Niall's 17-month update

Niall now:

- Probably weighs just under 19 lbs. He was in the 3% of weight (9% for height) at his 15-month check-up. He wears mostly 9 and  9-12 month clothing, and size 3-4 shoes (sandals mostly).

- has big eyes, long eyelashes, a big head, dimples and a great smile, scant but growing hair, and twelve sharp teeth (his lower two molars caused some crankiness recently)

- drinks somewhere between 4-8 oz of a blend (still about 70/30) of pumped breast milk/cow's milk from a cup at daycare. I nurse in the morning and before bed/naps and pump once during the workday around lunchtime.  He eats at a high chair in the kitchen, and I his appetite is definitely increasing. He loves fruits of all kinds, cucumbers, peas, broccoli, yogurt, noodles and soups, peanut butter and peanut puffs, and cheese.  He's getting better about incorporating some small meat pieces, but is still on an iron supplement. He loves to use his own spoon to feed himself and seems to have a left-handed preference. He also loves water and ice cubes (really, anything frozen). 

 - is in cloth diapers during the day (pocket diapers at daycare and fitteds at home), and size 3 overnight Huggies at night. He is pretty regular and will usually poop on the potty in the morning (sometimes in the afternoon/evening after dinner) and will often pee on the potty when diapers are removed for changes.  We're working on him communicating when he has to go.

 - is one of the older kids in the infant room at daycare, where he attends five days (two as three-quarter days). He loves his teachers, but loves to see us when we pick him up. Besides the recent teething crankiness and one febrile illness at the start of K's parents' visit at the end of June, he has been healthy.  He may move up to the toddler room sometime in the next few months.

 - is extremely playful, "faking" falling asleep in the backseat while Kelvin is driving, and "ignoring" his brother next to him, by turning his head to the side. He likes to test his boundaries with a great big grin.
- loves running around the house, climbing, being chased and tickled. He loves to play with pens water, ice, cups,  cabinet contents,  keys, Pepper,  and his brother, and loves to be outside on the deck and in the grass (he loved the beach time earlier this month).  He absolutely loves to read book after book ("more books" was his first two-word phrase), and will endlessly bring them over, plop down in our laps and ask us to read to him. He'll also pass time flipping through books himself. He does well in his convertible but still rear-facing carseat, walks or runs in Bob stroller and the front-facing Lillebaby carrier. He is a great assistant during shopping trips with papa and a companion at church.

- hates: lying still for diaper changes, getting his teeth brushed, and having fun toys taken away by us or brother.

- has a rapidly increasing vocabulary with close to 20 words (the latest including "snack" and "there" [Iver was playing hide-and-seek with me, and when I asked Niall where he was, he pointed and said very clearly, "THERE!", giving his brother away]. He identifies brother "Ivah!" and himself "Nih." He'll do a few two-word phrases ("more books," "more milk"). He continues to sign along with verbalizing (especially for "milk," "water," "dog," and "books" and a few other animals, including "bird" and "cat." and will point these out in books). He can identify many body parts including head, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, bellybutton, hands, and feet and demonstrate animal sounds ("moo," "neigh," "roar"). He follows commands really well (even some in Vietnamese) and seems to understand everything we ask him to do.

  - continues to sleep well in a crib at night, with no signs of climbing out, in a room with his brother. After a bath, nursing session, and reading a few books, he is put in his crib awake in jammies and a sleep sack, and he'll fuss for a few minutes before passing out around 7:15-7:30. He wakes happy around 5:40 and eager to find me to nurse. He has pretty much transitioned to one, longer nap around 11:30 a.m. or 12 p.m. until about 2:30 p.m.



He is truly a little joy to be around, and a little ham, as you can see from his pictures.

Rarely without a book in his hands

With big bro

"Opening" the church door

"Walking" Pepper

Triptych

Showing off his knowledge of body parts

I had to share this sign I saw in Eureka Old Town

 

This is what Iver was doing at 17 months.

Happy 17 months to our happy little man!

Backyard Bounty

A few years ago, I had blogged (My Black Thumb) about my complete inability to sustain growth of any plant in my custody.

