It’s been awhile since I’ve done an update, so we are long overdue! The other day, I was chatting with a friend, who has a son that’s three months younger than Nate, and we were both marveling at what a difference three months makes. At least, at this point in their lives, so much change in such a short time. There’s hardly a moment to blink!
As much as I miss the itty-bitty, cuddly, baby stage, I am LOVING his age right now. Seeing how their personalities evolve, day by day, is the craziest thing. Lets break it down:
THE GOOD:
*Watching his vocabulary expand has been pretty amazing. I don’t know if it’s because he’s spoken to in both Russian and English or if he simply has a good ear (seriously, Keith’s genes. remember: audio engineer), but language seems to be “his thing.” The other day, he actually counted to five, which I’m not sure if that’s “normal” or not, but I was like “whoa!” We also recently taught him “bless you” and now, he won’t stop saying that, whether someone sneezes or not. He went from saying words (sun! baby! uh oh!) to stringing a sentence together.
*His Diet: I find everything so much easier now. Nothing is off limits and I’m less concerned about what is “baby safe” or not. Honey, nut butters, etc… I give him everything we’re eating, within reason. His favorites include: toasted bread with peanut butter and banana, blueberries, smoothies, buckwheat, avocado, sweet potato, and yogurt. On the weekends, when we indulge in pizza, he can’t get enough. Bread in general! Why do babies love bread so much?
*Reading Time: Now that he’s older, I’ve incorporated reading into our bedtime routine and it’s quite obvious that he loves it! Every night, we put on his PJs and right before going to sleep, we sit in his room and read 1-2 books. It’s gotten to a point that if I dare and skip it, he will bring me a book and shove it in my face. It brings me such happiness knowing that we’ve created this habit and I can see how much it’s helping with his development. Our favorite books are Goodnight Moon, Brown Bear and all the beautiful books by Xavier Deneux.
*The outfits! While little baby outfits are adorable, it’s so much more fun dressing a toddler! My favorite places to shop are Zara, H&M, Melijoe (got him this and this) and Nordstrom (I got these and this).
THE HARD:
*Oh my goodness. The toddler chasing is no joke. While I’ve found that having a mobile child is easier in a lot of ways, having a curious toddler out of your “safe space” is a bit daunting. Seriously, who needs cardio at the gym? I get my fill on a regular basis.
*Last week, I experienced my first “toddler tantrum.” We were in the supermarket and while we were shopping, I let him hold an avocado. The moment I attempted to take the avocado out of his hands, holy crap. I didn’t know what hit me, but quite honestly, it made me fear the months and years to come. I’ve been warned “just wait until 2 and 3!” As much as I’m loving seeing his personality develop, I know it comes with its share of difficulties.
*Dining Out: I actually wasn’t sure if I should put this in the good or hard category! Like anything, on certain days, he’s pretty easy to dine out with. As long as we keep him entertained with food or some sort of activity (like a straw or plastic cup), he’s perfectly fine! Then there are those days, especially if we’re getting too close to his nap or bed time, when he’s especially difficult. Not wanting to sit still, not wanting to be held, etc. I know this is normal, but down the line, I’d love to raise a boy who is able to behave in restaurants. If anyone has any super helpful tips on dining with children and toddlers, I’d love to hear!
The Details:
*I’m happy to report that he’s still sleeping through the night! We usually put him down between 7-7:30 and he wakes up between 6-7AM. He naps once a day, usually from 12-2.
*We transitioned from his infant carseat to this one.
*His favorite things include mega blocks, magnets for the fridge, light up balls and just regular balls to bring to the park.
28 comments
Natali
Awww, he’s so precious, that first photo made me melt! 😀 Being mommy isn’t an easy task, it’s the toughest and most rewarding “job” in the Universe. All of the hard part have it’s charm as the good parts when they’re good, they’re truly everything!
info@thefrankieshop.com
August 16, 2017Ericka Dean
Love these updates! My son is 4 months younger than Nate so I always love to hear about what I have to look forward to. He’s such a cutie!
August 16, 2017vanessa
omg already 15 months!! so crazy how fast time flies!!
http://www.thevogueword.com
August 16, 2017http://www.thevogueword.com
Fatou Diaw
YOU’RE DOING GREAT! I’M SURE YOU WILL DO JUST FINE IN THE TIME AHEAD 🙂
August 16, 2017XX
https://closettostreet.com/
Mireia
Absolutely love it!
Mireia from TGL
August 16, 2017https://thegoldlipstick.com/
LAura
Nate is such a cute boy. Love his outfits and that picture with the pizza is awesome. My daughter is 2 and a half now and what you described is exactly what I experienced with her. We even have the same carseat and you’re right about the outfits, dressing a toddler and shopping for them is a lot of fun.
August 16, 2017Kathy R
aww he looks really sweet! normally kids will know about 2-6 words by the age of 12-15 months and then able to combine them at 2years *im only going by textbook here! i guess i might learn all about that one day (maybe) haha!
August 16, 2017xx, Kathy
http://www.kathywang.co.uk
Lori L
I LOVE all the pictures of Nate, but the first picture? Heaven.
August 16, 2017I’m not a mom but I have a 15 year old niece whom I adore. She was read to all the time as a baby. I’ll never forget her 1st birthday party… she walked up to my grandmother and said, “Adorable. Read it.” It was a book called ‘A You’re Adorable’ and it was her favorite.
