Alder Jacob {11 Months}

Month 11 with Alder was all about continuing to see his personality come out in big ways. This kid, you guys. He is strong and mighty and very opinionated. Good thing he can communicate with us so well. He is always pointing to things that he wants (this food, not this one, that book, this toy, etc.) and his vocabulary has exploded! He has also started giving his brother a piece of his mind. Haha. The words he is saying will definitely tell you somethings about him...Mama (duh), Pup Pup (his stuffed puppy), Pooh (he is obsessed with Pooh Bear), Bye Bye, BOOK (he requests books constantly), Uh-oh (he is always dropping things off his high chair tray) and then he of course can say most of his favorite foods-Apple, Nana, Puff (as in a cheese puff).

So, back to the "M word"...he has a very clear and focused Mama radar. When Drew takes the boys downstairs so I can cook dinner, he stands at the bottom of the steps and yells "Mama!" When I actually get to shower with the door closed aka the weekend when Drew is home, he stands outside the door and yells "Mama!" When he runs out of food and is still hungry, he yells "Mama!" I can't help but love how much he loves his Mama.

He is getting a lot more physical with Aiden. They love to roughhouse (typical boys) and chase each other around the house (Alder is a super quick crawler) but he is not just sitting back and smiling anymore when Aiden does something he doesn't like. He will now push Aiden or even grab a chunk of his hair and grunt. He gets this wild look in his eyes, grits his teeth and clenches his fists. When that happens, RUN. Haha. Regardless of his newly developed attitude, he continues to go with the flow of our busy lives, is great with change and is such a sweetheart. He still loves giving anything and everything "pat pats" including Mama and Dada, his brother, the cats and all his toys. And his little sweet, satisfied face right before I put him in his bed at night makes me tear up every single time. He blesses me in such big ways.

This month Alder went sledding for the first time (and second and third time), he also graduated out of the baby tub, started drinking out of a cup with a straw, had his first smoothie, celebrated his Dada turning 34, had his first taste of ice cream and had some fun playdates.

A few stats about Alder at eleven months: 

Weight: ?

Height: ?

Size clothes: He is in 12 month clothes and is wearing so many of my favorite old outfits of Aiden's!

Sleeping: He still loves to take naps in his swing. I really don't know what we will do when he outgrows it, which is very close to happening. He has had another good sleeping month, thank you Jesus, minus when he was sick at just wanted Mama.

Random stuff only parents want to know:

Nicknames: Alder J, Baby J, Big Baby, Sweet Baby J.

Likes: Vrooming cars with Aiden, the word NOODLES, Pooh bear, the Veggie Tales theme song, solo bath time, destroying things, throwing things he doesn't like to eat off of his tray, being read to, the song "If You're Happy and you know it", being held by the same volunteer at church every week (he loves Ms. Evelyn!)

Dislikes: The vacuum, not getting his favorite foods fed to him first, his brother being all up in his business (which is almost all day, everrrryday, haha.)

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Alder from this month...

Life with you is just so sweet baby boy. Time slow down.

Watch Alder Grow...

            One Month Update                        Two Month Update                       Three Month Update

 Four Month Update                        Five Month Update                    Six Month Update

 Seven Month Update                        Eight Month Update                    Nine Month Update

See Aiden at ELEVEN months here!

Alder Jacob {10 Months}

Our baby is growing up so fast. Just like every month, this month was full of new milestones for this guy, but the thing that has become so apparent with him this month is his big personality! He has always been a very laid back and go with the flow kid. He is very content and very happy, but now he actually has opinions about things and openly lets us know when he doesn't like how things are going down. Boy oh boy is this child determined. I should probably start reading all the parenting books now on raising a strong willed child because that is him, but oh how I love him and his budding personality.

He is getting more and more verbal every single day and is always pointing at something and saying "Bah!" His favorite words right now are: Mama, bye-bye, uh-oh, BOOK, Pup Pup (his toy puppy he sleeps with) and Boo (as in Peekaboo).

He is into everything he shouldn't be and his crawling speed has reached an all time high. I literally can't take my eyes off of him. I was refilling a humidifier using the faucet in the bathtub and then heard a thud and turned my head to find Alder in the tub. He was no where in sight when I sat down on the edge of the tub to fill that thing up and then poof he was not only in the bathroom, but managed to get himself in the tub. He has also mastered the stairs. Dun dun duh. I swear this kid loves any household contraption that he shouldn't, outlets being his all time favorite thing followed closely by the cat dish.

