Our Roni is walking now! On 12/17/13, just one day after turning eleven months old, our little guy took two steps on his own towards his cousin Quade! Quade and I were pretty excited about it! Since then Tyke has practiced hard at his new found walking skills. He gets so excited when he takes off that he throws his arms in the air, yells, and practically runs! With that kind of attitude, within about four steps he tips right over. If we can get him to calm down he can catch his balance and toddle nearly the whole length of the living room. Every night before bed, Chad and I sit in opposite corners and send Tyke back and forth. He comes walking towards us with his hands in the air and big smile on his face! He's getting really good and really brave. He pulls himself up to furniture, walls, and people with no problem and takes off walking. He is even starting to venture onto the slick tile now. His face turns super serious once he hits the new surface and he slows down. He really concentrates on not falling down once he's on. We watch him very closely when he's on the tile and he does really well. If he starts to get concerned he sits down and crawls onward. He has always been a careful baby like that. He hardly ever falls, he gently sits himself down. Also, now that Tyke can get up on his feet, he thinks it's funny to stand on his head and feet with his bum in the air and look at us. He just giggles until he falls down and then he gets right back up into position and does it again. It's hilarious and we usually tickle him while he's in his position which makes him drop that much faster. He's a little goof ball!
With this new found freedom has come new found trouble! Tyke is currently obsessed with the oven and the stove knobs. He stands up to the stove and stretches until he gets his little hands on the knobs. He tries so hard to turn them but luckily they need to be pushed in and turned to turn them on. We get after him constantly but it doesn't seem to phase him. He's a very determined, hard headed kid (like his parents!). Tyke also love opening and slamming shut the oven door. He likes the click that it makes when he cracks it open, and he likes that he can turn the oven light on and off but moving the door in the open and shut position. It drives me crazy sometimes! When we are cooking we have to watch him especially close because he will try playing with it.
Tyke also likes snooping in the cabinets and drawers. We have cleaned out everything that was under the sink except for the few essentials we need. We have bought locks to install but have yet to do so. Luckily when Tyke snoops in that cupboard he is in his walker and can't get the doors open all of the way because of his wide ride, nor can he reach the soaps. Tyke loves emptying the drawers he can reach which are loaded with spatulas and Tupperware. He enjoys throwing everything out on the floor. He's obsessed with the little egg spatula we have and measuring cups. Every time we cook we have to give him a measuring cup so he feels like he's helping out. Tyke really likes watching us cook and studies everything that we do, all while holding his cooking tools.
Our little guy is so adventurous! He doesn't seem to be afraid of anything. It's hard to scare him (make him jump). Being alone in the dark doesn't phase him. In fact, if we turn off the lights to his room thinking that it will lure him out he will follow right behind and shut the door, leaving him in the dark and us on the outside laughing. If we leave any of the outside doors open (like while going for the mail or for firewood) Tyke will crawl so hard and fast to make it outside. He doesn't care, or doesn't notice, that the ground is ice cold on his little hands. He gets frustrated when we pick him up and take him back inside. He is going to LOVE when it's good enough weather to play outside. I fear we won't be able to get him back in the house!
Tyke is a little snug bug! He gives the best hugs and kisses, when he wants to. It has to be on his terms! One of my favorite parts of the day is when he and I go into his room to rock him to sleep. He drinks his bottle while we rock and I sing to him. We sing three songs, You Are My Sunshine, Never Smile at a Crocodile, and I Am a Child of God. When we're done and he's pretty well asleep we say our prayers and that knocks him right out so that I can put him in his crib without a fight. Usually we struggle with the transition from my arms to his bed but with a little prayer it's no prob (that's our newest thing). I love rocking our Tykers to sleep. He snuggles right up under my chin and tucks his arms in front of his belly between us. Sometimes he's too exhausted to even do that and just lets me hold him like a baby, a rare thing now days. I love our routine!
