Before Christmas comes and 2015 goes, I thought I'd throw together an "all in one" post about our fall. Admittedly, I have not been the best at updating our blog. It's not easy keeping up with kids, a career, a husband and my own needs (mama has NEEDS, y'all!). Life is too busy.
The kiddos are getting big, fast. Sully turned 1 on November 16 and Cece's about to turn 3 on December 19. Some days I think they are growing too fast and I want it all to slow down, other days, well, 18 can't come soon enough (ok, kidding. mostly.). I love them though. Here's Cece after her first official haircut. Girlfriend had a serious mullet working for her so I chopped it off. She still won't let me put it in a ponytail or clip much but at least it looks a bit better.
We had a nice Thanksgiving. The kids had fun at their turkey party at school. On Thanksgiving day my dad and I held on to tradition and ran the Manchester Road Race. I haven't run in over 6 months so it was a little painful but still, a beautiful day and a great reason to get some exercise in before chowing down. We headed to the in-laws for Thanksgiving dinner after. A nice day all around.
James and I managed to get away for a kid-free weekend in Burlington, VT with a few of our closest friends. It was a much needed break and really great to spend time together. Burlington is fantastic, too. I actually returned a few weeks later for a GIS conference. That was a nice break, too.
It's been a fun, but busy season. And of course, fall just rolls right into birthday season and Christmas. It's a roller coaster. All you can do is hold on tight!
Sullivan turned one on November 14. Hard to believe it, but it's true. My babies are growing up. He still goes by "Baby Sully" most of the time in our house, but it's hard to deny the fact that he's not much of a baby anymore.
This child is such a ham. He has the biggest smile and a pretty cool personality to match. He is a total flirt and loves to snuggle. He gives out "Sully hugs" to anyone within reach. He is a real mama's boy. Totally attached (literally) to me. I mean, I could let go completely and he'll still be clinging to me like a baby gorilla. It makes it hard to get anything done, ever, but it's also hard to complain about being so loved.
He prefers you to be at (his) eye level and will crawl up onto your lap in a heartbeat. He also loves to play with Summit, climbing on her, pulling her hair and her old lady worts and poking at her eyes. She's a good sport.
He eats like a horse and weighs almost three pounds more than his sister did at one. There isn't much I can think of that he won't eat and easily downs three times as much at a meal than Cece. We have also come to the end of our nursing experience. I was happy to try and continue the effort but Sully thought it was amusing to start biting me and so, that was that. It's the end of an era, that's for sure. I loved nursing my babies and it was such a privileged to do it for as long as we could (Cece was 16 months when we stopped). Sully's taken well to cow's milk though (unlike his sister who still won't drink milk, of any kind). If I had to choose a favorite food for him it would be red grapes. Or cupcakes. He really likes cupcakes. Shocker.
Cece and Sully get along pretty well, for the most part. Cece is always asking if we can "put Sully on the floor so I can play with him." They do already bicker over toys and occasionally I find Cece sitting on Sully. He is pretty good at "standing" his ground though, or at least voicing his displeasure over his sister snatching a toy or rough housing with him. He has gotten in a few decent moves on her though and it won't be long before he outweighs his big sister. And his little pinchers can really do some damage.
Even at one, I can tell Sully is "all boy." He is a climber (to be fair, Cece was and still is too) and doesn't seem to be afraid of anything. He also has this weird ability to seek out balls, trucks and cars from any toy pile. He loves to throw things and gets a good laugh about chucking whatever is in his hand across the room. He also loves cables, plugs, lights and the remote control. He LOVES remotes. I mean, loves. them. Even knows how to change the TV channel.
Sully can say several words: mama, dada, ught-oh, bye, cracker, bottle. He typically tries to mimic what we say and has a full vocabulary of his own baby babble.
And finally, he's walking! Just a few steps, but he's getting better every day. He'll be running in no time. Side note: it's currently December 6 and I'm just getting round to posting this now but in the two weeks since I started this post Sully's full on walking across the room.
Official One Year Stats:
Height: (I don't remember but I wrote it down...somewhere)
Weight: 22.6 pounds
Clothing size: 18 months
Sleeping through the night (yahoo!) and a great napper
Thick, red head of hair
6 teeth (four uppers, two lowers)
One new small birthmark on his booty
Walking!
Since Sully will be one (!!) in two weeks, I figure I should get these posted. Even though I'm two weeks late, I did take these pictures on his 11 month birthday. So, there's that. Anyway, here's my big, happy boy at 11 months.
At 11 months Sullivan is:
Pulling up on everything, cruising around the house behind and in his cozy coupe and standing without support for up to a minute. Will be walking very soon!
Has words. Some are loud and clear (mama, dada, bye) others are loud and not so clear but he is always babbling.
Gets VERY excited when he sees someone he recognizes, especially me (kind of always been this way) but now also James (this is new) and also Nana.
Eats and eats and eats and eat. He eats a lot. So much. And he also gets very excited when he sees food.
Speaking of eating, we can't contain him in his high chair anymore. Cece was never a problem so we took off the awkward harness straps that came with it. Now I know what you need them for. If you turn your back he'll be surfing on his high chair tray before you can blink.
He's just as good at climbing ladders too. He can climb to the top of the playhouse by himself and also the attic ladder. He can get in and out of his cozy coupe and on (and drive!) Cece's big Thomas ride on.
He LOVES going fast on anything. In the car, in the swing, in the stroller. He is also the first one to go for the matchbox cars, trucks and tractors in the play room. Very strange how attracted he is to those things. Total boy.
Recently discovered his "man parts" in the bathtub and is utterly fascinated. Total boy.
Sullivan loves music. He grunts and dances to it. Cece loves music too so we spend a good amount of time dancing around the house every day. So fun.
Sully is getting all four front top teeth right now. Hasn't fussed at all and I didn't even know until I stuck my finger in his mouth.
Those teeth have been problematic however when it comes to nursing. We are pretty much down to nursing just 2-3 times a day and as of this week, I'm no longer pumping at work. I plan on nursing him in the morning and before bedtime as long as possible, but he's been biting me (and laughing about it) which is no fun at all, well apparently for him it is. But, ouch! Especially with all those new chompers he has.
Sullivan loves to play with his big sister and mostly doesn't mind rough play. I often find Cece literally sitting on him and he's just going with it. It won't be long before he is bigger than her though so she better watch out.
He's been sleeping pretty good lately. We finally moved him to a real crib (poor kid had been sleeping in a pack and play for 10 months) in his own quieter room downstairs. It's helped a lot, although he still typically wakes up once around 2 AM and wants to nurse (for comfort). Then he's up at 6:15 AM every morning. Like clockwork. But he puts himself to sleep each night which makes bedtime a little bit easier on all of us, especially because Cece has become a real problem lately at bedtime (more on that soon).
Sully is just really fun and pretty much always cheerful and easy going. He has shown though that he can genuinely get MAD when he doesn't get what he wants (usually food, or mom). I wonder how this will present itself as he gets older. He seems like he know what he wants and he is going to let you know he wants it. Not that there is anything wrong with that. He's my kid after all.
He's a big boy. Haven't weighed him lately but I''m sure he's over 20 pounds and he's wearing mostly 18 month clothes and now, real shoes too!
He has one big head of thick, red hair. And, got his first haircut this month (so did Cece!).
Sully literally leans in for kisses. It's the best!
Sullivan, you are a bright shining star. Love you, buddy!
