Friday, February 13, 2015

Cullen @ 11 Months!



11 months. I can barely wrap my head around the fact that this sweet boy is almost a whole year old. And if you were to watch him cruise around the house sorting toys  (un-sorting toys would probably be a better explanation) and jabbering away, you'd swear he was closer to two.

This month, Cullen has gone to some zumba classes, library story-times, a trip to the Children's museum in Indy, an indoor waterpark, spent a few of the warmer days strolling the sidewalks outside, and made countless laps around the house. He is getting so sharp and figures things out that I swear are too advanced for such a little person.

Cullen hasn't gotten any new teeth this month, but he insists on grinding the 7 existing ones he does have together- hard. (I swear he only does it to watch his mama cringe) He did catch a little cold while Avery was down the flu and I sat up with him one night when he was running a fever but thankfully, that ended up being the worst of it. *whew*

Poor Cullen fell and hit his mouth on a chair a few weeks ago and immediately started gushing blood from his mouth (head wounds are scary like that). As soon as I could clear the blood away long enough to see what had happened, I realized that he had completely torn his frenulum (the chunk of skin that runs between baby's front teeth) I freaked out a little bit because there was just a big flap of skin hanging inside his upper lip that was supposed to be connected between his teeth. I did some internet research and found this is pretty common and would heal on its own (eventually it would shrink away anyway to make room for teeth as they grow in) Once the bleeding stopped, Cullen wasn't in any pain and could nurse and eat just fine and now his front teeth have actually grown together more and the chunk of skin has all but disappeared, totally unnoticeable. *crisis averted*

This was the first month that he consistently started sleeping through the night (cue the heavenly choirs!) It sometimes takes him an hour or so to finally settle for the night, but once he does he's out until morning. He still nurses 4 times a day and naps once, sometimes twice (his nap schedule is really hit-or-miss)

Cullen has been much more of a willing participant in our weekly photo shoots than Avery was. (or maybe I've just lowered my standards and made less of an ordeal out of it than I did with Avery) Either way, Cullen is more than happy to pose on his back for a few minutes and flash me some cheese-ball grins, I rarely have to take more than 20 shots to get a good one- he's made it so easy!

This month, Cullen:
Loves Avery, cell phones, remotes, any toy with wheels, Bella's food/water dishes, books, music, splashing in the bath, climbing the stairs, clapping, waving, drinking from straws/sippy cups, rearranging the refrigerator, cuddling, playing peek-a-boo, the Little People zoo, being tickled, eating EVERYTHING.

Dislikes: diaper changes, clothing changes, being tired, being hungry, being alone, having toys ripped away from him, being told 'no'

Favorite foods: Beans, ham, eggs, avocado, yogurt, noodles, green beans, crackers, fruit (all of them)  He continues to be a great eater and eats pretty much everything the rest of us are having! He's also learning to use utensils while he eats and he's pretty proud to be drinking from a cup.

Cullen is just the sweetest little cuddly ball of baby, I could snuggle him all day long. I can feel him growling leaner and longer by the day and soon those cheeks will deflate. But for now, I'm going to squeeze those thighs, smooch those cheeks and breathe in that sweet baby breath like it's my job (I guess, technically, it is!) He applauded when I came into his room to get him up this morning. Is there any better way to start the day? I'm one lucky mama.

I've started preparing for his first birthday party (seriously one of my favorite activities ever) and I know it will be here before we know it. We are already excited to have some friends and family over, it's been a long few weeks spent isolated in the house! (and due to the nasty flu that made Avery miserable, we had to cancel our superbowl party that we had been looking forward to for weeks...) So bring on spring! We are ready for some warm-weather adventures.


 Happy Valentine's Day! I hope your day is full of love and fuzzy feelings :)

Avery @ 11 months