Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Darwin is one month shy of turning ONE!!

I have to say that this month has been a breeze compared to previous months. Darwin is advancing like a champ and he's surprising us every day.

Darwin took his first steps just before he turned 11 months and it really was a treat for dad since he had come home early after a stressful day at work. Ever since then he has been practicing those first couple of steps and really working on the skill of standing on his own without any support. He has no problem standing for a long time so now he is beginning to build his confidence to carefully walk on his own. He practices walking using a push walker and can easily manuver around obstacles and also turn around. He loves to cruise and take a few steps on his own to get to another piece of furniture. He also loves to hold our hands while he walks and enjoys kicking a ball or stepping on something on the floor while he walks. It's hilarious!

The most wonderful part of Darwin being 11 months old (for me) is that he naps in his crib with no problem!!! When he is tired, I nurse him and put him in his crib awake and after some whining and playing with his stuffed animals he falls asleep. He sleeps for at least an hour more or less and takes two naps a day, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. I have so much more time on my hands I don't even know what to do. Normally I work on BPM stuff or watch a show. Other times I will have a shower or chat with grandma on the phone. I need to start doing a short workout on my cross trainer like I used to during my pre-pregnancy days. Darwin is also really great at night. He goes to bed on his own with no problems. It takes a mere 5-10 minutes to put him to sleep. So now mom and dad have a guaranteed stress-free evening and really enjoy our bedtime routine with our little guy. And he sleeps through the night (8:30-8) and occasionally wakes once for a night feeding. I don't mind since this way he sleeps in so I can too :)

Darwin has also been doing a lot of talking lately. Just like the last couple of months, this month Darwin has been chatting away. Sometimes while he is reading he will read (in baby language) and flip the pages while he is doing so. He loves to point at things and try to name it. Every morning when I take him into our room for a routine nursing he will point to the pictures on the wall and say "picture"! It's just the cutest thing. He also says the work book since he's been really into books lately. There are a handful of words he has said, I just can't remember them. He also has been signing for finished which is so adorable. I've been trying to teach him the sign for 'more' but he prefers to stomp his legs and screech.

Darwin is now showing signs of eating more solids and also eating them on his own rather than in chunk or puree form. I still prefer to spoon-feed him since he gets the most food that way but it's getting more and more difficult. He loves to go out to eat where he can eat like an adult and try new foods. We went to a new thai retaurant the other day and he was having a ball trying the hot and sour soup and munching on rice. And while we were at Coral Estate visiting a friend we drove over to Habitat hotel after dad's scuba dive for some food and Darwin thought my cheesy risotto was delicious.

I've just been having a ball with my little man. We've been out and about this month, especially at the beach with friends. But lately we have been out shopping for his 1st birthday party and delivering invitations to his friends. He also go a Step 2 Climber from grandma and a cute water table from his mom and dad. We're just spoiling him and he's not even 1! We're just very proud of him for being so ahead mentally and physically and we can't wait to celebrate his 1st birthday with out close friends. Grandma Ila and grandpa David can't make it due to Ila's ear surgery and David's busy schedule so we will be thinking of them and wishing they were here to celebrate with us.

We just love our Darwin so much and can't believe how fast he is growing. It makes me want to have another one....

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