Milestones

Once you hit one year of age the 'big' milestones of a baby's life are pretty much complete. The days of snapping crazy amounts of pictures are over and there are far fewer major milestones to be had. Drew has had quite a few smaller ones lately and I wanted to take a second to share the news on those and give my baby a nice, quiet golf clap for his accomplishments.

~ Cold Liquids: Drew never really liked anything cold and up until about a week ago, we had been warming up his milk for him. Not too warm, but just to take the edge off cold milk. Well our new daycare gives them milk straight from the fridge, so after a few rough days of milk protests, he's fully drinking cold milk! 

~ Learning: His little noggin is just soaking up so much. Mimi and Grandpa taught him where his arm is and if you ask where it is, he will now point to his wrist area. He has since learned where his toes and nose is and we're currently working on fingers and ears. He had caught onto the meaning of the word 'doggie' quite some time ago, but lately understands what a 'bath' is and also says 'bye' as soon as I lift him up at school. I like knowing that he understands words and their meaning instead of just repeating them. 

~ Utensils: Drew is doing really well with the plate and bowl at mealtime instead of us just plopping his food on the highchair. He really enjoys 'helping' guide the spoon to his mouth and seems to understand the point of utensils. Unfortunately, he still just chews on straws instead of sucking out of them. 

~ Brushing his teeth: Due to a technique the pediatric dentist taught me, Drew now loves brushing his teeth. He will let me do it for a few minutes knowing that he gets to take hold of the brush after that and do it himself.

~ Standing: He is getting so much more adventurous and can stand for quite a few seconds, sometimes even take a couple steps before losing balance. He isn't walking yet and because he is the size of a lot of 20-24 month olds, I don't blame the judging looks we get from others out in public. He we will get there when he is ready.

~ Signing: He has now signed the word for 'milk' a few times lately and we're working on the sign for 'more' in case he is every hungry. 

~ Laughing: While it's not a true 'milestone', there was a big shift. About a month ago, Drew began laughing at funny things, instead of only when we would make certain faces or tickle him. For instance, he burped loudly one evening and laughed immediately after. He's also laughed when we have dropped items and it's just adorable. I love that he understands humor. There can never be enough of that in this world.

I think that's about it for now! What small milestones did your child accomplish lately? I think we should reward those and not only always be focused on the larger ones!