Thursday, November 19, 2015

Tate: One Year Old



Our baby is now a one year old! This year sure zoomed by. Having a new baby is always a whirlwind, but we've settled into our new "normal" and have loved having sweet Tate in our family this past year. Here are some stats at one year:
-He doesn't hold still for more than two seconds, hence all the the blurry or silly pictures. This is a busy stage! 
-He was still nursing 3-4 times a day up until his birthday on the 11th, but I weaned him pretty abruptly this past week and and we're officially done with nursing. (Tate would have loved to nurse longer, but I'm leaving for a few days for my brother's wedding so I decided to just wean him and be done.) Now he takes a couple sippy cups of whole milk throughout the day, but I think he still misses the nursing :(
-He eats meals and snacks with us and likes most foods. His favorites are strawberries, pears, soups, pastas, chicken, rice, wheat pancakes, and greek yogurt. He's not a big carb eater, even if it's homemade bread or muffins! Who is this child!?
-He's still a great sleeper. We put him to bed at 7 pm and he sleeps til about 6:30 or 7 am. He usually naps from 9-10:30 and 2-4. He still naps with a pacifier- I've been kind of lazy about weaning him from it, but we'll get to that eventually!
-His favorite activities are climbing up the stairs, opening cupboards, emptying drawers, taking marker lids off, chewing on crayons, throwing things, dropping things through the slats of the staircase, playing at the park, going on stroller rides, flipping light switches on and off, wrestling with Josh, splashing in the bathtub, and laughing with his two silly sisters. 
-His nicknames are Taters, Tater Tot, Little T, and other random nicknames from Bryn and Mya that change daily.
-He isn't talking much yet, but he says "Mom!" whenever he needs something. Usually it's "Mom!" with his hand outstretched to what he wants. He also says "Dad" for Josh and "Uh uh uh" when he's grabbing the toilet paper or doing something he knows he's not supposed to. His only other recognizable word is "Ball"... and we hear that one all day long "Ball! Ball! Ball!" 
-Speaking of balls, that is definitely his favorite toy. His favorite is a beach ball that he chases all around the room. He thinks wrapped up diapers are balls and always tries to grab the diapers and chuck them, saying "Ball!"
-He's speedy little crawler and climber, but he's still not taking more than 5-6 steps at a time. He'll walk along the furniture or against the walls, and take a few cute little steps here and there, but that's as good as it gets for now. I'm sure he'll figure it out in the next month or so.
-Though shy at times, he is such a happy guy. He gives big smiles to people in stores or at church. Of course we are biased, but we think he's a pretty cute little guy!
We LOVE you so much, Tate!
Bryn, Mya, and Tate at one year old.
And below, Tate's first year...



Oh, we love this little guy so much!

HERE is Mya's first year pics
and HERE is Bryn's first year pics

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Halloween


Halloween!
 Bryn was a witch, with a homemade broom, but the most basic outfit from Target. I didn't have it in me to do homemade costumes this year, but the kids didn't seem to mind and it saved me lots of time and worry!
 Mya was the sweetest little Ariel
 Tate squeezed into Mya's old lion costume from three years ago. 
 On Friday night we had our annual Trunk or Treat at church. I love our "ward family" so much. It's just full of such wonderful, kind people. I'm so grateful for the wonderful friends we've made here and the great kids that our children get to be buddies with. 
 Tate!
 On Halloween night we got together with the Egans and the Oaks for trick or treating. The kids had such a great time going from house to house together. 

After trick or treating we went to the Egan's house for hot cocoa and the most delicious homemade doughnuts with maple icing. This isn't the first time Tessa has wowed us with her baking! Yum.
Lion on the loose!
Halloween isn't my favorite holiday, but it was such a fun weekend with the kids. Holidays are always so fun with my little family.