11th Month Birthday

Happy 11 month birthday! This month you got to share a birthday with Mommy!

Fun facts for the month-
1. Another tooth on the bottom is poking out. 8 teeth before 11 months!

Food Update-
2. Since your last update, we think your ear infection has finally cleared up, but not until we put you on your 5th round of antibiotics. You are finally healthy and have been for a couple weeks now, which has greatly increased your appetite (and mood). I was worried for a second that you were going to live on a ham and crackers diet. You no longer like bananas, but do like grapes along with lots of other fun stuff- pancakes, ham, sausage, goldfish, cheese, and any starch- bread, pasta, crackers, cereal, etc. Let's see if we can go a month with no medicine. :)

Also you love cabinets, especially the food cabinet. Our child lock doesn't work so well on this cabinet, and I usually find you chewing on the peanut butter container or a bag of rice. (See below- you look pretty excited to be by your favorite cabinet.)

Milestone of the Month-
3. 4 steps...you love cruising and this last week we've seen you take 2-4 steps towards us or between objects.

Speech/ Hearing Update- 
4. It looks like tomorrow you will finally have both ears in. Mommy and Daddy noticed last week that your left hearing aid was very week after trying several things, we brought it to the clinic and they had to send it back to Phonak for repair. We just got the call and it's ready to be picked up! Yay!

5. Your therapist has heard you say "uh-oh" and mimic your friend, Willa, during play time, which is great! When Willa moves to T-1, you'll be the oldest in the nursery! Miss Tina plans to start you on a mat for naps soon, and I bet you'll be the next to move to T-1 in the toddler house!

New this month-
Head shaking and headbutting-
You and Daddy have this new cute thing going where he blows in your face and then you shake your head in an adorable manner. Also you and Grandpa started a head butting game, similar to when Maevy used to headbutt whenever we asked her for a kiss.

Rat-behavior-
Yesterday Daddy called you a rat. Thinking that he meant you "ratted someone out", I asked what?/why? Actually he meant that you are capable of chewing through almost anything, like a rat! Items you've chewed through or eaten a small amount of due to lack of supervision- cardboard, paper, crayons, chalk, toilet paper, plastic baggie and just this week- plastic container holding your beloved chopped up ham.

Baby gate is up...after finding you half way up the stairs in precarious positions, we finally broke out the baby gate!

 

 Other adorable pics from a quick photo shoot for your birthday invitations-

 

Looking forward to your birthday next month! Major plus to being baby #2, Mommy is a lot more lax. I see a cupcake with actual sugar in your future. You should be very excited. :)

Love you,

Mommy

10th Month Birthday

Car-car-

Happy 10th Month Birthday! The months are flying by now and soon you'll be a toddler.

 Fun facts for the month-
 1. Another tooth on the bottom showed up. 7 teeth before 10 months!

(Check out the new blue ear molds. Mommy got to pick this time, and decided to change it to a different Nationals color. You look good in blue.)

Food Update-
2. You had a couple weeks of seeming "off" with food this month. You eat most of Ms. Pearl's lunches at school and at home have been enjoying ham for breakfast, lunch, and dinner; plus ravioli or pasta with sauce. You will not eat it without sauce! You've been refusing bananas and broccoli lately; so I've been sneaking them in cottage cheese or applesauce.

3. Since your last update, your ear infection never cleared up. You just finished your 4th round of antibiotics and last Friday, you had tubes inserted in both ears. Surgery went great. I think it took all of 5 minutes, and you were asleep for maybe 10 minutes. Vanderbilt is, of course, great and you spent the morning (before surgery) flirting with the nurses and riding in this cool car.

Milestone of the Month-
4. Standing, Waving Hi/Bye, and Clapping- You've mastered standing, and I've seen you take a step or 2 and then lunge. We've all been working lots on getting you to wave, which you're doing regularly now. (see below) I think clapping just came naturally. Yay!