With all of Tyke's sweetness comes a naughty side and he knows it! He will turn into a little monster for a few seconds and then snap out of it and give loves and act all innocent. He has a terrible biting habit. He bites so hard and shakes his head back and forth for emphasis. I don't even know how many times I thought I was getting a kiss on the cheek just to get bit, hard! At least twice I thought there would be blood but there wasn't. I have little Tyke vampire bite mark bruises all over my arms. We're kind of at a loss with what to do. If I bite him back he laughs and bites harder. He does the same thing if I smack his mouth. I hate teaching him "no" by doing the same thing he's doing but simply saying "don't" and "that's not nice!" doesn't seem to work too well. Tyke has also started hitting and he really likes to pull hair. I know he knows that it's not nice or right because I can see it in his eyes! He's a mischievous little feller.
Tyke is still obsessed with phones, remotes, and buttons. He loves helping Daddy close the garage door and is obsessed with that button. We can't walk buy without him pointing at it and grunting that he needs to push it. Tyke knows that the remote controls are off limits. We have told him "no" so many times that when he sees them his face lights up, he points, his smile fades and he shakes his head no very seriously and goes about his business. Tyke's new fun "no, no" is playing with the TV. He is constantly hitting the screen with his toys and we're always getting after him. He just grins and continues on. He's a little stinker! He broke our VCR/DVD player and we had to replace it with one of our old machines. He loves hitting the buttons and turning the volume way up on our surround sound system. He's just pure trouble and he knows it!
Tyke's vocabulary hasn't changed a whole lot. I swear he tries to say "deer" and "Jake". He points at both and makes very distinct sounds that sound a whole lot like the real thing. The way he says momma and dada now is absolutely adorable. I can't do justice describing it but he says something like "mom-mmmmmaaaaa" and "dad-daaaaaaa." The first part is high pitched, the second part is low. He exaggerates them a lot and it's so dang cute! Tyke communicates really good with us about what he does and doesn't want. He will shake his head yes or no, turn away from us if it's a definite no, and he'll point and grunt at anything he wants or needs.
Tyke is growing like a weed! When he was sick (he's still recovering) within a days time he had gone from 21 pounds 10 ounces to 22 pounds even! Our boy is getting tall and skinny. He has done some thinning out that's for sure. He's still in 9-12 month clothes and size 3 diapers. We had debated on moving up to the size 4 diapers because the Kirkland brand size 3's were fitting tight around his waist. Instead we went back to the Pampers brand, which we love, and we stayed with the size 3 which we're glad because they fit him big. With the Pampers brand we are having a lot less messes (Kirkland's worked fairly well but if we weren't changing Tyke hourly he was leaking through and blowing out, we were getting tired of the messy laundry piles!). Tyke is still in a size 4 shoe but they're starting to get a little snug. He doesn't really care to wear them too much, along with his socks, they come off quicker than we can get them on! Tyke is obsessed with socks and has gagged himself more than once trying to eat them. Silly boy!
Tyke is completely off of formula, which is bittersweet for this momma! Being off of it means more money in our wallets but it also means that Tyke has reached a new growing up milestone. He wasn't too sure about cows milk at first and we ended up mixing it with formula to transition him, but now he downs it no problem as long as it's warmed up a little. He refuses to drink cold milk! He'll eat anywhere from four ounces to twelve! Tyke is completely off of baby food as well. He loves chowing down on macaroni and cheese (he would choose it for every meal if we let him, and yes we let him decide what he wants to eat except for when he needs something other than mac and cheese), Chef Boyardee foods, grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken nuggets and he LOVES any kind of meat we give him. We have been cutting him strips of steak or pork chops and just hand it to him. His face lights right up and he gnaws on them well. He really likes meat! (like his Daddy). Tyke has gotten stubborn with eating, and I suppose it's time for him to, but he refuses to take food from us most of the time. He has to hold it, he has to be in control. Most of the time he won't even eat, he just plays with his food and makes a mess. He loves throwing his food on the floor. We tell him no, he smiles and chucks it. It's so hard to keep a straight face with our little jokester! If we try to help him hold the spoon the right way it results in a total melt down on his part. The kid can throw a fit like you would not believe!
We love our sassy little guy so much! It's hard to believe that he's been in our lives for a whole year already! It has surely flown by and we are having the time of our lives! Tykers, you are the best thing that ever happened to your Mommy and Daddy! We love you to the moon and back and back again! Happy Birthday Roni Man!
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