Emilio - 1 Year!!



Emilio,

it is unbelievable that you have joined our family a year ago.... wow, it is amazing how fast you have grown! it is also a little sad, that my little baby is gone, that you are a full on toddler now, and soon you will start becoming a little boy. Despite the sadness, however, I can honestly say that I have really enjoyed this year with you, and that I have (successfully!) made an effort to appreciate every moment. Even when it has been really hard taking care of  you two, I have always reminded myself that in time I will remember these moments and cherish them.

I want to talk about your sleep before anything else and just get it out of the way. Your sleep has SUCKED big time for the last... month? Two months? I cant even remember when was the last time you had some decent sleep, but I don't even really care to figure it out. I know (hope!!) it's all a phase and that you will have to sleep better one day. It is funny that in general you seem to be a much better sleeper than you brother, and still at this age he was already sleeping through the night. You, in turn, are not even close to that. You nap incredibly well (from about 12 to 3), and in general you go down fairly easily, now nursing to sleep again. However, at night (when you sleep from around 8 p.m. to 7.30 a.m.) you have started to wake up tons, and in the last month, you wake up really angry, screaming and arching your back, kicking and rolling all over the bed until I nurse you back to sleep. I think the latter may be related to your 4 molars coming in at the same time... God I really hope that is it! and if so, I know all I can do is basically wait it out.

I have also started to think about weaning you. First I was toying with the idea of nursing you until YOU were done with it, basically because I am in no rush to wean you. However, after meeting with some friends who are still nursing their toddler well into his 2nd year and seeing what that was like...um, I think I'll pass. As great as I think that is for some people, I just don't think it is for me. We will see. At the moment you only nurse once during the day (before your nap) and then before bed, and numerous times throughout the night. So it really does not bother me at all, but it would be nice to have some uninterrupted sleep. Especially when I first lay down exhausted and you wake up because I'm there. For these reasons, I have decided to move you to a mattress on the floor or another sleep surface in an attempt to see if your sleep stretched get longer.

Other than that, now you are:

•  walking everywhere like it is no big deal, although you still prefer to hold somebody's hand while you do it.
• You absolutely LOVE music, and every single song or melody (even the church organ!) makes you dance, bending your knees and waving your arms up in the air, so cute!!
• You have started babbling more and more words. For instance, you now say "Ta Ta" every night , meaning "bye bye", when you go to bed. Or else during the day while waving good bye. You also say "ta taaa" when you mean to say "gracias!", "gaaa" for "Gooool" when you play ball, and "ta ta" for Dada.
• You still eat up a storm, although your teeth sometimes take their toll on your meals.
• You love having baths.
• You most certainly know what you want, and you know how to scream up the top of your lungs when you don't get it.
• You still absolutely HATE the car seat.
• You still smile away at everybody and everything. You have the silliest laughter, and although you've learn to put up a fight with your brother, you still love being with him and he makes you laugh like no one else.

Emilio, no doubt you are the friendliest, happiest baby I have ever seen. You have an amazing temperament and the sweetest smile on earth. Smile on Emilio, we love you so much!

 

Emilio - 11 months

Emi! It is now January 2nd and i am just getting around to writing your 11 month old post. We have been on vacation since December 7th and with the change in routine and lack of consistent internet, it has been difficult to sit down and write.
But here I am. Late, but will try to write a bit down before you turn a year old.
Your most amazing milestone this month is still your ability to walk. You are still eager to walk everywhere, although you still lack the confidence to do it all on your own. You typically have to hold on to someone or something, but are so happy to do it, you cry when we pick you up. You are definitely more and more confident, although the hard floors in Mexico have put a pause on your learning, primarily because we're all terrified of you falling on t eh concrete floor. It has also been difficult for you to crawl because you're always wearing shorts he and it hurts your little knees when you do. So in terms of mobility, it hasn't been your best month.

Other than that your speech is definitely improving. You can hear the intonation in your made- up words, like you're trying to imitate everything. Some words that I can tell you say consistently well:
Mama, Dada, ball, gracias, " ai ta" ( ahi esta), alla ( while pointing your finger).

This month your potty habits have gone out of whack. Mostly because our eating schedule has been changes around with our  lunch being our main meal here, and because there are so many people looking for you here, that I'm just not so in tune with you. Sometimes you go potty in the toilet, but there have been many times when you just go in your diaper.

Your eating habits have also suffered a bit while in here, because we don't have a proper high chair to sit you on, and you hate being restrained, so you always end up eating while standing up.