Wednesday, July 11, 2018

13 months with Eric

At 13 months, Eric is still a pretty happy guy who still seems more "baby" to me than "toddler."

He loves his bottles now and drinks more whole milk in a day than I think he probably should.  Like Olivia, he cannot be bothered with prayers, books or cuddles at bedtime until he has had his bottle.



We always say Eric must have a cuddle quota that he has to meet each day because he really is just the snuggliest little guy.  He is happiest sitting on your lap, just laying his head on your shoulder.  He constantly comes up to me for hugs and kisses.

Books are one of his new favorites.  I credit school with this new found love.  I got this picture one day from his teachers saying that almost every other baby had crawled off bored with the books, except for Eric and a friend!

During the day he loves to bring a book to you, have you read 1 page and then shut the book and go get another.  But at bedtime, he is more focused for some reason.  Once the bottles/prayers/etc are over, I usually sit in the rocker and we read at least 2 books.  Favorites are Dear Zoo, Goodnight Moon and The Wonderful Things You Will Be.

Speaking of school, we are finally settling in to our new class and I can leave now without him crying.  As long as I get him breakfast, he's fine.

I am really trying to soak up this summer because I think things will only get more complicated from now - with summer nannies/camps.  But for now, I've got both kids at a school they love with teachers who I know love them.  We have settled into such a sweet routine where Olivia and I drop Eric off together - she scurries around the room putting away his backpack/bottle/etc while I get his breakfast ready.  Then we both give him hugs and kisses and go to her room (which happens to be right next door).  And each night at pick-up, I get a report from her on how he was that day.  They have recess at the same time so she always tells me who he sat next to in the baby buggy, where he played, and who he played with.  I just love knowing she's close to him.

And while I know he is happy at school, each afternoon as soon as I open the door, he starts crying and crawls to me as quickly as he can!  (Note: This is probably his new favorite teacher in his new class - Miss Tamisha.  She was actually Olivia's teacher when she was in Kindergarten but she moved down to the baby classes so Eric has her.  He took to her immediately and most days when I go to get him he is either sitting in her lap or right next to her!)

And speaking of breakfast, Eric's interest in food has peaked lately.  Like his sister, he really loves a good snack - especially Pirates Booty.



While he will also tolerate some healthy foods - fruits and veggies - his real love is for anything cheesy.  A cheese stick is okay, but give him a grilled cheese sandwich or a quesadilla and this guy will eat for days!

He also discovered graham crackers at school, and his teachers told me he has to have one in each hand or he yells at them!  On this particular day we left before snack time was over so he held onto these graham crackers with all his might.

We have seen a small amount of jealousy/sibling rivalry lately as to who gets to sit in mamma's lap.  Like Olivia, Eric has a certain affection for mamma and constantly want me to hold him or sit in my lap. 

Olivia is okay with this, as long as she can sit on my lap too.  Eric on the other hand tends to be a bit more possessive - he will try to push her off or bite her.  Hoping he gets better about sharing his mamma..(who, as Olivia likes to point out, was her mamma first and she was born first, and if he doesn't like that, he can go sit with dada!")  (Also - my children like to be shirtless on Sunday mornings apparently)

Given his need to be carried so much, I've gone back to wearing him more and he usually loves it for about 15 minutes and then wants no part of it.

A nasty stomach bug went around Houston and tore through Eric's class.  Unfortunately, it took down all of Casa Dean.  We ended up taking E to urgent care because he could not stop throwing up and we were worried about him being dehydrated.  Luckily he was okay within about 24 hours.  Poor little buddy.

Toys are a mixed bag - on any given day he prefers the phone or remote to almost anything.

He does like this little pop up toy though and he's pretty persistent and patient to put the little sticks in.

Eric is slowly getting more and more confident in his walking.  We even have shoes now!  I suspect it won't be long before we are chasing after him.


We have been outside a lot lately - mostly swimming but sometimes running errands.  Sunglasses and hats are a big hit to distract him!


He still is pretty limited in words.  While he has no problem letting us know what he wants - he doesn't really say "mama" or "dada" with any regularity yet.  He does say "wa wa" and it definitely means he wants something to drink.  He also says "day" for "yay" and he will clap his hands.  And of course - "Ah" is still Alexa.  So, I guess he does have a few words - just maybe not the traditional baby ones!

Regardless - this baby is so LOVED!



And I would be re-miss if I didn't at least mention Olivia.  We try really hard to be intentional about spending time alone with her and one of the best ways I've found is to have a "big sister date night."  It serves a couple of purposes: first it obviously gives us time with her, it gives all of us something to look forward to, and it gives she and I an extra bonding in our "getting ready" time. On the days we go out, she is SO excited - like literally almost squealing in the car as we back out of the driveway.  She is mature and grown-up and agreeable.  She is willing to try new places; acts like a grown-up; and is so sweet and thankful during our time together.  It really is one of the best nights of the month!

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