunch, Boyd would giggle anytime the adults would laugh. And at home, he thought it was hilarious when the cat chased around the laser dot in the living room.
• Standing for longer periods, and has been taking a few unassisted steps here and there.
• He enjoys giving us items and "sharing" (and then wanting them back immediately!).
• Along those same lines, he likes to feed us finger foods. Very generous baby.
• Pulling his own hair - the pediatrician says this is fairly normal and we should distract him when it happens.
• I noticed that Boyd has small bumps on the back of his arms. According to the doc it could be keratosis pilaris. Nothing serious, but we are supposed to apply creme after bathing.
• I taught him the ET game - when I stick my pointer finger out and say "ET," he touches it with his first finger.
• We've had a couple rough nights last week and we think Boyd is teething again - this time with the first set of baby molars. I was up for 2 hours on Wednesday night and almost 3 on Thursday. Poor kiddo was in pain and couldn't sleep. He got some homeopathic teething tablets and a half dose of Tylenol, and finally fell asleep around 3 a.m. And then on Sunday night he was very constipated and upset for close to 3 hours. It's tough to be a baby!
• He has gotten the hang of sippy cups, food pouches and these reusable Sili Squeeze pouches that I found. Getting a little more picky about what he eats, but mostly that happens when he is getting full. I'm still surprised at the variety of foods that he'll try (and like!)

I love these Sleep & Play outfits and will be pretty sad when he outgrows them. They're so practical when we're at home or he is with my mom during the week. No worries about losing socks or his shirts riding up. When we leave the house I dress him in regular clothes, but you can't beat Sleep & Plays at home.

I broke down and purchased a Pillow Pet, and of course Boyd loves the thing. He cuddles "Mr Owl" by leaning down and rubbing his face it.

His new favorite activity - emptying out drawers, bags, bins, etc.

This photo touches my heart, with Boyd's little belly sticking out. And I love how his bottom lip sticks out when he is concentrating on something.

Raccoon pants!

Someone is supposed to be sleeping in this picture.

This is the only way I can get ready in the morning - by letting him empty out my toiletry cabinet.

Keeping Daddy company while the driveway gets shoveled. Risha and I went to meet with her wedding photographer last Saturday and when she dropped me off, Boyd was sitting in the snow like this.

Wheeeee!

Sharing with the puppy. He will give Drift all sorts of things.

Valentine's Day 2013

For Valentine's Day, my two favorite guys took me out for a special dinner at one of my all time favorite Italian restaurants in Anchorage, Romano's. Even better, we had a gift card to use up (won last year at D's union Christmas party). Turns out the card had expired (whoops!) but the manager very kindly honored the amount.

Boyd did pretty well at dinner - some minor fussiness due to hunger but all in all, we were pretty proud of him. Especially when we heard and saw a little girl screaming her head off before we left. Yikes!

Hanging out in the highchair, sporting his fancy Carhartt overalls.

In a pinch, keys always work as a baby distraction.

And as promised, here are a few iPhone photos of Boyd in his new Korean outfit. Love the hat.

Boyd - 1st birthday

Gabe's camera is awesome! Even a photography novice like myself can take halfway decent images.Gabe and Risha took most of these but I snapped the ones during the cake-eating extravaganza.

My mom and her friends cooked and prepped all morning. The food was delicious! The only way it could have been better is if my Auntie was here to cook - she makes the best Korean food.

Boyd borrowed a traditional Korean outfit for his 1st birthday party. Since then, my mom's friend Yonsil sent him the most beautiful (and expensive) custom outfit, complete with hat and booties. Will have those photos later.

Boyd had an array of symbolic items to choose from and he chose the thread (long life). Next he went for the money (success). Go Boyd!

"I am 1!"

Playing with the hammer from his new tool set, courtesy of Uncle Gabe and Auntie Risha.

Two identical birthday cards! He received many generous gifts - toys, clothes and money for his savings account.

His first birthday cake. I also made cupcakes and cake pops for everyone else.

He wasn't quite sure what to make of this situation.

Once he realized we were going to let him do whatever he wanted, it was GAME ON.

Pretty dainty. No big time cake smashing like we expected.

This was the largest piece he went for. I was worried about him sleeping later that night (since this was the most sugar he had EVER had) but he was fine.

LOVE this photo.

The post-cake bath with Auntie Risha.

Thanks for checking out the photos - quack quack!

Boyd -12 months

A year ago, D and I got up super early to head to the hospital for my scheduled induction. I remember being nervous and a little scared of what was to come, but ever so excited to meet our newest family member. We had no idea what we were in for over the next 12 months! You can read about the birth experience here.

We held a small birthday party last weekend - some photos below. Boyd did really well - smiled like a champ for the camera, took a short nap halfway through the festivities and got up for more partying, and was pretty well behaved.

Updates:

• Boyd has his 1-year appointment on Monday, February 25th. Can't wait to see his stats! He'll also have to get quite a few vaccinations - poor baby.
• We saw him clapping his hands together for the first time this week.
• He still smiles after sneezing- happy kid!
• It's marginally better during diaper changing time, but he would still rather squirm around and be upright.
• Mealtimes are hit or miss around here. Sometimes he'll eat the pureed foods, no problem - and other times they'll end up all over his bib and clothing after he has spit them out. I suspect he prefers finger foods now. Which is fine because we try to feed him whatever we're eating for most meals, minus anything really salty or sugary.
• I shouldn't be surprised by the fact that his first molars are coming in already. He has been way ahead of the curve with all of his teeth, e.g. 8 teeth by 9 months.

Here are a few of my iPhone photos from his Saturday birthday party. Risha and Gabe have quite a few more on their fancy Canon, so I'll post those at a later date...

Traditional Korean outfit for special occasions - birthday, New Year

His shirt says "I am 1"

Yeah, CAKE! He didn't tear into it like I thought he would. Mostly it was dainty little bites and he just picked at the cake

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