It is amazing what he can do

Our son is a growing and changing little boy. I am just amazed at him each day. Last night he enjoyed seeing his Daddy for the first time all week before 8pm (his bed time). Daniel has had one of those 'busy' weeks at work. Since we don't have cable yet, Sunday and Monday's are usually spent watching football at Jonah and Chad's. I guess I never thought I would miss cable so much. Daniel decided back in mid October that our cable bill was too high, so he canceled it along with the interet. Of course it stayed on for another two weeks and then it finally turned off. He kinda put off finding a new cable company hoping for a good deal but apparently that never really happened. So I finally called this week and it wll take them one month to get here. The good thing is we will not be here for 2 weeks so it is good that we aren't paying for the whole month since we won't be here. I have really wanted to watch tv since it is Christmas. I don't really have a set tv show I watch during the week. I think since the weather is cold is just makes me want to curl up on the couch and watch some Christmas movies with a hot cup of cocoa. Oh well.. enough dreamin. I called and cable will get set up until Jan 3rd. So we have spent our money's worth on DVD's this month. Ha ha!

Stephen ate chicken spaghetti for the first time this week. Of course I had to use my grinder or he wouldn't have even tried it. What a picky eater we have on our hands. He is still not really taking a sippy cup. I have tried the karo syrup and it hasn't really worked yet. I send one to daycare almost everyday and he will have nothing to do with it. I have about 4 different ones so I am trying to figure out which one will work for. He loves to just throw them and say "uh-oh" that is his new vocabulary word for about 2 weeks now. I am hoping over Christmas break when I have more time to spend with him I will get him to take the sippy cup. If not then we will still be using the bottle. At the pediatrician's office Dec. 1st we discussed waiting to put him on whole milk until after the Philippines trip. I have him on 9-24 months formula but I have introduced milk to him a little in the sippy cup. The pediatrician suggested that when I do start him on milk to use pediasure or carnation instant breakfast since he is in the 25the percentile still. He still only weighing 20.4 lbs. I am going to look for it tomorrow when I go to the store. The only thing is he can only have it in his whole milk.

He is enjoying the Christmas tree but hasn't seem to muster up touching it. I think he is so amazed by the lights that it scares him. I am actually OK with that because I wasn't sure how we were going to do this. I heard of putting baby gates around the tree but honestly didn't want to go buy any. We are leaving in 13 days anyway so maybe it won't be an issue. I am horrible and still haven't bought him a stocking. I will go out looking for one this week. I have managed to lose our camera for some reason. I am so mad because I didn't even have it for Stephen's birthday. What a bummer! I am sure it somewhere but I cannot manage to figure out where. If I can't find it in 2 weeks I am buying a new one for our Philippine trip.

As for Stephen's one year pictures I am still on the waiting list.. ugh. I loved the place we took his 6 month pictures at so I called to book them for his one year and they were so full that I am on a waiting list. It might now happen so I am hoping to take some cute ones while we are on vacation and just use them. First, I have to find my camera.

Stephen has enjoyed traveling throughout the house whenever he pleases. We only use one baby gate our house. Between the dining room and living room we have put one up since he seems to go right for Sadie's dog bowl. But if I am in the kitchen doing stuff then I usually bring him in with me and he just throws off the boxes I have collected for him on the bottom shelf. Friday, Daniel and I were busy making steak, mashed potatoes and green beans and Stephen found a bag of chips he snuck off the second to bottom shelf. He can reach it but not really. Well he must have grabbed the bag and when we turned around he was covered in chips. He emptied the bag onto himself and the floor. Otherwise, he goes to the cabinet where the bowls are and pulls a few out to bang with a wooden spoon I give him.

Our sleep schedule has been good lately. I think since the ear tubes he doesn't wake up as much during the night like he used to. He still does occasionally but not nearly as much as he used to. He is using his paci at night but not during the day. He goes to bed at 8pm and rises early around 5:30-6am for his bottle. I usually leave the house by 6:45 to beat the traffic so he eats breakfast at daycare around 7:30. During the day at daycare he drinks two bottles and then one when he gets home. We are still on 4 bottles a day but I don't mind since he is so small. He sleeps two naps usually about 2 hours each on the weekends. During the week he usually sleeps about one hour in the morning and then he sleeps the drive home in the evening. It is less than 30 minutes most of the time. When we get back from the Philippines Stephen is starting a new daycare. I want him to be in more of an environment with a program that helps him develop through all the senses. The new daycare he will be in the room is huge and there are center areas and story time and playtime outside. I think it will be better for him now that he is going into toddler hood. If he sees other kids drinking sippy cups and walking then it will help him also. The room he is now is good because the teachers love him but he has been the oldest in his room for over two months.

Well that is our little boy for now. More news later! I am exhausted!