Speech/ Hearing Update- 
5. Unfortunately you've spent most of the past month with only the left ear in because of infection and now because your right ear is still draining lots of fluid, even one time filling up your hearing aid tube. Plus it really seems to be bothering you; you won't let anyone touch your right ear. So we are going to finish with prescription drops (for the tubes) this week and then try again this weekend. Even with the 1 ear, you seem to be localizing sound really well.

I quickly looked online at some 10 month milestones and you are doing great! 

• He is stringing a range of babbling sounds together to makes a 'sentence' - Yes, lots of ga, la, za, ja, va, ma, ba, yeah-yeah, da
• By 10 months, he can shake his head to indicate 'no' - Hmm, I think yes. You definitely understand no, and I've seen you shake your head when I try to give you medicine or something you don't want.
• He understands a couple of words including his own name- Yes, you definitely know your name, bottle, ball, car, bang-bang (bang on table/floor), and moon! This is a big one- every night we read The Going to Bed Book and I always point out the moon (and boat) to you several times. Both Mommy and Daddy have seen you correctly point out the moon in multiple books by Sandra Boyton.
• He can copy sounds that he hears- Maybe. I repeat a lot of the sounds that you make and then you'll repeat them again. We also sing Mommy's favorite vocal warm-up a lot (all those years of musical theater paid off!) and you like to sing along or respond back. 

(adorable feet below)

New this month-
Dancing- Your speech therapist told us to be on the look out for dancing and I finally started to notice your little booty bounce this month. I brought out Maevy's tea pot over the weekend that plays some fun songs. You immediately smile and start bouncing when I press the music button. We also have fun opening and closing the lid. Daddy thinks you should have some more boy-toys. What's wrong with the tea pot?

Whining- Like most boys, you love Mommy. You have spent many mornings whining the second I'm out of sight and crawling/chasing me all over the house, which usually ends with your head on the floor from exhaustion, and lots of whining/tears - "why won't Mommy just pick me up!". Of course, I do eventually pick you up, but you know sometimes I have to put my jacket on, get dressed, brush my teeth..you know things!

Despite all the doctor's visits, you really are doing great. Let's hope this next month involves a little less snot. Love you stink-pot.

- Mommy

9 Month Birthday

Happy 9 month Birthday Cart!

M, Pop, and Uncle JR came to visit on your 9 month birthday (see M's hands above) while Mommy was off celebrating Grandma's 60th birthday in Chicago with Aunt Lesley and Aunt Robyn. I missed you tons, but I think you had a good time with the Taylor crew.

Fun facts for the month-
 1. Right after your 2 front teeth came in, your other top incisors started to come in. That makes 6 teeth before 9 months.

Food Update-
2. You are officially over the pureed baby food, and have been enjoying Ms. Pearl's lunches at school and lots of other table foods at home- broccoli, tofu, pasta, peas, carrots, yogurt, cottage cheese, fruit, meatballs, and lots of cherrios.

3. At your last update, I mentioned you ended up with a right ear infection before Christmas. Well it's a month later, and you still have a right ear infection. Not good. We're now on our 3rd round of antibiotics and another 10 days of you not wearing your right ear. It's not official yet, but I see tubes in your near future- at least for the right ear.  (painting at home- below)

Milestone of the Month-
4. Cruising- You are cruising and crawling everywhere. Your teachers say that you love crawling up into the loft and then throwing all the books down the ramp. We're working on standing alone and you can already stand for a couple seconds.  (not sure what to make of this look- below)


Hearing Update- 
5. Even though you were still recovering from your ear infection, your hearing test at the beginning of January went well. The results were consistent with your ABR and the loss appears to be stable. Yay! Next test will be in April.

Speech Update-
6. Right on time, you started saying Ma-Ma this month. You hum mmmm while playing and incorporate ma-ma-ma into your regular babbling along with da-ga-ba-va. Miss Tina told us just last week that you said "ball" at school while playing ball with her. And of course, Miss Thalia says you say "Thalia" all the time. I might believe Miss Tina over Miss Thalia, but I haven't heard either yet. :)

New this month-
This hilarious laugh that sounds like a combination of gasping for air and laughing.(see video below)

Looking forward to many more laughs with you...

