Fireworks!!!

This entry is a little late, but even though I'm posting it nearly a week into August, it's really the July post. July was a pretty busy month for all of us, and also a month of firsts for the little guy, as well as for his little brother. First, we begin with some general updates on Billy's continuing development.

Billy's communication skills experienced a major breakthrough this month. For the first time, he's begun pointing at everything, letting you know what he wants, where things go, what he's looking for, and how he's feeling. It has become so much easier to understand what's going on in his head since this very simple development occurred. When he falls down and gets hurt, he's able to point at what hurts, and also at what happened that caused him to get hurt. That allows us to show him what happened, explain it to him to hopefully prevent it from happening again, and to watch him seem to really understand the point we're trying to get a across to him.

His language skills are continuing at a gradual pace. He continues to add words to his vocabulary, like Elmo and elbow, is beginning to get back to saying Mama, can make the sounds of several animals from growling like a lion, mooing like a cow, or making sheep noises. He's also trying out the first sound in each word when you read to him. Show him a helicopter and say the word and if he's really paying attention, he'll start saying "hhh". "Hhhheee". Basically just the first sound of animals and objects he's looking at.

Billy's physical development is continuing as well. He can climb in and out of the adult sized chairs on the patio or on or off the couch in the living room. He's able to run quite well now and chooses to do so whenever there's something that he really wants, such as his milk or to give Momma a kiss goodnight. He can cross his fingers now and he's also begun to steer the objects that he pushes, such as his little seated cart, or a laundry basket with wheels. He understands that he can go in reverse, redirect a cart that is being pushed into a wall or object to keep it going, and flip these objects properly onto their wheels to get them moving. He's also begun shaking his head "yes" when you ask him if he wants something. He hasn't learned "no" yet, but he will just stare at you if he doesn't want what you just asked him. He's also started doing "tricks", which amount to basically trying to get on all fours and then lifting one leg up, or putting his head into the carpet like he's about to do a somersault.

Mentally, he's continuing to grasp quite a few new concepts. The little plastic ball he has with nearly a dozen color coded and cut out shapes on it isn't much of a problem for him anymore. He's able to get pretty much all of his shapes into the ball each time with minimal assistance (spinning the ball for him to find the proper opening). He tries to handle the mouse when he and I watch Youtube clips, which to me is the best way to teach him about animals and objects. Show him the animal or object in action. He'll watch Youtube clips for a good solid hour straight. He also started coloring with new washable crayons that his Mother gave him.

Another interesting thing about Billy is that I continue to include him in nearly everything I do when I'm home with him. If I'm doing it, then my 15 month old son is doing it with me. If we let the dog out of his kennel, Billy can do it. He runs in, unlatches the top and bottom locks, and opens the gate door so the dog can pop out. Or he can let the dog out by helping me take care of the security features at the house and then opening the sliding glass door. He also feeds the dog by getting his empty bowl, opening the dog food, scooping the food (with assistance), returning it to the dog, getting the dog's water, and getting it all put back where it goes. He gets himself milk when he's thirsty with minimal assistance from Dad. He runs to the kitchen, opens the fridge (needs a bit of assistance for that part from me), points to his milk he wants down, gets his cup to pour the milk in, unscrews the cap on the milk and his sippy cup, then drags the milk back to the fridge so I can put it away.

At nighttime, he's mastered his routine. He'll get his own toothbrush, then brush himself (after I do the serious part first), then he turns on his night light and his fan, gets his fresh diaper so I can change it for him, opens the closet and the dresser and gets out his new fresh pajamas so I can get him into the them, turns on his "Stars and Moon" projected lights to get this all over his ceiling at night, and then goes right to bed after we practice naming our ears, eyes, nose, teeth, hair, etc. He's know most of the general body parts from his hair to his toes. Then he gets his teddy bear, a kiss goodnight, the light turned off for him, he gets asked where "daddy" is (which he always gets right), and then we leave the room and he goes right to sleep. The trick for Billy was routine. Within 5-7 days, you can get him into a just about any kind of a routine you want and it makes life a whole lot easier.

