12 month appointment

Well, Matthew just had his 12 month appointment today, I guess that is a fun way to spend Mardi Gras....he is 31 inches tall which is in the 85th or so percentile (so he is a tall kid), 21lbs 5 oz (50th percentile) and 18 inches on the head circumference (also 50th percentile) so basically slightly tall but otherwise completely average kid.
He got 3 shots today and he did not like that but for the milestones of what he should do:

Be able to say 1-3 words....hmmmm he is his momma's kid in that he is a chatty one but the definitive words are not quite there. "dada", "dog" and "duck" are all about the same and "mmmm", "mama", "more", "milk" are all about the same...so hopefully those tubes he has that have made a huge difference on the ear infections will allow his hearing of the unique sounds and differences in words to kick in. I am sure he will be chatting away coherently very soon which words such as No, Mine, etc...you all know those words.

Have a definite understanding of a few simple words, he does...I wish "no" was better understood but he thinks its a game, cute or whatever so he is still grabbing blinds, pushing the buttons on the TV, tearing pages in books, eating the wood of the books, chasing and grabbing at queenie (she is beginning to fight back with growls and barks), biting mommy and pulling mommy's hair.

Point with index finger, have a percise pincer grasp and wave "bye-bye" He does this stuff, he feeds himself, grabs my hair and queenie when he can and it is tough to get him to release...so I think he is good to go here

Look for dropped or hidden objects, especially my keys, phone, the TV remote and whatever else he probably shouldn't have, yep I would say he is ok on this developmental milestone

Play games like peek-a-boo, pat-a-cake and so big...bang 2 blocks together, he does the peek a boo game and banging of objects together, I am not sure we do pat-a-cake enough for him to clue in there, but he does clap his hands to music when he likes a beat. So going to give him a passing grade here!

Follow a daily pattern or routine, well thanks to Daycare I think we are good here. The afternoons and weekends with me are hit and miss with appointments and travel but we do try to keep to a routine.

Pull to stand, cruise, maybe stand along and may take a few steps. We are full up walking and trying to run, especially to hug and Kiss mommy when she picks up from day care or to get queenie so I think we are head of the game here.

Drink from a cup and feed self. Its a mess but he does feed with pick-up foods, we still do baby foods to ensure he is getting veggies and fruit and he is showing an interest in holding a spoon and putting it in the food and at times it goes towards his mouth and not his other hand to feel and play with...the cup he does at daycare but not so much at home...but he (and Daddy who doesn't fool with the cups) are in for a rude surprise in a few weeks, I will give it 1 April and then all bottles are going away, so he will start doing cups at home and Daddy will have to adjust too...he likes to feed himself with the bottle so that is a plus but he kinda knows that if he fights and throws the sippy cup enough, he will get his bottle and not have to mess with the cup....so yeah, gotta really just go cold turkey on this and stick with it.

Examine an object before putting in mouth, he definitely does but it always ends up in the mouth.

Opens cabinets and pulls tableclothes, well we don't have table-clothes so not 100% sure there but he does open all cabinets not baby-proofed (so one, the pot and pan one) and he does pull the dishtowel down when it is hanging to dry on the oven handle so I think we are a go on this one.

So that's it for those developmental milestones, pretty much all except 1-2 and really close on them or in need of parents to just suck up and make it happen....

The discipline part is our next key thing, the handout from the Doctor's office recommends teaching and not punishing. So its about attention and if you have a behavior you don't like it suggest to simple say "no" and then walk away so you discourage attention and the behavior to continue. Likewise for behaviors you want to encourage, give lots of attention. So I guess we need to do a better job here, Queenie is getting harassed badly and when she isn't quick or aware and he gets hold of her it is bad...plus this awful hair holding/pulling...so I wonder on the no and little hand slap? is the hand slap so bad?

Last thing I want to point out is the feeding, so 3 meals and 2 snacks...it has in Caps, NO SNACKING (unscheduled) and avoid junk food. Also to allow child to only eat in high chair in a designated area and not in front of TV or food offered while playing....
Must say I haven't always done this, I have offered him some cookie pieces while he is running around and playing and while the TV is going with something (either for me or him, although he is not a TV watcher). So I guess I need to do a better job there.
Last he can have 4-6 oz of juice, I have some small samples of pear, apple and mixed fruit. I tried this a few months ago, gosh DEC and he was not a fan and I was thinking of trying again but I guess I might hold off as we do the transition to whole  milk and do the water for drinks during day vs formula...so the juice just might have to come later once we get better on water and milk.

Well, that is a long post but I thought interesting, he appears to be on-track. Wearing out his 12 month stuff and thanks to all that sent some wonderful 18 month clothes....just hope it stays cold here for a few more weeks so he can wear some of the really nice clothes...He should be needing some nice 18 month shorts and t-shirts in a few weeks.

Nothing else to really report...it is the start of Lent tomorrow and while Matthew is virtually a vegetarian it probably won't be a big deal to go without the lunch meat for one day, I guess I might have to get Jay to take me to this Fish place we have been wanting to try tomorrow night for dinner...it is almost our 3 yr anniversary...we could celebrate 1 day early right??? and then maybe again on Friday which is 1 day late??? Guess I better find another family friendly fish/shrimp place!
Can't believe 3 yrs already...it is the "leather" anniversary so I got Jay a really nice black belt and it looks like we need to go get a new Brown one as well b/c his are looking beat up....as for me, I was thinking of going to look at brown boots but just haven't gotten to the shoe store...but I don't need a purse, coat, belt or wallet so this anniversary kinda sucks...too bad they don't make yoga clothes in leather...I could use a few new yoga tops.
Until next post...which might be a while...Bodyflow training this weekend and well busy with this online class with South University...plus starting back up with APUS soon so my free time gets taken quickly with all the grading, student forums and e-mails that I have to deal with and accomplish. I hope to get back soon and give more updates on Matt's progress, especially when we get a better handle on the discipline and the talking. Any suggestions on the discipline would be greatly appreciated.