Love,

Mommy

8 month Birthday

Carter-

Merry Christmas and happy 8th Month Birthday! Spider-baby!

Fun facts for the month-

1. You are getting your 2 front teeth. It might be because of these that you quit nursing in the morning just last week. You were starting to bite me, which was not fun! So now if you do wake up early, you are just fine falling back to sleep on me without the snack. Your 2 front teeth inspired me to write that as your Christmas wish on your 1st Christmas Ornament. Also we found you a couple of times grinding your teeth on Grandma and M's fireplace...not cool.

 2. It's been 3 months, but you did end up with another ear infection last week. You had a cold; so Daddy took you to the doctor on Saturday and your ears looked perfect. You had an audiology appointment on Wednesday and Miss Danielle noticed some fluid in your right ear. Mommy took you back to the doctor on Thursday and it was infected. Good thing we went back because we headed to Memphis on Friday. Busy week!

Milestone of the Month-
3. Crawling & Pulling-Up- You are going everywhere now. You are still sticking with this interesting crawl- left foot out, right knee crawl, but I guess it gets the job done. See video below. Also you love shoes! I've taken to calling you our "little puppy dog" because if shoes are in your sight, you immediately start crawling towards them. And if you actually get to one unsupervised, you'll chew on them. Gross, Cart. You are also pulling up on everything and love standing, bouncing, and jumping.

Hearing Update-
4. Pilot caps are a must right now, and as much as we love your adorable head of hair, within a minute or two of letting you play without your hat on, you'll pull your ear off and start chewing. I'll still sternly say, "No, Carter!", but you just think it's hilarious and start laughing. In general, you definitely stop and listen to us when we say "No", but you don't necessarily follow the instruction. Overall, I think you are hearing very well with your ears. You always turn when we call your name, startle to a loud or unexpected sound, laugh when we play games/"peek-a-boo", and wake-up if we're too loud around you when you're napping. All great signs that your hearing aids working well.

Next week we are attempting your 1st Hearing Test again. I'm hoping it goes well!

Speech Update-
5. Earlier in the month your speech therapy went really well. Miss Geneine thought you were doing great and isn't at all worried about your progression...so much so that she said we could wait a couple months to come back for a follow-up.

Christmas break gave Dad and I so much affirmation that you really are talking up a storm. Lots of stringing together sounds...babababa, dadadada, ag-da, ah-ja and just normal jibberish. I even heard a couple m-sounds sneak in there when you were really upset like -bababba-ahha-m-scream! You've also entered the normal (around 9 months) screaming phase that's both hilarious and annoying. If you aren't getting something you want or your sister takes something away- there will be lots of high-pitched screaming.

Food Update-
6. You still haven't met a food you don't like. This month you've tried ground turkey, chicken, broccoli, risotto, asparagus, ricotta cheese, and "green" puffs. I think your new favorite thing is your cherry-blueberry puree mixed with creamy ricotta cheese. Yum!

New this month- Christmastime!
We spent most of the weekend at the Taylors, going on at least 2 grocery store trips with M and Daddy. Mommy and Daddy asked that family donate towards your college savings account, rather than giving you lots of gifts. You're only a baby! Pop did give you a toy that has 2 of your favorite things- a hammer and balls! You love a good ball for throwing and chewing.

We even convinced Grandma and Grandpa to go to the Children's Christmas Eve Mass at 4pm. You had fun hanging out in the nursery while we went to church. I checked on you once, and you were of course doing great. You love being around other kids.

 Helping sister open a present and tasting the wrapping paper...

Bath-time in M's sink!

Phew..that was a big update. I can't believe you are going to be 9 months old next month. So-big!

Love,

Mama

7 month Birthday

Carter- 

Hey big-boy! You're 7 months old today!

Hanging with the Grandpas- 

Fun facts for the month-

1. This month your flirtatious ways helped Daddy out at work. While "helping" Daddy pick up some permits out in LaVergne, one lady said, "You were the best part of her day!" Then Daddy asked if he could start mailing his permit requests, rather than bringing them in person, and they replied, "Of course, anything for you!"

