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This little mouse turned ONE last month!! Instead of a party, we celebrated by taking him and his brother to the happiest place on Earth!!! That may have been one of the most exhausting vacations of my life!! Of course, it rained most of the days we were there, the castle was under construction, Lightning McQueen never came out and poor Dylan was SO sick the entire time but I still think they had fun?
On Dylan's real birthday we had his favorite dinner (pizza!), let him eat a cupcake (he gagged because he ate too much frosting), sang happy birthday to him and gave him just a few gifts, a toy microphone and my parents got him a Mickey Mouse blanket from Disneyland. I felt a little guilty because Clark's first birthday was such a big production but honestly, I don't think Dylan would have liked a big party any more than our little family celebration.
Here are pictures of both boys on their first birthday! Do you think they look like brothers?? To me, they look about as related as my sister and me...night and day!
twelve month stats:
weight: 19.7 lbs. (20th percentile)
length: 32 in. (99th percentile)
head circ: 18 in. (47th percentile)
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f i r s t s
♥ Tantrums - So I don't remember Clark throwing tantrums this early but maybe Dylan has caught on faster by watching his older brother! He started throwing himself on the floor and crying in the mornings after nursing (I think it's when my milk stops letting down) and he will also throw himself onto his back and flail around when someone takes something from him (either Clark taking a toy or when I take something he can't play with). Also, when he's done eating he will throw his food and drink on the floor one by one while making eye contact, it's hilarious!
♥ Splashing in the toilet! This is something Clark has NEVER done but Dylan is a bit more adventurous than Clark, in my opinion! He's only actually done it once (toilet was freshly cleaned!) but has tried to do it several times!!
♥ Digging in the trash - Again, Clark has never done this to this day! When Dylan learned that I throw leftover food in the trash, suddenly that trash can was his new favorite thing, haha! We have to keep a case of water bottles on the trash can lid to keep him from getting in there.
♥ Bowl of cereal - Just like his big bro, Dylan is a big fan of cereal! He doesn't like certain textures (Shredded Wheat, Life) and will stick his tongue out and try to wipe them off but he loves Honey Nut cheerios! Also Trix HA!
♥ Fruit snacks - After Clark shared his fruit snacks with Dylan one day, I decided he's old enough to have them (cut in half) and they are Dylan's new favorite food!! He goes CRAZY when you take out the fruit snacks!
♥ First steps - Dylan took his first steps shortly after turning one! He's still very unsure about it and will only walk 2-3 steps from one person to another, esp. if you have something he wants! He definitely still prefers crawling and is a bit unbalanced but I love seeing the look of pride on his face when he walks to me!
f a v o r i t e s
At twelve months Dylan loves cars, books, being outside, swinging, baths, pushing things, making messes, stealing Clark's sippy cups, raiding the pantry, making smacking sounds with his tongue, playing with Jeeves, dancing, sleeping in, doing whatever Clark is doing, snuggling with mama, being read to, opening & closing doors, throwing the dvd's everywhere, independently exploring and is a total mama's boy!
e a t
This month we had a little scare when we discovered Dylan is allergic to cashews!! Well, we're pretty sure it's cashews...I made crockpot cashew chicken and shortly afterwards, Dylan got hives!! They started small and then started to get bigger and formed one huge hive on his butt. A few hours later, they had spread to his face!!
We called the emergency on-call doctor since it was late at night and they said to give him Children's Benadryl and see if that helped and if he got worse or couldn't breathe to bring him in. We gave him some prescription allergy medicine we got from the doctor this week (also found out he has Spring allergies!) and that did the trick. The hives didn't come back except when he pooped the next day and then they were only in the spots where the poop touched his butt!! So it was definitely something he ate! The cashew chicken was the most suspicious thing he had that day and if it wasn't the cashews it could have been the chili sauce or a number of other ingredients in it. Weird, because he's had both peanut and almond butter just fine!
I'm sad to say the weaning process has begun...Dyl is now nursing only two times a day and the sessions are getting shorter and shorter. He gets impatient when it takes forever for my milk to come and then there's never very much of it so he loses interest fast, which in turn has lowered my milk supply so pretty soon there won't be any more milk! I plan to continue to nurse as long as he wants to but I don't think that will be very much longer. This kid has his own agenda and waiting for mom's milk just doesn't make the cut most of the time!
Dylan is still a great eater but he has started to refuse certain things or now when he's full he will stick out his tongue after we give him a bite and wipe off the food, haha! At least he self-regulates...unless it's fruit snacks. He would eat those forever. Also, he INHALES Go-Go Squeezes like there's no tomorrow!
s l e e p
This month we hit a HUGE sleep regression that felt like it lasted an eternity!! It all started when he got sick...and then we took him on vacation! So Dylan is a wonderful sleeper at home in his crib. Whenever we're at my mom's though or on vacation and he has to sleep in a pack 'n play, just forget about it! He wakes up constantly and if you're sleeping in the same room as him, no one gets much sleep. I think he's just picky about how uncomfortable the pack 'n play is compared to his majestic crib and so he just doesn't sleep very well.
