13 months

Hi everyone!

I guess I took a little blog break there for a while...

Do you ever have so much to do or say that you can't think of a place to start? It happens to me all the time, especially when I'm busy or stressed. I've been running into a lot of that with the blog lately, there's a lot I want to say and then I don't know where to start. So, I'm going to start with an update on our little man :)

We're not doing his monthly photos anymore, so I'll just include some snapshots from this past month instead. (It seems like I have a two-week blank in my photos right in the middle of March, though, so only a few photos in this post). We loved having his monthly photos in his first year but they were getting more and more complicated to do once Alden started moving around so much on his own. By the time we wrangled his 12 month photo shoot together, it was pretty clear that we were done with the monthly posed photos ;) I'd like to drop in and do another at 18 months and then one every year on his birthday after that.

Alright, back to the little guy!

walking! (and standing!)

1st pair of real shoes :)

Alden turned 14 months about 10 days ago so most of these updates are things that happened in his 13th month. It was a packed few weeks for him, so many changes in such a short time! If you follow me on Instagram, you've already gotten a taste of all the new things in our house. Alden took his first real steps on February 23 in our kitchen :) Nick and I were sitting on the floor with him and he took about 3 or 4 steps in between us...and then, kept doing it ALL day long! He would go back and forth between me and Nick and would get so excited every time we clapped or cheered him on. It was great fun!

I was starting to think that he would walk later since he wasn't standing unassisted yet and he really seemed overly cautious about actually taking those first steps. Even after we knew he could do it, I was expecting weeks of slow progress since he seemed to be so careful about jumping into the walking world. Baby boy surprised us again! He went from his first steps to standing unassisted and walking on his own for long stretches within a week or so. Then, it only took him about a week or so more to be walking the majority of the time, going up and down stairs, bending to pick things up while standing, etc. He is really a little toddler now! Nick and I think he's been really walking for about 3 1/2 weeks and there's no stopping him. He's even mastered keeping his balance while walking up and down the hills in our backyard! Seems like he may just be a perfectionist like his Mama and Daddy; waiting to do things until he knows he can really do them :)

I do have to say, though, that the week before he started walking in earnest was a tough one. He slept poorly, was especially irritable, fussy, and frustrated, didn't eat very well, and was in general not a particularly fun guy to be around. He was very clingy and just didn't seem to be in a very good mood. It's pretty common to see shifts like that right before a developmental leap but, at the time, you never know what's around the corner and it just feels like an alien has taken over your sweet baby!

My Mom and Dad came to visit for a couple days at the end of March and it was great to see them! They got lots of Alden play time, we had yummy food, and a nice visit :)

with my Mimi and PopPop :)

out to eat at Heirloom. I had a delicious lentil and walnut burger!

Alden has turned into quite the little bookworm in the past weeks! Pretty much all he wants to do is sit with us and read books. Before he started walking, he had a little routine for story time. He would start by grabbing a book off the shelf and half-crawling/half-scooting his way over to us, hand the book to us, then climb in our lap and turn himself around so we could read to him. I called his little scoot/crawl the Captain Morgan because he would always be on one knee while he scooted himself around :) It was hilarious! Now I know that he was just getting ready to walk/stand but at the time it seemed really random and funny. Now that he's walking, the routine is the same except he walks the books back and forth between our laps and the shelf- if anything, he wants to read more now! He definitely has favorite books and strong opinions about what we should be reading :) I think between the two of us, we've read Little Blue Truck and Little Blue Truck Leads the Way at least 200 times. We love the books but after 5 or 6 times in a row, you start to lose your mind a little ;)

We have been amazed at how much Alden understands what we're saying. Even in the past fews weeks we see a noticeable difference in his language comprehension. He knows SO many words, even though he doesn't say them all: outside, breakfast, lunch, dinner, water, milk, up, hot, dog, truck, bath, bedtime, night-night, apple, paci, etc. When we ask him where his head, nose, belly, and eyes are he'll point to them. He points to himself when we ask him, "Who's Alden?" and he loves for us to go through the letters of his name while he's on the changing table and can see his name on the wall.

before my 1st haircut

very well-behaved but very cautious :)

Alden had his first haircut last month, too! Nick really wanted to wait until he was at least 1 before we cut his baby locks so as soon as that birthday rolled around, I made him an appointment :) I couldn't stand the little mullet anymore. He looks so grown up now!

He's also started to really enjoy working on his puzzles and has gotten interested in cars/trucks more. We're pretty sure he can say "truck" now and since he figured out that word, he's been pretty into his Trucks book that his Uncle Kristoffer and Aunt Lea gave him for his birthday :) Thanks, guys!

Alden is getting better and better at feeding himself using his fork and spoon and we're working on not throwing food to the dogs :) He's been drinking almond milk every day for a few weeks now and he seems to really like it. It took him a few introductions to take to it, but now he drinks it like a champ. I'm happy we have at least one other milk source for him to get some of the fats he needs in his diet. Plus, I'm completely back on dairy again and he's doing great! We'll be re-introducing yogurt again this week now that his crazy skin issues are finally gone and since he's been eating baked-in dairy for a while and is doing fine so far.

The following photos may not seem like a big deal, but to us, they are groundbreaking! Buster (our beagle) doesn't handle change well and has only recently started to tolerate Alden at all. Lately, he's been letting Alden pet him if we give him enough warning and has started to hang out in Alden's room more. Then, the other night, Buster laid down for Alden to pet him without either of us saying anything! It was great and we feel like these two might be best friends one day after all :)

We also saw at least 2, maybe 3, molars cut through last month and we're already onto the others now. Boy, are those molars a doozy! We definitely had lots of nights with Ibuprofen before bed, paci in his mouth at all times, fussy, sad baby. It's insane how much teeth can mess everything up!

dirty garden baby booty :)

helping us get the beds ready for veggies

look how grown up he looks- this is the end of March

and this is the beginning of March. so much change in just a few weeks!

Hope everyone is having a great beginning of spring :) We're finally starting to get some pretty weather and we've been soaking up every second!

much love, L&N