Beantown Bugle: Roddie Report: Coming up on a Year!

I’m often caught by surprise by the fact that Roddie is no longer a baby, but a toddler. I mean sure, I can see that he’s getting ready to start walking and all, but I forget that he’s also starting to “talk” in his own way, and is really starting understand more and more. When Norah was this age, and we had only her, I was very in tuned with every new thing she did, watching and tracking against all the books and on-line lists. With Roddie, two things are at play – first, we’ve been there done that. Not to say we’re not excited or paying attention to what he’s doing, but we’ve seen it all before, and we know he’ll reach each milestone in his own time – no matter what we do! Second, we still have Norah! 2 kids are better than one, to be sure! However, it means you can rarely, if ever, focus 100% of your attention on one.

So, as he approaches his 1st birthday in a week or so, I thought it was time for an update of his latest accomplishments

Walking: He’s making steady progress, to the point it could be any day now – but we’ve been saying that for weeks. Due to his 2nd child status, we haven’t been working him hard like we did Norah, and with no Papa on hand to walk him around the house, he’s doing it in his own time. He can stand on his own, though he gets so excited about it that he falls over! He can also walk by holding on to only one hand. This morning, it looked like he was going to forget he wasn’t holding my hands and take a step. He’s that close.
Teeth: Over the past couple of weeks his lopsided grin has straightened out with the arrival of teeth #7 and #8. He was stuck on 3 top and 3 bottom for a while (with the 3rd on opposite sides) so now he’s got an even 4x4 grin – though if the amount of drool is any indication, more teeth are not far behind!
Eating: I’ve been mildly concerned, on and off, about Roddies eating habits, but I think we’ve settled into a good place. He’s still not interested in feeding himself any fruits and a rare few veggies (seems he doesn’t care for the texture) but he has been feeding himself a wide variety of proteins and carbs – anything crispy, this kid loves. I’ve been able to keep his diet balanced with fruit and veg purees for now, but we keep trying! He’s also taking an interest in feeding himself. Yesterday at school I peeked in on him after I dropped Norah off. He was eating a bowl of cereal. With milk. And a spoon! I was excited for him and he was looking pretty pleased with himself as well! By my estimate he’s packed on a couple of lbs since we were last in for a sick visit 6 weeks or so ago.
Bottles: We’re down to 2 bottles a day – one in the afternoon at school and one at bedtime. The rest of the day he gets milk in his sippy cup. He’s long mastered the sippy, but he seemed to still want the comfort of the bottle at times. We’re going to have a tough time at some point taking away the bed time bottle, but we won’t be the first, nor the last, to rely on this fool-proof bedtime tool! The good thing is he actually is awake most times when I put him down after his bottle, so hopefully simply adjusting the routine will do it.
Sleeping: More often than not, he’s sleeping all night, until at least 5:30. He gets a bum change and maybe a bottle and will usually go back down. Today both kids slept until 6:30 or so, and we went straight to breakfast.
Talking: We’re starting to hear things pretty consistently that sound like Norah, and uh-oh as well as Mamamamama and Dada which he has mastered for some time. I’ve started trying to pay a little more attention to his verbal development, just to see where he’s at. I am sure with the constant activity all around him he’s picking up plenty of words for future use.
Playing: This kid loves vehicles! Anything with wheels! He likes to push them around, crawling alongside. I’ve also noticed recently that he seems to like playing ball games. I sat with him on the deck last weekend and rolled a soccer ball back and forth with him and he seemed to understand what was happening – chasing the ball and hitting it to send it back to me. The same thing happened today with a tennis ball. On a related note, we’ve started playing this game where he hands me something. I take it, then hand it back to him. For whatever reason he gets a charge out of this routine. Norah says that I am teaching him sharing.
Climbing: Oh my, he loves to climb! Up on to Norah’s bed, EVERY morning! Up on her stool to see what’s on the sink (sometimes when she is also standing on it, not always a good move!) He’s using the smaller, plastic climber in the back yard.
Pushing: This kid is looking like a power lifter or something! He can push Norah in the stroller or wagon! And he loves to push ANYTHING – chairs, any kind of large toy, you name it! He also seems to know intuitively how to leverage his body for maximum push – clearly not something we’ve taught him!
Sensitive Soul: Roddie is definitely the more sensitive of the two kids. Sometimes, when I issue a sharp “No!” Rod will stop what he’s doing, the lower lip will come out into a pout and he may even cry. This is a sharp contrast to Norah, who would give me an evil grim and continues on her way.
Annoying his big sister: Clearly this was bound to happen sooner or later. Norah is very good at sitting and playing at something quietly, and Rod is at a stage where he is very curious and also enamoured with his big sister – so he almost immediately toddles over to see what she’s up to. Norah has some patience with him as she starts off with a “No THANK you ROD!” though obviously she does get frustrated at times. I’m trying to let them work it out among themselves for the most part, though, as an oldest myself I also try to set Norah up for some Rod-free time once in a while as well.

So, all in all, our little man is doing just what he’s supposed to be and continuing to bring joy to us all! Here’s a few pics to bring a few smiles to you too!