Keaton is a year old! Where did the time go? I definitely think the time goes faster when you have two. It doesn't seem that long ago that we were rushing to the hospital, and then holding him in our arms a couple hours later! I've said before that with Alexa, I knew from the moment she was born that she was going to be our little troublemaker! Well, I knew with Keaton too that he was going to be my little sweetheart! He was perfect in the hospital right after I had him, sleeping most of the time but content the rest of the time. He's starting to become a little more vocal now and I can see a little bit of mommy's attitude shining through :-), but for the most part, he's still such a sweet little guy. He smiles all the time and is pretty friendly to everyone too (unlike sissy!).
We had a birthday party for him with family and friends over Labor Day weekend. We had a great turnout and luckily the weather held off. The theme was a tailgate and everyone dressed in their favorite sports team attire. Of course the house was decorated in orange and blue, even though he doesn't know yet that he's an Illini/Bears fan :-) He got so many great gifts! I think Alexa liked them just as much as Keaton did! Although it's hard finding a place for all the new toys, I love getting them because the kids get bored with the same old toys!
Here's some pics from his birthday party:
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| One of their favorite toys! |
On Keaton's actual birthday (9/6) we started the day with a birthday doughnut. Then he got one his favorite lunch foods, mac n cheese. For dinner, we made one his other favorite foods, hamburgers. Then for the cake, I made angel food cake with strawberries, another favorite of his. It was delish! Here's some pics from his birthday day:
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| Birthday doughnut! |
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| Lexi helping to blow out the candle |
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| Birthday mac n cheese! |
Here are some of the other things he's been up to the past month:
Sippy Cups: We started using sippy cups instead of bottles around the time he was 10 months old. He did fairly well with the transition but he would never hold the cups on his own. We'd always have to hold them for him (he never held his bottle either). About a month ago I decided he should be holding the cup on his own by now so I tried to train him. It didn't go so well the first couple of times and he just got frustrated because he wanted some milk! Then all of the sudden one day I set the cup in front of him and he picked it up all on his own. Now that's the only way he wants it. If we try to hold it for him he snatches it out of our hands (that's the mommy attitude I was referring to earlier). Unfortunately one of his favorite games is to launch the sippy cup after he's finished taking a drink. And when I say launch, I literally mean launch. He doesn't just drop it...he chucks it so it goes flying across the room, milk splattering everywhere. I've been trying to teach him not to do this but that's not going so well. So in the meantime, Brian and I take turns playing catcher at every meal. At least he has a good arm ;-)
Teeth: Last update Keaton had 3 bottom teeth, and 2 popping through on the top. He now has 4 bottom teeth and 2 that are completely through on the top with 2 more poking through. As I expected, those two top teeth are huge! I think Lexi's might have been the same way and they look pretty normal now, so I guess his face just has to grow into them :-)
Mama: I hate to admit it, but Keaton's first word was "Dada", same as Lexi. He didn't repeat it over and over though like Lexi did when she was his age. I kept trying to get him to say "mama" but he never would. Then, just like Lexi, he started saying it when he was cranky, hurt, or tired. It's like a really long drawn out "mmmmmaaama." Oh well, I'll take it :-)
Walking Progress: About 11 months is when Keaton took his first steps. I looked back at the blog for Lex and it took her about 5 weeks after her first steps to start walking well. Keaton's a little more laid back though, so I expected it would take him longer and I was right. He's doing much better and makes more progress everyday but he's still hesitant to walk without being prompted. He can walk farther distances between Brian and I or between me and the couch/chair/etc. and seems to be getting steadier. But I'm thinking we still have a few more weeks before he's walking full-time. He's such a fast crawler that I think he prefers this method of getting around. Once he realizes he can go faster walking I think he'll just take off.