SeL
Helena, you and Keith are handling parenthood wonderfully. My husband and I read every evening to our son, and, like Nate he would shove book after book into our face. From your post I get the impression that Nate talks incessantly – I loved listening to my son’s chatter (including the constant questions). At the toddler stage, my son loved lots of books, but his favourites were the rhyming ones – Dr Sues, the Hairy McClarey from Donaldson’s Dairy series and Spot. As a pre-schooler he loved Roald Dahl and anything funny by Andy Griffiths. Andy Griffiths really appeals to boys. And, no wonder, with titles like “The Day my Bum Went Psycho”, “Zombie Bums from Uranus”, “Bumagedon”. I also would often play children’s music and story DVDs for him – he would often be playing with his toy cars, trains, trucks and blocks and listening to music or a story in the background. And, like yourself, our fridge was covered in magnets and he absolutely loved them – animals, letters, numbers. Does Nate get into your kitchen and study drawers? Mine would pull out tea towels, ladles, spoons, tongs etc. In the study, he got into the paper and envelope drawer – I came in one day to find paper and envelopes EVERYWHERE and post it notes stuck everywhere – the wall, his head, his face, his body – if he could stick it somewhere, it was there. Needless to say, study door remained closed after that episode. Rambling on a bit, but your post brings to remembrance many wonderful memories and I get great enjoyment reading about Nate’s little adventures and to “see” him thriving. Oh, on dining out – if a venue didn’t have a children’s play area we would bring a few favourite toys – cars, trucks, trains and a magna doodle (or sketcher etcher) and the I Spy books kept him occupied as well. The I Spy books are great – they are books of picture riddles (a child needs to find certain things within the picture). Joining the dot books and coloured pencils are good as well. Helena, I hope that helps and enjoy the rest of the week.
August 16, 2017Essi
What a cutie he is!! <3 I bet sharing these tips and experiences is very useful to any new mummy 🙂
August 16, 2017Ewa Macherowska
Lovely post! x
http://www.evdaily.blogspot.com
August 17, 2017Crystal
you forgot to include in his favorite things: tupperware!! hahaha what a cutiee!!
August 17, 2017Pam in DC
My inly advice about eating out and restaurants is, continue to take him until it’s a normal event for him. We all had to learn at some point. My son is 27 so there were no mobile devises around then. We always had a toy car, a coloring book, or an action figure with us. He played and entertained himself, and we made it a point to talk to him and point out interesting things in the restaurant. I can’t remember one bad incident. I’m against ALL mobile devices at the eating table. AND I’m referring to the ADULTS. My friends and I have a rule: The first one that answers and email or starts surfing the web PAYS THE TAB! Only exception is to post a picture of us to Facebook or Instagram…2 is the limit! LOL! I loved Goodnight Moon, I’m delighted that it’s still around. 🙂
August 17, 2017Peshmarin
Your little boy is so cute! I have a 13 month old and am hoping to be able to dine out more frequently now that he’s a little older but have experienced nothing but fussiness. Would love to know if anyone here has suggestions?
Also Helena, have u ever shopped at Janieandjack? it has really super cute baby boy clothes… I’m kinda obsessed. I feel like they have some clothes that totally match his swag ??
August 17, 2017Helena
Oh! You reminded me to check it out! Someone recommended it to me before and I forgot. Thank you!
August 18, 2017SeL
Hi, would you be able to explain what your little bundle is fussy about?
August 20, 2017jessie
I saw once that you gave your son food pouches. Which do you recommend?
August 17, 2017Helena
HI Jessie,
We like Plum Organics!
August 18, 2017maria
omg awesome post. I have a 16 month old, and he speaks practically in complete sentences. When we mentioned to our pediatrician, she said that usually when two languages are exposed, there’s an expressive delay. We didn’t have this case, because italian is spoken just as much as english in the home. So, every child is different. He’ll start his sentences in Italian and finish them off in English, it’s actually quite lovely to watch. I also love that I could name a book, and he’ll know which one I am talking about, pick it up and want us to read to him. Our son has a great temperament at restaurants, and we are ones to go once/twice weekly. We never need to find things to distract him. (knock on wood) But also, it could just be your kid. everyone is different, have to take the good with the bad. (maybe coloring books??? ) I do too love this stage, i could already tell he’s a little jokester, he does and says things to make us laugh, gets such a rise out of it, and he always points at things to learn the names and repeat. Everything fascinates me. Motherhood is truly the greatest gift. Thanks for sharing your story. xoxoxo
August 17, 2017jakie
oh dear but those scraped knees, same as my boy. Did his eyebrows grow in or is his hair that fair? Love that he’s a blonde baby!!!
August 20, 2017Karolina
My son is 4 days younger than Nate and as much as I can relate to most of the things I have to say that rating is hard for us, unfortunately he is a fussy eater and nothing seems to be good for him, God forbid something red like strawberry or watermelon… he sleeps from 20.30 tull 7 oclock but wakes up for a bottle… you have a great kid Helena, take care xo
August 22, 2017Karolina
Sorry for mistakes stupid autocorrect
August 22, 2017aplikasi editor video terbaik untuk android dan windows
aplikasi editor video terbaik untuk android dan windows
August 23, 2017Yajasmin
Nate is adorable! I can’t wait to hear my little one speak. She is currently 5 months old and babbles a lot and says Mama and Papa which is amazing. I was wondering are you giving Nate cows milk? I’m thinking that when the time comes to wean her off of formula I won’t be making the switch to dairy. Curious to know what you decided!
August 24, 2017Chia
“Why do babies love bread so much?” > wondering about this too!
September 11, 2017toshiba-satellite-l645-driver-download
bibibinn
January 21, 2018hp elitebook 8440p driver download.html
hp elitebook 8440p driver download
thanks you for sharing/…….
January 21, 2018hp elitebook 8440p driver download
Julie
The link doesn’t work any more – what convertible car seat did you get? The Nuna Rava?
April 20, 2018