Billy had a chance to make it to his first two sporting events this month, too. We made it to a Minor League baseball game and an Arena League football game, both for work related functions, but for Billy, they were much, much more. I think the football game had a much larger impact on him. The sounds and the crowd and the cheering and fan costumes (Halloween in July night) was so exciting for him that he pretty much just sat there quietly eating and drinking and taking it all in until halftime. At the baseball game, we spent the bulk of the time on the party deck with a bunch of my co-workers and their families, so Billy wasn't really paying attention to what was going on around us as far as the game was concerned. Either way, both were new experiences for him. If possible, I'm going to try and get him to an NFL game this year, but we'll see how the season plays out.

Billy just had his 15 month checkup and everything went great. He weighed in at about 24 lbs and 32" in length, which was good enough for the 50th percentile in weight and the 75th percentile in height. Billy still has a lean appearance with minimal baby fat on him, but the doctor says that he's doing great from a health standpoint. His early stage walking and pretty healthy diet are likely contributing to his lean appearance.

From a dietary standpoint, Billy is getting plenty of whole milk, has been off of a bottle now for a couple months, gets a well balanced diet which pretty much consists of whatever Mom and Dad are eating cut into tiny pieces, and also drinks plenty of water, which is vital in these triple digit temps we have been experiencing for the past month. We are still avoiding peanuts, hot dogs, popcorn, and raw carrots, but do cheat a bit with the grapes and raw apples (which we cut into the tiniest possible pieces without the skins to avoid choking).

Billy got a couple additional shots while he was in there, which he handled quite well, although he did develop a little fever for the first time after a set of shots, but it didn't last very long. His next doctor visit won't be until he's 18 months old, which should be in late October, right about the time that his little brother is due to be arriving into our lives.

Speaking of the new little one, there is much to discuss. The little guy is growing like a weed in there, while on the outside, his Mother and I are beginning to finalize some of the groundwork for his arrival. Potential names have narrowed to a single choice and then a couple backups, but we're not 100% just yet, so that name will sit in limbo for the time being. Once we've confirmed, we'll be happy to share it, but right now, only a couple people know what we're leaning toward. But preparation goes well beyond that. We are also planning on adding a dual stroller, eventually a toddler bed for Billy, possibly upgrading a car seat, and making some wholesale changes to the boys room (my favorite part).

After some intense debate, we've decided (ahem!) that it is in the best interest of the boys to immediately tear apart their jungle themed room and replace it with a more fitting Ohio State Buckeye themed room, complete with a hand made Ohio State quilt and pillow from their Nanny, numerous flags and footballs, a lamp, various pictures and Ohio State mirrors, and to top it all off, their main wall is to be painted to look like the field of Ohio Stadium, complete with the 50 yard line "O" and "Ohio State" in one End Zone opposite "Buckeyes" in the other. I will include photos of this project as it gets under way, but with the new baby likely staying in the bedroom with Antoinette and I for the first 8-12 weeks, there really isn't much of a rush since he won't join his brother in their bedroom until sometime after New Year's, probably closer to February of 2011.

Back to the new baby. At this point, which is 26 weeks along (nearly 6 months pregnant), he's about 9" long from crown to rump and tips the scales at a whopping two pounds. At this stage, it is common to begin experiencing pain under the ribs as the baby begins to really fill up his home now. With a what is nearly a completely developed set of eyes, he begins to open his eyelids once again. The eyes are some shade of blue as the pigment will not completely take its final color until several weeks or even a month after birth. The baby is quite lean and will gradually begin to pack on the pounds from here on out with very important baby fat. His finger and toenails have begun to grow and blood has begun surging through the developing blood vessels in the lungs. The placenta and the baby are of nearly equal size as the umbilical continues to slam blood into the baby's body with incredible force. Survival rate in case of a early delivery at this point is 70% in a hospital setting, although several months in the hospital's care would likely be required.

Antoinette's uterus should be exceeding the size of a soccer ball at this point. The baby's fingers are becoming more capable and he is now able to ball his hands up into little fists. His ears have worked themselves into the proper location, hair has begun to grow on his head, his eyebrows are fully developed, his body is covered in the very fine lanugo hair and his skin coated in a waxy substance called vernix. He is constantly inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid as he prepares those developing lungs for his first breath in the outside world. His bones, muscles, and organs are continuing to grow at a steady pace and both Antoinette and I can feel the heavy kicks and movement inside her belly.

The pictures from this week begin with the final shots from the Washington D.C. trip, followed by some pictures of the 4th of July in St. Augustine, and the sporting events of the past month that we were able to attend. Hope you enjoy them all.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjChXYscVsM