James: 17 months

Happy 17 months to little James!

Rough daily routine

(still in flux, due to dropping a nap, a cold, new teeth, and some weekends out of the norm for travel/visitors):

7am wake (the last few weeks this has been closer to 6:15 or so, but we leave him in his room until 7... and this morning he didn't wake until 7:20!)

• snuggle in bed for a few minutes
• head downstairs for milk on the couch and a diaper change
• favorite morning activity: snuggle on the couch and read books!  Sometimes we also go out and check on the garden and water all the veggies

8am-8:30ish breakfast (timing of this mostly depends on if we have to leave the house for an appointment or Bible study at a particular time, or if we have a more flexible morning... if I try to feed him breakfast too early, he will.not.eat.anything!)

• refrigerator oats with milk and banana
• whole wheat bagel with cream cheese
• whole wheat toast with almond butter
• O's and fruit (especially if we have to leave before he is ready to eat breakfast - usually for a midwife appointment)

9am until...? brush teeth, wash face, change clothes, another diaper change and leave the house - could be as simple as going for a stroller walk around our neighborhood trails with a pitstop at the playground, or Bible study, story time, a midwife appointment, meeting friends or running errands.  Sometimes we stop at a park midway through the morning to burn off some pent-up James energy

12pm-ish diaper change and lunch - sometimes we are out and we'll eat at Whole Foods (awesome organic hot/cold bar that James will eat a lot of fresh fruit and even some veggies from) or Foster's Market (always a cheddar grilled cheese and fruit salad).  If we're home, I try to vary what he eats, but always a whole grain, veggie and fruit (sometimes protein is offered in the form of beans - currently boycotting - or cheese - currently loves).

1pm nap! (very new, like in the last two days - he was taking his one-nap-a-day at 11am, then closer to noon, and yesterday he didn't go down until after 12:30.  Today, 1pm!)  Sleeps anywhere from 1-3 hours (more often close to 2 hours).

Sometime in the afternoon: wakes from nap (has depended on when he goes down and how long he stays down, of course).  Hopefully this will get a little more predictable so we can use afternoons for appointments and such as we need.  After-nap routine looks similar to morning:

• diaper change
• milk and snuggles on the couch, followed by some sort of snack (current favorite is banana with almond butter or a greens/strawberry/yogurt smoothie)
• usually read a book or two

After his nap we spend our time either running errands (especially if we just went for a walk or story time in the morning) or playing outside.  It's been warmer lately, so many late afternoons/early evenings have been spent in his tiny plastic backyard pool!



5:30pm-6ish dinner time - food choices are similar to lunch

• We try to offer what we are eating, if it is ready early enough (rare.. but happens sometimes!), though he is usually not interested.
• Whole grains (pasta, bread, crackers)
• Veggies (broccoli/spinach smoothies, avocado, sweet potato, broccoli pieces)
• Fruits (any and every kind)
• Cheese or yogurt
• Meat or beans (he absolutely will not consume no matter how delicious it may taste)

6:30pm bath and bedtime routine - I can tell him to go upstairs for a bath, and he will wait at the gate at the bottom of the stairs :) then, I tell him to put all his bath toys in the tub, so he gets them out and throws them in, then in he goes with them!

• lotion (and hydrocortisone lately - heat is eczema's worst enemy)
• night diaper
• PJs
• white noise
• reading a book or 2
• lights out - rock and sing a song or two

7pm bedtime!  He falls asleep easily on his own, with his teddy bear to snuggle with in his crib



Favorite activities

• Play outside! - wander around and pick dandelions, play with his shovel and bucket, explore the recycling bin in the garage :p, swing, play in his mini pool, bubbles, check out the garden
• Look out the windows to see what's happening outside
• Ask to go outside
• (Pretty much anything having to do with outside)
• Reading books - he still loves to do this, and has recently asked to read the same book over and over (the book changes each time, but whatever he picks, he wants it read 5 times in a row)
• Playing with blocks - both stacking and the giant legos
• Pointing out babies (he LOVES babies right now)
• Playing in his "box house" - he will just sit in there with toys or a book :)
• Tickling - he says "ticka-ticka-ticka"
• Walking on the trail in our neighborhood and collecting pine cones - he is still very happy to ride in the stroller, but also loves to walk
• Going down the slide at the playground

New words (I feel like there are more, but I can only remember these):

• outside (ow-siiii)
• Memaw (my mom - sounds like "mama" and he does this click sound with his tongue after it to denote that he means her, not me!)
• Pop (from Stuart's parents visiting this weekend!  More like "pa")
• Up (to be carried)
• Down (when he's done being carried)
• phrases: bye bye dada, mama hat, dada hat

Mobility

He walks all the time now, and only crawls if he can't stoop low enough to get under something (usually our legs up on the coffee table while we sit on the couch).

He does this waddle/trot when he wants to go fast.  It's not quite a run, and he usually falls down when he attempts it, but it is super cute.

Climbs the stairs with ease, and sometimes will put his foot on the next step instead of crawling up on his knees.

Is not climbing anything else yet (not complaining!).

Sometimes attempts to go down stairs backwards, but cannot do this very well.

Easily hops backwards off the couch and other things by himself.  When he does this off our bed, he always falls back, but it doesn't seem to bother him!



Things he hates

• Diaper changes
• Washing his hands with a washcloth after meals (though he loves to wash them in the sink)
• Not being picked up immediately when he says "up"
• Washing his hair in the sink after a particularly messy meal
• Not being outside :)

I am so thankful for the little boy that made me a mama!  We are so proud as we continue to watch him grow into the sweetest little James there ever was.