Down the Stairs

Over the past 2 weeks, Joshua has learned how to go down the stairs. (He mastered up the stairs several weeks ago). He knows that if he wants to go down the stairs, he needs to turn around so that he slides down feet first. He has also learned that this is the same way to get off the bed, off the sofa and off of chairs. (So, now I have a little less nervousness about him falling off the bed). When my brother-in-law and his family were in town, we had formal family pictures taken at Brookside Gardens. (-t is an indoor gardeb and they have an outdoor arboretum as well). The photographer was taking pictures of Joshua climbing across a small bridge. On the bridge, there was an incline. When Joshua felt that he was starting to go "down hill", he turned himself around and started to slide down feet first. How smart!

I Want What You Are Having - Part 2

It has occurred to me that the food situation has turned into a bit of a frustration. Probably not for Joshua, more for me. I know if he was truly hungry, he would eat. Often, I will try to give Joshua food and he will turn his head and then talk gibberish and begin pointing. If I take the food, put it on my plate, and then feed it to him, he may eat it. If I give him a spoon and let him put the spoon in the bowl while I put a spoonful of food in his mouth, he may eat it. If I pretend the spoon is an airplane, he might eat it. You have to just keep trying things, and what worked one day might not work the next. I try hard to give him a variety of food to get his daily vitamins each day, but it is hard to get him to eat different things. So, I am happy enough if he eats.

"What do you want?" He smiles real big and points over to the area where we keep the cheerios.

Got it.

14 Months

14 Months. Joshua is as cute as ever. Each month we say, "this is our favorite age". Joshua is walking with the assistance of a walker or our hands. I like to call him Frankenstein sometimes as he walks with straight legs. However, crawling is still his best mode of getting around. Joshua is waving "hi" and "bye". He knows up and down. He knows that a cow says "Moo". Joshua is learning every day and understanding things more and following directions - within reason. He loves to put things in buckets and still loves to read and loves music. Joshua is getting curls on the back of his head.

I Want What You Are Having

Joshua enjoying his first piece of pizza.

A very tricky thing with a growing baby is the whole food situation. After you get the pureed thing down, it gets a little easier. There are a ton of choices for babies first food, and all you have to do is pick one and give that food to the baby for 3-5 days in a row and then switch to something else. In the beginning it is pretty easy, and it is only a tablespoon or two. As Joshua grew, 1 meal a day turned into 2 and then into 3. 2 tablespoons turned into half a jar and then into a full jar. (For the most part, I was pretty good at buying fresh organic vegetables and pureeing them and freezing them). Joshua was a pretty easy baby with food and would eat just about anything.

Now, let's fast forward to 14 months. Joshua has 4 teeth with 2 more teeth up top that have broken through. He can now eat a variety of more finger food. Unfortunately, now he has decided to turn food away that he used to eat no problem. He also seems to only want to eat vegetables that are pureed as opposed to finger food. Plus, we typically offer Joshua one type of food while we eat something else that he can't really eat. Probably not a good thing. Joshua is now turning away what we want to give him and point at our plates as if to say "I want what you are having". So, it has turned into a little trick. It seems sometimes that if I put his food on my plate, he will then take a bite. With kids, it is all about the trickery.