Knox: 13 Months

Well I thought I would be so much better about blogging now that I'm a stay at home mom. And here I am blogging after a 4 month hiatus. Mommy-ing is a lot more time consuming than I thought it would be - no complaints! Knox has grown and changed so much since he turned 1, and I am so thankful that I have been able to experience every minute of it.

From 12 - 13 months Knox became quite a little explorer and climber. His favorite discovery was probably the light switch, and he would climb up on the couch or a stool to get to the light switches and turn them on and off repeatedly. Luckily he also learned how to climb down without hurting himself (most of the time).

His father taught Knox to "bobble-head" and he consistently performed this trick when asked. 

Bobblehead from Sara Anderson on Vimeo.

I took Knox to my parents' house in Missouri in mid-July. Knox flew on an airplane for the second time in his life, and although I was nervous about flying by myself with a very active toddler, it turned out to be not so bad. Knox did great while we were on the plane, which was delayed for 2 hours AFTER we boarded. He had fun exploring and making friends as he walked up and down the aisle before we took off, and then slept the entire flight to Branson.

My mom had Knox's cousins, Jacob and Thaine at her house as well for "Nana Camp,"so Knox got to play with his cousins and Nana and PawPaw for several days. He loved playing with my brother's old toys, reading and snuggling with Nana, and splashing around in the sprinkler with PawPaw.

While we were there Knox was recovering from a cold and started throwing up from all the mucus. When we got home we found out he had his first ear infection. The doctor was impressed that he had made it to a year old before having to take an antibiotic. So thankful for a healthy boy!

A Whaley Fun 1st Birthday Party for Our Little Squirt

To celebrate Knox's first birthday, we had a whale themed pool party at our friends, the Christian's home (the perfect place because a) they have a baby pool and big pool b) Jenni is the hostest with the mostest and c) we love them.

My parents came in a few days before, and my mom and I got to work on all the Pinterest projects I had in mind.

This was the invite I created and the inspiration for the party theme and decorations.

First, Mom and I got to work on the watermelon whale. I was glad I saved my pumpkin carving tools from Halloween, because they came in very handy! Also, I learned my mom has a hidden talent for mellon balling.

Next was the cake. My mom made some very elaborate birthday cakes for me growing up, so I knew she could help me pull off a whale. To make the shape of the whale, I blew up a clipart whale (from his birthday invitation) on my computer and traced it onto several pieces of paper which I taped together to make a big pattern. Then my mom put the whale on top of the 13x9 cake and cut around it. For the water squirting out of the blow hole we found a little sparkly decoration in the wedding section of Hobby Lobby. I think its supposed to be for bouquets or wreaths, but it worked! 

I also made some whale sugar cookies. I used a whale cookie cutter that I found in this shop on Etsy. Lest you think we only served sugar at this party, to go along with the whale theme I had goldfish in little snack cups for the kids and chips and caviar (a mexican dip made of different kinds of beans, usually called "cowboy caviar"), along with homemade salsa and burgers. 

This ocean punch was a mixture of Blue Hawaiian punch and lemonade. I bought whale squirters for party favors, and floated a few in the punch. I thought it was actually a pretty tasty drink!

I didn't want to go too crazy with decorations, but I knew I wanted a birthday banner and someway to display all of Knox's monthly pictures from his first year. So I kept it simple and just printed up his pictures and hung them on some twine with mini clothespins. I created a birthday banner in Pages on my Mac and then had it printed at Copy Corner. I thought it turned out pretty cute. 

I also made a matching high chair banner.

Here's the little man in whale swim shorts I found on clearance at Target, perfect for the occasion.

Swimming with our little squirt.

Knox was a good sport for the whole thing. He wasn't a fan of the cake (it was really one of the first times he'd had a taste of sugar) and didn't really catch on to the art of opening packages, but seemed to tolerate all the people and attention really well, in true easy-going Knox style. 

All in all, it was a perfect way to celebrate his first year of life, surrounded by family and close friends who had such a big part in helping us make it through this first year as a family of three! 