So, before our vacation, he wasn't sleeping well at home (waking up once or twice during the night and having a hard time going back down) but then in California, his sleep took a turn for the worst! Our first night at Birk and Al's, I was exhausted from the plane ride and went to bed shortly after Dylan. I was awakened about 30 minutes later. I shushed him and patted him but he kept crying like every 30 minutes or hourly it felt like, so finally I did what we've never done before......I brought him into our bed!!
I was the only one in the bed because Mark was in a trundle bed with Clark at the opposite end of the house (Clark doesn't like to sleep alone when we're not at home and also he probably would've fallen out of the bed). As soon as I brought Dylan into the bed and covered him up, snuggling up next to him, he slept like a dream! I think it was around 1 or 2 am and then he slept until about 6 am. I was too tired to get up so I just stayed laying down and eventually he laid back down next to me and we slept until 7:30.
I think Dylan may not have been sleeping well because he was cold in the pack 'n play. The room we were in had big windows along one wall, which had been open until we went to sleep. Also, the temperature was a lot lower than we keep it at our house (our upstairs gets really warm) so I have a feeling he may just have been waking up cold! The next night Mark and I switched so I could get a better night's sleep. I slept so good with Clark and Mark said Dylan was waking up a few times so he brought him into the bed and then they slept the whole night.
For the rest of our vacation we continued to bring Dylan into bed with us, although I think he made it the whole night in the pack 'n play a few times, simply because he was so exhausted! I really didn't mind sleeping with Dylan but I was worried about what going home would be like. When we got home, both Clark and Dylan had sleep troubles (usually they would alternate waking up) for a few weeks. We tried cry it out with Dylan but it didn't work as well as it had with Clark. Also, he was still sick (he was sick with a bad cough and cold for 5 weeks!) But somehow we got through it and now he's back to sleeping from 7:30 pm - 8:30/9 am. Hallelujah!!
p l a y / d e v e l o p m e n t
Dylan is one adventurous little cub! I used to think Clark was wild but compared to Dylan, Clark is pretty reserved! Clark was much more dependent on me than Dylan and wanted to be held more. Dyl loves exploring on his own and unless he's hungry or tired, he will pretty much play happily by himself or with Clark. I love how they entertain each other but Clark still doesn't like to share. He will have 15 cars to himself and give Dylan a broken tractor with 3 wheels!! And Dylan's no dummy, he's always after the coveted Lightning McQueen. Good thing Clark has 4 of them!
We all still treat Dylan like a baby (because he is the baby) but it's amazing how much he understands now. I think he understands most of what we say...I'll ask him if he wants to nurse and he tries to lift up my shirt, ask him if he's poopy and he points to his bum, tell him to give me something or tell him no when he's trying to do something and he obeys (most of the time!). He definitely has a mind of his own.
Some new things he's doing this month are pointing, handing us things over and over (a pouch, a book he wants us to read, toys), smacking his lips when he likes something, playing with toys, more babbling (he says boo, mama, and bye), and he's also got a new favorite book, Who Wears What. It's a textured book and he loooves it so much. We read it every night!
At Disneyland this lady said to me, "He looks just like you!" That was a first! I told her no one's ever said that and she said, "Well, the coloring's different but that face is all you!" Do you see it??
♥ l e t t e r s t o d y l a n ♥
My sweet Dylan,
You've been with us for one year now and we all can't imagine how we ever lived without you! Your brother just adores you, you have your daddy wrapped around your little finger, Grandma can't get enough of you, and you are my precious little angel! You have the sweetest spirit and just light up the room. Everyone comments on how adorable you are and I can't help but kiss you all day long! I'm kind of obsessed with you and the feeling is mutual. Every time you see me, you cry and reach out for me like you haven't seen me in years! Sometimes when you're eating, you start to get desperate to get out of your high-chair to be closer to me. I'll lean my head in and you grab it with both hands and put your forehead to mine, suck your fingers and close your eyes. Half the time I take you out of your high-chair and finish feeding you in my lap, which is your favorite! I know by now that this phase won't last forever (even though I have to admit, Clark still loves eating in my lap!)
My favorite thing about you is how easily excited you are! When I get down on the floor and start crawling after you, you shriek with delight! You love chasing your brother and will grab his cars any chance you get. When you hear the tub running, you come racing in to climb into the bath (even though I'm usually just rinsing out Clark's potty!) You love forts, playing peek-a-boo, Jeeves, and wrestling on the floor. You're always exploring and figuring things out, just like your daddy. You would sleep in every day if you could, just like your mama! I think you look just like your Aunt Stephy and you're already a little musician like your Uncle Sean!
You have brought so much joy into our family Dylan. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect addition. We love you so much!!!
Love,
your mama
