15 Month Update

Today our little boy turns 15 months old!

WHAT HAS HE BEEN UP TO LATELY?

*   He weighs between 23-24 pounds.

*   He is wearing size 12 and 18 month clothes, size 5 shoe, and size 4 diapers

*   He loves animals and is learning many animals sounds.

*   One of his favorite toys is a little people farm with it's animals

*   We have a hard time keeping his hands off of the fans, out of the cabinets, out of the food pantry, out

     of the garbage...  the list could go on and on.

*   He can say "no no no" and will shake his finger while saying it

*   He is getting some cute little curls in the back of his head.

*   He likes to squish his food with his index finger before eating it.  His favorite thing to squish is english 

     peas.

*   He uses his right and left hand to do tasks

*   He does not like to be in the dark

*   He is starting to feed himself with a spoon, but only on occasions

*   He has a pair of blue Old Navy flip flops that he wants to wear all day every day.  They are his favorite

      pair of shoes. 

*   He likes to shake hands

*   He can blow kisses and it melts my heart!

*   He can point to his eyes, nose, ears, toes, and belly button

*   New words he is saying: bye bye, gecko, cat in Spanish, nene (baby), and hey.

*   He is very much becoming a toddler and the tantrums that come with that stage are starting to begin as

     well.  He can definitely throw a fit, kick, scream and cry with the best of them.  Although the stage he is

     in now is a very fun one, this part of it can be anything but fun.  He is growing leaps and bounds and

     changing almost daily.

(those little hands rarely stay still or those sweet little feet either)

He is a precious child, tantrums and all.  We love him to the moon and back!

Fun Foto Friday

LOVE that sweet smile!

cooling off on a hot afternoon

picking coffee beans in Coban

Who Knew Burger King Could Be So Fun

We are big fans of the playland at the Burger King in Flores/ Santa Elena.  We try to incorporate it into our trips there when we can.  It is the perfect size for smaller kids and Cruz has a blast everytime we go.  We love that many of the restaurants in Guatemala have a place for kids to play.  We sure do consider that when picking places to eat these days.  Here are a few photos of him in action on our last trip there.

looking through the glass bubble

about to climb through the tunnel

He loves these steps!  He actually loves anything he can climb up.  He is a BIG climber.

I think he looks like a monkey in this photo, haha

Climbing up the rockwall

about to slide

Wordless Wednesday (with videos)

Sounds Good To Me

Listening to Cruz trying to verbally communicate has been a lot of fun for us.  He says things and we will both look at each other and laugh out loud.  Sometimes he can be so funny.  We have the Baby Einstein Baby's First Sounds video that he likes to watch.  On that video they sound out several letters.  He has been saying "ball" for about a month now, but lately after watching that video he will now say ba, ba, ball instead of just ball.  It is hilarious! 

His favorite word these days is "hot".  Because David most always has a cup of hot coffee in his hand, Cruz has heard him say many, many times "no Cruz, that is hot".  He has picked that up well.  He now points to every cup, bottle of water, candle, etc. and says hot.  He even says hot for things that are cold.  He has a book that he likes to read and when I turn to the page that has a campfire on it he points to it and says hot. He points to every lamp and overhead light too and says hot.  Well, the K'ekchi' have heard him saying it too.  The word for water in K'ekchi' is ha.  So when he points to their glass and says hot, they think he is saying ha (water).  They are really impressed although we have tried numerous times to correct them.  They are certain he is saying a K'ekchi' word.

He also says mama and dada well.  Most of the time he calls me mama but lately he has been coming up to me, patting me on the arm or leg and saying na na.  It's really sweet how he does it.  This weekend while visiting in a Ch'orti' village a lady heard him saying it.  I tried to correct him by telling him to say ma, ma, mama with an "m".  She informed me that mama in Ch'orti' was na na and that he was speaking Ch'orti'.  How funny is that! 

Another thing he has picked up from us and does all the time is going around stomping the floor, hitting the table, etc. as if he is killing ants and spiders.  The funny part is that when he does it he yells out "got it!".  I didn't realize we say that, but obviously we do. 

That boy is a hoot!

13 Month Update

This past Sunday Cruz turned 13 months.  I recently found out from reading another blog that the stickers I use for his monthly updates now come in 13-24 months so I ordered a set and had my mom mail them to me.  They are really cute and have a different form of transportation on each one.  I had not planned on doing his updates until he was two years old, but I think it will be fun to continue.  I plan to have a blog book printed of these updates when I am done.  It will be a nice treasure to keep and show him one day. 

So, at thirteen months, WHAT HAS HE BEEN UP TO LATELY?

*  He weighed 22.8 pounds at his one year check-up

*  He is 31 inches long

*  He still wears some 12 month clothes but is mostly wearing 18 month sizes

*  He wears size 4 shoe

*  He wears size 4 diapers

*  He has 8 teeth- four on top and four on bottom.  He is teething again and drooling all.day.long.  I had

    packed up all of his bibs but had to dig a few out for him to wear during the day because his shirts were

    getting soaked. 

*  He is walking everywhere and we love it!  The change from crawling to walking has been our favorite so

    far.  We love that we can put him down and he can walk with us or follow us around.  He is enjoying it

    also.

*  He keeps a bruise on his face/ head all the time.  He is very rowdy.  He climbs on everything.  He falls a

    a lot.

*   He loves to be outdoors and usually cries when we take him inside

*   He loves to play with sticks, rocks, and leaves

*   He loves water (warm or cold).  He is a trooper when it comes to having to take a cold shower.  He

     doesn't love it, but he handles it well.

*   He babbles all day long.  The locals assume he is speaking English, but we have no idea what he is

     saying.  He does point and say "dat" (that) a lot and he can say "nack" (snack).  He will walk to where I

     keep his snacks and point and tell me "nack" when he is hungry.  He also says "chucho" a lot.  It means

     dog/ mutt in Spanish but he calls everything chucho.  The locals thinks he means dog and loves that he

     can say that.

*   He is a great eater and will eat just about anything we feed him.  He still eats a mixture of baby food and

     table food. 

*   He is still nursing once a day (early morning) and drinks everything else from a sippie cup. 

*   He loves to play peep eye and will cover his eyes when I say "where's the baby" as if he is hiding.
*   He is obsessed with keeping all of the doors in our house closed.  We like to keep them open for fresh
     air but he walks around closing the doors all day long. 
*   He is a high maintenance sleeper!  He still wakes up during the night and sometimes can take up to two
     hours to get him back to sleep.  Most days he naps well but it is hard to get him to go down for a nap. 
     He most always cries when it is time for him to nap/ and or go to bed at night.  He just wants to play and
     not stop to rest. 
*   He attended his first VBS this month and had a great time.
*   He is such a friendly little guy.  He is funny, charming, and very social.  He loves to be around people.

We do have moments like these and they are not fun, haha

We are enjoying watching him grow, explore, and learn new things.  This is a fun age and he is a busy little fellow these days.  We love having him in our lives, and experiencing life through his.