Knox - 12 Months

How is it possible that we have a 1 year old?! When Knox was born everyone told us how fast the time would go, and boy were they right!  It seems like just yesterday we welcomed this sweet little boy into our lives. We couldn't love him more!

At his 12 month checkup, Knox was 22 pounds 6 ounces and 29 and 3/4 inches tall, which puts him at about the 50th percentile for height and weight, and his 47.25 cm head circumference put him at the 85th percentile. He also cut 2 more teeth on top this month, bringing his total to 6.

At 12 months old, Knox is a busy little guy. At about 11 and a half months he started walking almost exclusively and that's when life at our house really changed! He is quite the little explorer and is into everything - opening kitchen cabinets and pulling everything out, climbing on the furniture, running off with remotes and phones, breaking the printer by climbing on it and pushing all the buttons, dumping out his diaper bag or mommy's purse, playing in the toilet water, etc.  His favorite "toys" to play with are things with buttons - remotes, phones, alarm clocks, timers. He also likes cars and trucks and hairbrushes.

At the beginning of June we went to Galveston with David's family. Knox got to experience the beach for the first time, and also took his first dip in the pool. He loved it all and had a great time with his cousins.

Knox had a big change in his life this month - I quit my job and began a new position as stay-at-home mom.  It has been such a blessing to be with him all day and I already feel like we are closer and he is a little more attached to his mommy. One of my first days at home I took him to the Children's Museum in Bryan. He had a great time climbing and playing in their toddler area.

At the end of the month Knox finally learned to clap. I love watching his face light up when he does it. He is still signing "more" (sometimes he does "more" for things other than food) and "milk" and doing lots of pointing. He loves to point out the fan when you ask him where it is (thanks Aunt Lisa!) and he points to the foods that he wants to eat (he can spot an avocado or a sweet potato from a mile away!).  He has also started "dancing" when he hears music.

Knox Dances from Sara Anderson on Vimeo.

Knox - 11 Months

Our sweet 11 month old boy is growing up so fast! He is full of smiles and giggles, and crawls, climbs and walks all over the place. He keeps us on our toes!

Knox took his first steps on Mother's Day (May 12th) at 10 and a 1/2 months old. Sadly I wasn't at home to see him, so his Daddy witnessed the first steps (4 right out of the gate!), but Knox took a few steps again for me when I got home. He is still just taking a few steps at a time, but definitely improving day by day. He is pretty proud of himself when he does walk, and grins and laughs the whole way.

knoxwalk from Sara Anderson on Vimeo.

Knox's favorite thing to do these days is point. Whenever you pick him up, he immediately makes a little "pfff" noise as he points in a certain direction or at a certain object (usually the ceiling or a light). He has also starting signing more, but he uses the same sign for everything - opening and closing his fist either means he wants milk (he does this in the morning when he wakes up), more food (usually this one is done with both hands above his head), or bye bye. He will also give you a five (or 2 or 3) when you hold out your hand.

more from Sara Anderson on Vimeo.

Knox had his first experience at the golf course on his Daddy's birthday. He loved riding in and "driving" the golf cart, and rolling, throwing, and chewing on the golf balls. Nana and Papa are ready to send him to golf camp!

This kid can eat! He shovels the food on his tray into his mouth as fast as he can. I feel like I am constantly making him more food. He will eat a whole avocado in one sitting and then want more. And more. We still haven't found a food that he won't eat, but he does have preferences.  His favorite foods are avocado, sweet potato, blueberries, and puffs.

Stuffing his face at his first Aggie baseball game.

Our little wiggle worm is not a fan of sitting still (unless he has his cup of puffs). This has made church a bit of a challenge, so we now take him to the nursery during church, which he seems to enjoy (especially when he gets to play with baby dolls). He still behaves himself in Bible class, and is now joined in class by his buddy Lincoln!

Some other characteristics of Knox at this age:

• he LOVES to be outside and cries at the door or window when he wants to go out
• he has discovered how fun it is to drop things on the floor (mainly his sippy cup and food he doesn't want to eat)
• his favorite book is "Pop-up Peekaboo Farm" and he loves opening the flaps to see the animals pop up
• he likes to play with balls, and is learning how to throw them 
• he is still taking 2 naps a day, and sleeping 11-12 hours a night
• he weighs about 22 lbs, wears size 4 diapers and 12 month size clothes

Bluebonnet Pictures

Many thanks to the fabulous Jenni Livingston for these priceless pictures!

