Up He Grows!

"Mr. T" had his one year well baby exam today and everything went great! He is now 31 inches tall and weighs 25 pounds!

Those who know us, or who followed my old blog, know that my husband and I decided that we would be delaying/selectively vaccinating. Our intention was to have Talan get his first vaccinations at his one year well baby exam, but upon doing further research, Ted and I have decided to delay vaccines until he is two years old. Talan's pediatrician was fine with our decision. He is a vaccine friendly doctor and hasn't ever pressured us into vaccines, or anything else for that matter. He respects our decisions, one of the main reasons we chose him to be our son's pediatrician.

It's hard to believe how fast our little boy is growing up. He has even ventured into the talking department. He can say mama, dada, nana (which can either refer to my mother or a banana if someone happens to be eating one and mentions it), papa, baby, cup, "eeee", which is what he is saying for eat, and "buh" which is what he says when referring to a book. In response to people saying "Hey" and "Bye" to him, he just waves. Ted will say "Whassup?" to him from time to time and Talan will now sometimes reply with "Suh," LOL! It is the cutest thing ever! He will pretty much so babble in response to anything you say to him. You might be able to pick out a word or so, or at least you will think you heard a certain word, but for the most part it's babbling, and I love his babble! It's so funny because if you just shake your nod your head and agree with what he is saying, and reinforce him with things like "Really?!" or "Are you serious?!" he will sometimes have a change in tone in response to you! His ASL (American Sign Language) vocabulary has become very extended and grows more daily. I would approximate that he can do about 20 signs now, if not more.

A major milestone for me is that Talan is still nursing. He has been nursing since birth, but I was really worried that my milk supply was going to be affected by this pregnancy and/or that possible changes in my milk (tastewise) due to the pregnancy would cause Talan to wean, but thank God none of the above occured. I still express milk for him during the day when he's at daycare, and when I'm with him, he nurses "straight from the tap" so to speak. Of course, now that he is walking and getting into everything, he doesn't nurse as much as he used to, but he is still only receiving breastmilk in addition to the homemade baby foods I make him. I plan on letting him self wean, and thus far, he's not showing any signs that he's ready to do so. If he is still nursing upon Aniela's arrival, which he probably will be, I do plan on tandem nursing them.

He also still enjoys being read to and his new favorite thing to do is to play in his sandbox. We decided to get him one a little while after he started walking, as he seemed to enjoy playing in the dirt in my indoor plants (which have had to placed higher up in the homestead). He is certainly all boy! He loves the dirt, he loves to climb, and he loves for his dad to get down on the floor and wrestle with him. It is such a cute and wonderful sight to see the two of them having their "male bonding."

All and all, our little guy is still as smiley and happy as he has always been. It's very rare that you see him upset. Unless someone is leaving that he doesn't want to leave, he's sleepy, or he's not feeling well, he's generally just a happy-go-lucky boy. The light that this little boy has brought into our lives is unbelievable. His personality is just like a gem with a light reflecting upon it, brightening the lives not only of those close to him, but those who he comes in contact with. I can't believe that he is a year old already. He has accomplished so many milestones, but Ted and I know that the adventure has just begun!

I'll explain this picture later, LOL!