No … make it stop … time is flying by too fast! I’ve done such a great job of taking full advantage of my time with Nicholas, but now he’s almost 1 year old. I have no regrets, but I do miss those days when my little boy was truly a baby. While he might have moments of babyness, for the most part he’s really becoming a toddler. I know that’s a good thing … as well as being inevitable …. but it has been so amazing to have this little person be so completely dependent on me. I miss it.
Tessa, at the Boob Juice Factory, mentioned that Daya spoke his first words earlier this week. We’ve heard a couple of “words”, but nothing consistent yet, so I don’t know if they count. A few weeks ago, I showed Nicholas a bottle of milk I had just pumped, and signed and said “lechita” (Spanish for milk) – he responded with something like “eh-i-da”. We were pretty shocked, so I said it again and he repeated it again. I don’t think we can count it as a word, because it was just sounds … but I was impressed that he got the 3 syllables. Yesterday, Lucie was pretty sure she heard him say “hola” (Spanish for hello) to her. During meals, he often says “maaa-maaa-ma” which we think is “mas” (Spanish for more). Perhaps he’ll skip signing and go straight to speaking? I hope not, because we’ve put a lot of work into learning and using the sign language with him! Nathan just made his first sign this week, but Benjamin has been signing for a little while – these kids develop different skills at all different times.
At weigh-in today he was only 24 lbs 9 oz, so a little lighter than last month. This would be the plateau I’ve heard so much about from other parents whose children grew quickly at first and then levelled out for a while. He’s not getting any longer, but he’s definitely thinner than before. As I’ve said before, it’s so sad to watch the chub melting away – he’s so gosh darn cute with all his little rolls, bracelets, cankles, tree trunks, and double chin – we won’t be able to use these nicknames for much longer: Stay Puff marshmallow man, Michelin man, Chub-a-lub.
At swimming today, Nicholas would not stay still in the shallow pool – he wanted to walk around, chew on the tiles (yuck, but probably pleasantly cool on his gums), and even jumped into a young girl’s arms (such a friendly sort, my boy!) without any hesitation. She was a little shocked, but flattered. He obviously thought she seemed like nice people. At one point, he managed two steps unassisted – not easy to do in the pool.
Well, that’s our update. Dad’s trying to settle the little man, but it sounds like he’s having a tough time. Based on how much time his finger spent in his mouth today, I bet there’s another tooth about to arrive (Daniel was teething today, too). I’m off to give Patrick a break.