2. You love cuddling/sleeping with Mom early in the morning. If you wake up after 6a, you'll nurse and then you're up for the day. If you wake up before 6a (which you've been doing lately), you'll nurse and then fall back to sleep on or next to me..sometimes sleeping in until 7:30a! I love snuggling with you, but would prefer just the one wake-up time. :)

Story of the Month-

3. One day soon, you'll be able to tell us and Maevy that wasn't what you said, but recently you were jabbering in the back seat and I asked Maevy what you were talking about. She asked you and replied (in a higher voice, imitating you), "I'm talking about stripes." Then she told us- "Carter said he's talking about stripes." She's a silly big-sister.

Milestone of the Month- 

4. Getting to a sitting position. You have mastered sitting and can easily go from back to tummy to sitting in a matter of seconds. You are days away from crawling. We've seen you scoot and move your little knees a couple inches, but have yet to really start moving. It's because of this that just last night, Mom and Dad had to move your crib mattress down a level. Standing up, you would be a little too tall for the railing.

5. Speech update-

No ear infection this month, and you've been talking up a storm. Lots of  "yeah" and "ag-da". Over the weekend, I even heard one "ma" and maybe a "la".

Hearing update-

6. All seems to be going well. You wear your pilot caps daily (just ordered some cuter ones!), and when you don't have a hat on, and I see you start to pull at one of your ears, I sternly say, "No, Carter!" You always stop and look at me....and then try again a couple seconds later. You have chewed on them a handful of times, but otherwise seem to responding very well to all sorts of different sounds. Just this past weekend, you cracked up every time we made a toy car's wheels screech. Video below- 

 

7. New this month-

You had your 1st Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Mommy even let you eat some of the meal- mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and peas. Oh and you're starting to get good at holding and drinking from your sippy cup. You always seem disappointed that there's vegetable stock or water in the cup and not milk, but you do seem to enjoy chewing on it. 

 Also last weekend, we visited your Godparents' (Aunt Robyn and soon-to-be Uncle Jake) house for brunch..and Aunt Lesley's boyfriend, Zeiter, grabbed this Wyckoff family photo.  

Love you, 

Mama

6th Month Birthday

Carter-

Happy 6 months Birthday! Funny story..this morning while taking these pictures, I attempted to recreate your sister's 6 month birthday post. In my memory, Maevy was pulling up on her crib. You've just started pulling up and are wobbly on your feet. So...pulling up didn't go that great.

And upon further research turns out Maevy wasn't so good at pulling up either, my hand is in every shot holding her up! (look right)

  

Back to our regular update...Fun facts for the month-

1. Still crazy cute...just this week, Daddy's co-worker mentioned how stinkin' cute you are. 

2. Still love your sister. Just today, I didn't even think Maevy did anything (I guess she shook your bouncer) and you just busted laughing. So funny..

3.  Milestone of the Month- 

You've pretty much mastered sitting by yourself. You will occasionally fall back, which results in lots of crying, but quickly recover when we sit you back up.

4. Still love the thumb which I forsee being an ongoing picture taking issue.

                                            

5. Hearing update- 

We actually had your first hearing test scheduled for today. It was cut short because even though you usually turn your head to sounds, you weren't turning your head on cue, instead you would look at the audiologist like she was talking. That was good, but didn't "count" as a true reading. So we will be going back in a couple months. Regardless, we still think you are doing well with the hearing aids and properly responding to sound.

6. Speech update-

Several friends in your class have had a virus; so we assumed when you were sent home Thursday afternoon with a fever, you also had this virus. Grandpa came in town for a visit early, and you spent most Friday and Saturday sleeping. We finally took you to the doctor on Sunday to rule out an ear infection. Turns out, you had an ear infection! So almost a week later, you are still not 100%. We've been hearing lots of b, g, and n sounds, but you didn't vocalize a lot during your session today. No need to worry, we'll just follow-up in a month or so. 

7. New this month-

Mommy's not much of a singer, but you've been loving my- "Row, Row, Row your Boat" and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". If you are fussing for whatever reason, and I start singing this song, you calm down. I love that you are listening and love my singing. :)

Around the corner....Halloween and more pulling up!