Alder is also as sweet as they come. My favorite thing he does right now is lean in and hug me and then pat my back while saying "pat, pat, pat." It just melts me. He is also very easy to please and very easy to distract if he is upset about something. All I have to do is make a goofy sound or hand him a toy and he is all smiles. He is a very joyful boy and the things that make him smile the most are most definitely his family.

The way he watches his brother and the way he smiles when he first sees Aiden in the morning make me so happy. This month they are interacting so much more and I can see their brotherly bond growing. This month they have started to really play together and it is fun to watch (and sometimes stressful as they are ALREADY rough housing.) Their favorite place to play together is on Aiden's bed (which is just a full size mattress on the floor). Hearing them laugh at each other is the best sound ever!

Month ten was full of some fun firsts as Alder met Santa, celebrated his first Christmas, rode on the Polar Express and ended up becoming somewhat of a little celebrity after his debut on stage at our church.

A few stats about Alder at ten months: 

Weight: ?

Height: ?

Size clothes: He is officially in 12 month clothes and size 4 diapers

Sleeping: This month was probably his best sleeping month so far, meaning it was my best sleeping month in 10 months too! We have a sweet little bedtime routine him and I. I put him in his jammies and sleep sack, I read him two books and he helps me turn all the pages, Wherever You Are My Love Will Find You and Sweet Dreams, Peter, I nurse him, rock him for a few minutes and put him in his crib with his puppy who he then cuddles up with and falls asleep.

Random stuff only parents want to know:

Nicknames: Alder J, Baby J, Big Baby, Sweet Baby J.

Likes: Dumping water out of his sippy cup, getting told he is getting a banana (he gets the biggest grin on his little face!) yelling MAMA whenever I am not in close proximity to him, playing with door stoppers, reading books, sitting in the tub like a big kid with his brother, pointing a finger in the air and shouting, "Bah, bah, bahhhhh!"

Dislikes: Not being able to walk by himself yet, being pushed over by his brother, when Aiden takes away a toy he actually cares about, waiting any length of time to be fed.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Alder from this month...

I love being your Mama sweet boy.

Watch Alder Grow...

            One Month Update                        Two Month Update                       Three Month Update

 Four Month Update                        Five Month Update                    Six Month Update

 Seven Month Update                        Eight Month Update                    Nine Month Update

See Aiden at TEN months here!

Alder Jacob {8 Months}

*Another monthly post that is more than a month late. Ha. Whatever.

Month 8 has come and gone. It was our first fall as a family of 4 and we made the most of it! Alder got his first taste of pumpkin (which has become one of his favorite flavors) and he got his hands dirty in what I like to refer to as pumpkin guts. We visited pumpkin patches and pumpkin festivals, got dressed up in several different costumes and took Alder trick or treating for the first time! 

And he was sweet enough to let me dress him in all pink for his first Halloween costume and I won't apologize because he made the cutest Piglet ever!

This month more than ever I have started to see the baby in front of me slowly melt away. He always, always, always wants to be standing and he gets the biggest smile on his face when he manages to stand up on his own. We are all thinking he will just skip crawling and go straight to walking! 

He started playing peekaboo with us at dinner and it is my favorite thing ever! He usually uses the lid from his bowl and hides behind it until we say "Where's Alder?" Then he drops it and gives us the most adorable two tooth grin!

He is still getting lots of Mama's milk, but he is also a champion eater. I honestly don't know where he puts it all though. Often for breakfast he will crush an entire banana and an entire avocado. We have moved from purees to more mashes and he isn't phased by new textures, he just chows down. 

It has been fun to see more of his personality come out this month. He is such a happy, playful kid, but he wants what he wants and is determined to get his way. If I pull out two different foods and he knows he likes one better than the other he will push away the spoon until you give him the one he wants. And he knows simply by looking at the food, which one he prefers. He has a strong opinion about things, which will make life interesting when he can walk and talk! 

This month, as with all minutes, hours, days with him has been a delight. I'm so happy I get to be his Mama and watch him grow up.

A few stats about Alder at eight months: 

Weight: Who knows. Bigger than last month. Haha.

Height: No more 6-9 month clothes so he is obviously getting longer too.

Size clothes: 9 month

Sleeping: This month Alder finally, FINALLY decided to sleep through the night. But this amazing decision was short lived. I keep reminding myself that this is a season and that someday I will get at least 6 hours of uninterrupted sleep again.

