Monday, September 28, 2015

Killean is O-N-E!

One year old!
Well.  We've arrived at Killean's first birthday.  Some days it felt like a race to get there.  Other days seemed to drag on forever.  Though I think there was a direct correlation to the speed of the day and the amount of sleep to be had the night before.  Killean's first year was so very different than Rowan's first year.  Just a testament to how different these two boys are.

Yup.  Got a new toy for my birthday.
Killean has had a really healthy first year.  We have only had to take him to the doctor once besides his regular check ups.  No ear infections.  No hemangiomas.  No high fevers.  He's been really, really healthy which is a huge blessing.  

Killean had seven teeth as of his first birthday.  He got the 8th one a day or two after his birthday.  I think he has some molars that are trying to come through.  But I also think those molars are going to be coming through for a while.  His gums feel hard and I swear I can feel the tooth, but then the next day it's gone.  Teething gel and teething tablets are our friends.

He figured out how to walk right after the 11 month mark.  And once he started to walk, there was no turning back.  He walks everywhere.  Climbs everything.  And is trying so desperately to go down the stairs.  He hasn't quite figured it out yet-mostly because Ian and I haven't given him the opportunity.  But I'm sure going down the stairs isn't too far off in our future.  

He's not as big of a reader as Rowan is, but if there's a book with flaps or something that moves, he loves it.  He'll want to read the book over and over again because it's just so exciting!  Give him a 'boring' book and he could care less.  but if music comes on, that boy is a moving and a shaking.  

Cake for me
Killean has very few words at this point.  He clearly says 'mama' and it has meaning. But that's about it.  He is jabbering, and we're pretty sure he's talking in Killean language.  We just had no idea what that means.

He still LOVES food.  We've introduced dairy to him and he seems to do just fine.  He loves cheese and yogurt and ice cream.  But one of his favorites is watermelon.  He could eat watermelon all day if we let him.  He is a good eater most meals. 

Yet even though he LOVES to eat, he's a little guy.  He's not quite 20 pounds (10th percentile) and bout 27 inches (25th percentile).  I feel like he's getting skinnier now that he's walking around all over the place, so I guess we'll just have to keep feeding him so he can grow.  Didn't think our boys would be eating us out of house and home at this age, but I guess that's how they roll.

He's slept from 8-4ish a couple of times which is just amazing.  The last few nights though he's woken up around 2ish.  Sometimes he's willing to go back to sleep easily, other times he must nurse.  We're working on completely weaning because frankly, I'm over nursing.  But I think it will be a little while before we can more gently cut him off.  He's only nursing at night now, so that's manageable until I dry up or he gets less attached to the boob.  

Happy birthday baby boy.  You're spunky. Wild. Brave. Adventurous. And full of life.  We love you and everything you bring to our world.



Kind of messy

Rowan is T-H-R-E-E!

3 years old is a ball!
Thomas party
Oh goodness.  Rowan is now 3 years old.  It's hard for me to believe he's that old.  I mean, where did the time go?  Wasn't it just last week that I was pregnant with him? Or bringing him home from the hospital?  But now he's a walking, talking, curious T-H-R-E-E year old.  Crazy!

So what is Rowan up to now that he's three years old.  He's still on the small side of the growth charts at just over 3 feet tall and just under 30 pounds.  I'm not looking forward to winter where we have to wear pants instead of shorts. 2T fits great around the waist but is way to short in the leg.  We'll be wearing shorts as long as possible and then having cinched up waist bands I guess.  

Present overload
Rowan is OBSESSED with Thomas.  He loves the show...the books...the toys.  Everything.  He has probably about 30 different Thomas trains.  He can remember things about Thomas I didn't even know existed.  It's pretty amazing, and a little scary.  But Thomas makes him very happy hence the Thomas themed party

party food train
We can officially say Rowan is potty trained.  He still wears a diaper at night, and probably will for a while.  He will only wake up dry once every two weeks or so.  We still have accidents a couple of times a week too, which is frustrating for all of us.  But we find it's usually tied to when he's distracted doing something or we're too busy to remind him to go to the potty frequently.  Most days though, he's very good at telling us when he needs to go and we make it through the whole day with one pair of underpants.  Thomas underpants, of course.

He's understanding what it means to be kind to others.  He's not always acting that way-sharing can be hard, but more often than not we see a heart of gold in that boy. Some moments he's just so caring and tender with Killean it makes me want to cry.  Other times we're getting after him ALL DAY for being mean.  Lessons that we'll continue to learn I'm sure.

Wishing for another amazing year
He loves to read.  He loves his brother, friends, and cousins. Can't wait to go to school like his big cousin. Loves mac-noodles, chocolate milk, fruit snacks, cheese, bananas, and cauliflower.  Hates watermelon.  (huh? a child that hates watermelon? is that possible?)  He knows what he does and doesn't like as well as what he wants to do.  He's pretty good at expressing himself, when he's not panicking about someone playing with whatever his favorite train is at that moment.

We're seeing him become a bit more confident too.  He is definitely a person that likes to observe before jumping in.  But we're seeing him jump in more than we have before.  Whether it's playing games, singing songs, or telling stories he's participating more and sitting on the sidelines less.

These boys love each other
But above all else, Rowan's FAVORITE pastime is asking questions.  Lots and lots of questions.  "What's this called? What's that do? Where we going? What we doing?" over and over and over again. And no matter the answer, there's always a follow up question.  Ian and I are both glad he's an inquisitive soul, but goodness.  All the questions get old.  I don't think this phase is going away any time soon though.

Rowan lights up our life.  He makes us laugh and challenges us to be patient, kind, and gentle just like we ask of him.  







Love this cheeky little boy