Love you, 

Momma

5 Month Birthday

Hi Carter-

You're 5 Months Old! This time on your month birthday you received a brand new set of ear molds. Yay!

Fun Facts for the Month-

1. You are still super cute!

 2. You love your sister. No matter what, she can always make you laugh!

3. You love your tummy. You sleep on your tummy and the second we lay you down to play, you immediately flip to your tummy. You are also getting pretty good at scooting around in a circle to get whatever toy you want.

4. You also love your thumb. (See previous post.) Because of this, you are over the pacifier. I tried offering it to you over the weekend and you spit it out. Instead, I lovingly pushed your hand towards your mouth to help you find your thumb.

5. You love bath time. You become a crazy kicker and screamer. I don't know why, but the second you get in the bath, you start kicking, talking, and screaming. Sometimes I just let you hang out for 10 minutes or more because you seem to be having such a good time. Plus it's a good work-out before bedtime.

6. Food Update-  Solid foods are going great. So great, that your teachers say you really want more of it! Just today we are going to start offering you breakfast, lunch, and dinner with your 6 oz bottles. Peas and pears were introduced this week.

7. Sleep Update- Sleeping through the night is still going great. Although this week, you have been waking up at 5:30a instead of 6:30a. (not cool) I'm thinking growth spurt or we need to increase your before bed bottle. Long daytime naps are also wonderful. So wonderful, that sometimes Mom and Dad get to grab a quick nap on the weekends.

8. Hearing Update- There was mix-up at your last ear mold appointment where they accidentally received ear molds for a much older child. Your new hearing aids are a lot less sensitive; so we were able to make your ear molds last, but you are starting to accidentally pull them out. We tried attaching them to the buddy-tether, but then you would just catch the string. So then we put your pilot cap/hat on or even better your Nationals hat. They are both really cute, and since it's getting colder out, it also keeps your adorable head warm. Otherwise, I think you are doing great and seem to be responding to all the Ling-Six sounds ( S/Sh are sometimes iffy.) We'll find out more next month when you have your first Hearing Test.

Milestone of the Month- "Da-Da" Your teachers at school have been working on this with you. You've been mouthing it for weeks and then yesterday you started saying it...a lot! Speech therapy starts next month; so we want to make sure we hear lots of hard consonants from you.

Story of the Month- Ear Mold Envy- Over the weekend, we took you with us to Best Buy to pick up the family iPad, something I'm sure you'll learn just as quickly as your sister. Our Best Buy helper, Riley, asked: "Where we got your custom ear molds made?" We replied, "Umm, Vanderbilt. If you have pediatric hearing loss, they'll really hook you up!" He was a drummer and thought yours were cool, and had been having a hard time finding a place to take his ear mold. Mom and Dad just thought it was a funny encounter, and maybe something that will happen more often since there are so many musicians in Nashville.

Six months is around the corner. :)

Love,

Mama

4th Month Birthday

Hey Cart-Cart-

You're 4 months old today and growing like crazy. Mom and Dad weighed you the other day using our non-fancy scale, and we think you are 19lbs! We'll see what your doctor's fancy scale says next week.

A couple fun facts-
1. You are super cute!
2. You love to bounce and be upright. We are borrowing a friend's hanging bouncer. You love it, and we love watching your little feet move around.
3. You are already on your 3rd set of ear molds. You still cry when we put your ears on every morning, but the second they are on, you start talking. We love hearing you babble and can't wait to hear what more you have to say.
4. You love when Mommy grabs your feet or tickles you. Over the weekend, you kept cracking up every time I said "banana".
5. You started on solid food this week. First foods are applesauce, banana, or butternut squash mixed with rice cereal. You weren't too excited at first, but only a day later, your teacher reported that you loved your new foods.

6. And finally, you reached a developmental milestone at exactly 4 months and rolled over today! Congrats!

Also...grabbing your feet-

On the horizon..sleeping through the night. (please.)

Love you,

Mama