Random stuff only parents want to know:

Nicknames: Alder J, Baby "Lellow" (Aiden's pet nickname for his brother), "Lellow Popper" (another pet nickname from his brother, no clue how this one came about), Baby J.

Likes: The buzzzzzz noise, playing peekaboo, waving hi to everyone, pulling himself up on everything, splashing in the bath, his brother, being kissed on his belly, growling.

Dislikes: Not being able to walk yet.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Alder from this month...

It's hard to believe you are almost 3/4 of a year old. Slow down time!

Watch Alder Grow...

            One Month Update                        Two Month Update                       Three Month Update

 Four Month Update                        Five Month Update                    Six Month Update

See Aiden at EIGHT months here!

SaveSave
SaveSave
SaveSave

Alder Jacob {7 Months}

*This post has been half written in my drafts for a month. So really, happy 8 months baby boy, but in true second child fashion, your Mama is late with the monthly update. At least I took the picture on time. 

7 months of joy, joy, joy (and very little sleep) with this boy. Alder's personality continues to be very sweet and very laid back (until the middle of the night when he becomes slightly more of a diva, ha). He hardly ever cries or fusses and goes with the flow of our busy lives, but we are starting to see glimpses of attitude when he doesn't get his way. He grunts when we don't feed him fast enough and he has started "yelling" at Aiden when he takes toys away from him. Even though he can't talk just yet, he is very expressive with us and wants to make sure his little voice is heard!

When I walk in to get him from his room each morning, he goes crazy. He bounces and kicks and gets the biggest grin on his face. I'm his favorite and I kind of love it. But his love for Aiden is right up there too. He is constantly watching Aiden and laughing at his big brother and all the loud noises he makes. Their brotherly bond is undeniable and is my favorite thing in this world to watch. And then when Dada comes home he lights up in a whole new way. Dada is the one who makes him laugh the most.

Alder has a very inquisitive mind and love, love, loves when he gets a new toy. I don't remember being so excited about getting out new toys with Aiden at this age, but Alder notices everything about his toys and he interacts with them so well. He is so content just sitting in our family room with some toys set out. He also loves being read to. There are two books in particular he gets especially excited about. Baby, Baby and Sweet Dreams, Peter. He also loves the Indestructible books and Brown Bear, which we had to introduce early since Aiden was obsessed with that book (hence his first words were, "Brown Bear.") 

Besides eating a lot of new foods this month, the biggest milestone is that a tooth has begun to pop up. He is constantly drooling and chomping and i'm excited to see his smile with a few teeth in it. He is also sitting up all by himself and is trying so hard to pull up on things and to crawl. I have no doubt he will be mobile very soon. Alder also visited his first pumpkin patch where I probably took way too many pictures, but a baby in a pumpkin patch is just too adorable. (see below)

A few stats about Alder at seven months: 

Weight: This kid is beefing up again. We don't go to the doctor again until 9 months (and I never think to weigh him at home), but Drew and I joke that Alder is going to be bigger than his brother by Christmas...it could be true. Haha.

Height: His legs are long and he wants to pull himself up to his full height and stand on those long legs!

Size clothes: 9 month

Sleeping: Sleep? What is sleep? Alder continues his sleep strike and still has not slept completely  through the night. But you know what? I am choosing not to see this as a negative thing because seeing his sweet little face and knowing he wants to be close to me is a gift. I am needed. So as tired as I am all.the.time. I am grateful.

Random stuff only parents want to know:

Nicknames: Alder J, Baby, "Lellow" (by his big brother...I asked Aiden why he called his brother "Lellow" and he looked at me matter of factly and said, Marshmallow, Mama. Haha.)

Likes: Splashing in the bath, sleeping on his side with his puppy, the way different textures feel, watching his kitty cats run by him and trying to grab their tails, playing Peekaboo, new toys, being worn (aka close to Mama) on family outings.

Dislikes: When his brother takes his toys, waiting for a bite of food, the fact that he can't stand all the time, sleeping at night.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Alder from this month...

I know this next month is going to be a big one. 

I have a feeling you will be crawling and getting in to everything in no time.

Watch Alder Grow...

            One Month Update                        Two Month Update                       Three Month Update

 Four Month Update                        Five Month Update                    Six Month Update

See Aiden at SEVEN months here!

SaveSave
SaveSave
SaveSave