We are only ONE month away from this little man’s first birthday!! I don’t even know how that is possible and will refrain from writing about it now such that I can maintain my composure for one more month.
I was lucky to snap one quick picture before he grabbed the blocks and then promptly threw them over the side of the rocker.
This month we have seen more of Eric’s personality come out. He’s a pretty funny guy and has a few tricks he has been showing off.
The biggest influence this month has been Alexa. Most mornings, Olivia and Eric eat Cheerios before school with Alexa. There is a heated debate at Casa Dean as to whether or not Alexa is his first word. He will look/point to Alexa and yell “Ah! Ah!” and at school, he will look at the speakers and yell the same “Ah! Ah!” Olivia and I think “Ah” = Alexa so that is his first word. But Matt disagrees – he has some complicated standard based on percentage of syllables in the word that Eric is able to say. So, we haven’t quite settled the dispute yet, but regardless, this boy LOVES Alexa and constantly wants her to play music. Specifically, the Trolls soundtrack. It plays on a constant loop in our house.
Eric is also very interested in talking on the phone – this all started with this pink phone at school and then transitioned to him just putting his hand to his ear. He does this ALL. THE. TIME. It’s usually pretty cute but has led to some VERY long nursing sessions when she stops eating every 5 seconds to pretend to call me.
Other tricks include him yelling (AHHH!) while we pretend to be scared; playing peekaboo; blowing a kiss; and pointing/waving. Here is a video of the yelling:
This month we took a trip to McGuire ranch where he was loved on and coddled as the littlest member of the crew!
I had to include some of the beautiful pics my friend Bethany took of the big kids!
And speaking of being loved on, the Williams sisters came to watch one of Olivia’s softball games this month and they were just putty in his hands. He basically refuses to feed himself if there is a willing participant who will do it – lucky for him, Minah Williams is just such a sucker. ;)
Before the heat of the summer sets in, we have been trying to enjoy the cooler weather and recently introduced E to the wonders of a slide (I'm obsessed with how he leans back on Olivia and throws his hands in the air, as if he's on some roller coaster!)
More than ever, this little guy is on the move. He is a quick little crawler, and eager to get explore.
Much to Matt’s dismay, one of his favorite activities is to destroy the contents of the cabinets while I make dinner. I view this as basically a necessary evil while I'm trying to get dinner on the table, but I think Matt (who is the master of the dishwasher) is less than thrilled with the extra loads.
Eric also isn’t a huge fan of the gate – he has tried on multiple occasions to sneak by just as we are closing it and if he knows Olivia is upstairs, he will stand at the bottom and yell for her.
And speaking of sister, he usually wants to be wherever she is, doing whatever she is doing. A few weeks ago, I was giving her a quick bath in my bathroom before bed and little brother wanted to get in that bath and made sure I knew it!
Food wise, we are still hit or miss. Some days he will eat 3 quesadillas for dinner. Other nights he will pick at food and then have a handful of Cheerios. So, we continue to work on it. One night mango was a big hit
Like his sister though, he is always up for a snack of cheese and crackers
We are wrapping up our daily lunch dates as he nears the one year mark and will likely transition to the next class soon. Thankfully, he’s doing much better with bottles (which I have mixed feelings about) but I know its the best thing for him in the long run.
Personality-wise, Eric continues to be the happiest baby and just really loves people. He will wave at everyone we see, yell at someone if they aren’t paying attention to him, and if he is really interested in you – an awkward staring contest may occur. We went to Lupe Tortilla for dinner a few weeks ago and Eric became obsessed with the lady sitting at the table next to us. He would not stop staring at her and smiling. Matt turned his highchair completely around but he contorted his body such that he could still see her. So, pretty sure we made that dinner as awkward for her as possible…
I feel like a broken record, but this baby is just pure joy and we are all still so smitten with him. After our recent Lupe Tortilla dinner, I was putting Olivia to bed and she was expressing that sometimes she feels jealous of Eric because when we go out, people are constantly coming up to us and commenting on how cute and happy he is. But even as she carefully and gently expressed these feelings to me, she kept stopping herself with comments like "But I understand because he does make the cutest faces ever!" So, even in moments of jealousy, you really can't help but love this little guy.
We are all looking forward to celebrating his one year birthday in a few weeks and as of right now, I'm pretty sure there are at least 3 celebrations planned for him!