Our current house has some nice planter beds that the previous owners cultivated, and there were some chives, artichokes, and some other green-leaf plant that was actually growing (and continued to grow) after we moved in.

However, three years in, the area had pretty much been overtaken by mint (which I've been told is pretty much an invasive weed). 

Kelvin's mom (when she visits) has tried to plant some green onion bulbs and a few other things.  This spring, my friend Kellie asked if she could come over and use the space to plant some seeds, and she did, putting into the ground some peas, bok choy, radishes, and one other thing I can't remember right now.  She has also been diligently watering the plants twice weekly, letting herself in the back gate when we're at work.

What do you know-- we have thriving snap peas and rooted radishes that seem ready to pick! I insisted that Kellie reap the success of her borrowed garden patch, but she encouraged us to keep the veggies (which my kids actually will eat).

I have heard that root vegetables and greens do grow well in our environment, and I would hope that I would be encouraged enough by the above results to continue cultivating our little patch of soil. However, I don't have high hopes that I'd be able to keep it up.  I think I'll leave the gardening to the real gardeners.

Bookworms

I am proud to have two little kids who love to read.   We watch some movies with Iver but besides Facetime and background TV tennis, Niall has had 0 minutes of actual screen time in his entire life and absolutely loves turning book pages, and bringing books to read, plopping himself on our laps.   Both kids love visiting the local library.  We limit Iver to two books (lately we've been doing book chapters-- including Matilda and Peter Pan) at bedtime; otherwise, he'd never go to bed. Enjoy these photos.

Little Bear's Bible

If You Give a Moose a Muffin

Touching and feeling a dog!

Harry the Dirty Dog

 

Making a "red balloon" association with Goodnight Moon

Video with communicating animal sounds from a favorite page-turner

 

Boys caught together in their room

 

Long live reading! Love my lil' bookworms.

Just Like Big Bro

 Check out these cute videos of little brother mimicking big brother.

Deck cartwheel

Garage spins 

I love seeing these little guys play together.

Bar Mitvah

On Saturday, we attended the Bar Mitzvah of Elias, the son of our friends Courtney and James. Neither Kelvin nor I know many people of Jewish faith, and it was the first celebration of this kind to which we'd been invited, which is a huge deal in their religion (the ritual marking the coming of age of a 13-year-old), celebrated much like a wedding day! We had to bring out our best clothing (and thankfully had some to fit the boys, although Iver was reluctant to don a tie and jacket) for the occasion.

The special day started in the morning at the Temple (Synagogue) Beth El in Eureka, with a long (almost 3-hour) service, in which Elias was celebrated, blessed, presented with the Tallit (prayer shawl), processed with the Torah scroll (heavy!), gave a speech, and during which different friends and family members read (sung) many scriptures in Hebrew from the holy book (Aliyot).  Between the non-familiar traditions and language, we were pretty lost (Iver decided to take a nap halfway through the service), but still found it very interesting (we had left Niall, who was already napping at the time we had to leave, at home with K's parents).  It was followed by a Kiddush luncheon with bagels, lox, toppings, and fruit.

 

All dressed up, ready to go

 

 

I didn't get many photos (I wasn't sure of the rules in a synagogue so was very hesitant but saw others taking photos so I jumped in), but here is one of the boys, who (along with the men) were encouraged to wear yarmulkes during the service.

This is a shot of Courtney holding the Torah scrolls and Elias following with his prayer shawl, which was a family heirloom presented to him by his grandfather.

 

We had the afternoon off (Niall and Kelvin napped), and then in the evening, we attended the reception/party in Eureka.

All dressed up and lovin' on Pep, prior to leaving

 

Some pre-reception family photos, which actually turned out well!

Papa with his youngest

Brothers

This guy is a ham

 

  

(Wild child)

We dropped off K's parents at the airport just before leaving for the reception.

The grandparents really enjoyed their visit with us!

The reception was held at the Ingomar (private) Club at the Carson Mansion, which is a beautiful Victorian house (built in 1885) in Old Town Eureka and former home to one of Northern California's lumber barons (William Carson). 

We enjoyed appetizers, drinks, dinner, and dancing before bringing our overtired children home about two hours before the festivities were set to end.


What a day! Shabbat shalom. Mazel tov, Elias!