Nana & Papa with arms full of grandchildren. 

The whole crew of cousins, between the ages of 3 months and almost 3 years. 

9 months old. All he needs is a gold chain.

Knox - 10 months

 

Our little boy is 10 months old!  It amazes me how much he has changed in just 10 short months. But he is still as good natured as ever, a great sleeper and eater, and happy pretty much all the time! We couldn't ask for more!

By the end of this month Knox's "spikey" hair started to lay down on top. It still sticks out on the sides a little bit, but the top is long enough now to weigh it down. His eyes are still a grayish blue color, so its hard to tell if they are going to stay that way or eventually turn brown. He is wearing 9-12 month clothes for the most part, but a lot of his shorts and pants are still 6 month because he has a tiny tush!

This month Knox cut his 2 top teeth, bringing his total tooth count to 4. He was kind enough to cut his new teeth while we were on a trip to San Diego and he was staying with his Nana and Papa! He now has the cutest 4 tooth grin you ever saw!

In the gross motor skill department, Knox has perfected crawling and is starting to show interest in walking.  He now crawls almost exclusively on his hands and knees instead of scooting around on his belly. When he wants to get somewhere fast he will still switch over to the army crawl though. He has also started taking steps behind his walker, which he thinks is big fun! Every once in awhile we catch him standing up on his own without holding on to anything. This momma is not ready for him to walk yet!

It's been fun to see Knox start to understand what we say to him and respond. His favorite (and only) trick is waving bye bye. He also waves to say hello and as a sign for "more" when he wants more food (even though I have been teaching him the actual ASL sign for "more" since he was 8 months old). He also waves at random times for no apparent reason. I think he has figured out it's a sure way to get a reaction! We also started the practice of making Knox put his pacifier in his crib when he woke up in the morning. It didn't take him long to learn to throw it in the crib when we asked him to. Now we don't even have to tell him - as soon as we pick him up he spits it into the crib.

One day I was trying to get Knox to play with his blocks, so I built a tower and showed him how to knock it down. He immediately caught on and thought it was great fun to knock over the towers. He has now made it his personal mission to make sure that every block tower ever constructed is knocked down immediately. I can make a tower across the room, and the minute he notices it he crawls as fast as he can to knock the tower over, and then goes on about his business. It was really hard to get a video of him doing this because he wouldn't let the towers stand long enough for me to grab my phone!

Lately Knox has become attached to the sock monkey you see in his monthly pictures. When we get home he finds him almost immediately and then drags him around the house everywhere he goes. He even drags it around with him in his walker! He causes quite a stink if you try to take the monkey away from him, too!

Knox is still OBSESSED with cords and cord-like objects such as strings. If there is a cord anywhere nearby, he will find it and head straight for it. I think that's why he likes the sock monkey so much - his arms and legs are long and somewhat cord like. We spend a lot of our time saying to Knox, "We don't play with cords." I'm hoping this phase ends soon.

Another favorite of Knox's is his Daddy! There are times when he refuses to go to me when his Daddy is holding him. In the afternoons when I hear the garage door opening I always tell Knox that Daddy is home, and he immediately looks at the back door with a grin on his face, waiting for the door to open. Is there anything sweeter?!

Some other things that I love about Knox at this age and don't ever want to forget:

• the way he throws his head back to drink when you give him a bottle
• the way he pants as he crawls to get from place to place
• his jibber jabber as he plays (even if what he says a lot is "dada")
• the minute you lay him down in his crib he rolls over with his head on his hands, face down in the mattress and goes to sleep
• the way he practices waving while he drinks his bottle
• his big smiles and excitement to see you when you walk in his room in the morning
• the way he loves to stand at the windowsill, look outside, and pat the window
• his curiosity that leaves me chasing him around the house while he laughs and crawls to his destination as fast as he can