FFF: A Few Highlights from 12-13 Months

I just realized that I haven't posted an "update" about Enoch's development lately.  :/  So sorry!   And so to the best of my ability, here's some of what has happened over the past 2 months.

Movement- Enoch is crawling everywhere these days and can climb over obstacles with little problem.  He loves walking along objects (like couches, cabinets, etc.), with his walker, or while holding onto Hugh's pants.  Although he can stand by himself for a few seconds, he's not confident yet that he wants to walk by himself.

Teeth- Enoch worked in his bottom left molar over these past two months, putting him up to 9 teeth!  Although it took such a long time for his molar to work in, he really likes using it now for chewing.  :)  And in my opinion, we only had a few days of teething-related crabbiness, so I was thankful for that!

Skills- Enoch can tell you what a puppy and a rhinoceros say, and now he can also (usually) point to his head, belly, and ears on command.  He is still learning nose, mouth, eyes, and the rest.  He loves to clap his hands, wave, and blow kisses on command {unless we are in public, and then he only does it when no one is looking, like when we are in the parking lot, haha!}.  He also just learned how to use his hands to say "more" while eating (we ask him to use his hands rather than whining or hitting the high chair).   Little Man has also just become good at letting us brush his teeth {which used to be such a struggle}, and he has just figured out how light switches work and always reaches for them when we enter and leave rooms.

Obedience- Little Guy does pretty well obeying commands that he understands (like come here, share, drink some milk, no, don't touch, etc.).  A few commands that we are working on right now (meaning he isn't great at obeying them yet) are not opening cabinets, not hitting, not throwing, and not complaining (aka: whining).   I am continually amazed at how quickly Enoch learns these commands {smart little cookie}, but I am also quickly reminded with each new command that we start learning that his will is so strong.  Right now, it isn't uncommon for him to commit an offense (one that he knows is wrong) and immediately look up at me or Hugh to see if he's going to get in trouble for it.  We've had to be on our toes about being consistent at disciplining him, but I can already look back a few months and see the progress that he is making with obeying Mama and Daddy.  {As a side note so that I can remember next time around, we began teaching obedience with "no" around the time Enoch learned to crawl.}

Eating- First, I should say that Enoch is up to 24 lbs {and quite barrel-chested, in our opinion}!!!   We are SO thankful that the Lord answered our prayers and gave him growth.  :)  On most days, Enoch will nurse 4 times, drink 2 (7 oz ea) cups of milk (via straw), and eat three meals with one or two small snacks (but the snacking is irregular and he doesn't require it).  Breakfast is always applesauce mixed with yogurt {usually Hugh eats breakfast with him}.  Lunch is always a cup of milk, a grain (usually whole wheat bread), a veggie, and a fruit.  Dinner is usually the same as lunch except that sometimes he gets extra protein from cheese, beans, or meat.  And if I'm having something like chicken noodle soup or spaghetti, he usually eats that in place of the veggie/grain.  His favorite foods are: bananas, string cheese, cheerios, and graham crackers.   He has also just learned how to hold a long piece of food (like string cheese) in his hand and take bites (rather than shoving it all in his mouth at the same time).

This was during the sleep-deprived
period and he would just conk out randomly.
This was during family worship, right
before nap time.

Sleep- Little Guy is still taking 2 naps a day, and he generally sleeps from 6 or 6:30 pm until 5:30 or 6 am.  At around 12 mos, a series of events (2 out-of-state trips and learning to pull up in the crib) caused his sleep to become "off" to say the least.  He would go to bed pretty well, but his naps were 30 minutes long (usually they're 1-1.5 hrs, and 30 min simply doesn't restore or reset our little guy) and he was waking up at 3 or 3:30 every morning.  At first, we weren't sure what to do or even what was wrong, but we finally started putting everything together and realized that he was suffering from sleep deprivation and it was only causing him to become more sleep deprived.  So we went through 3-4 weeks of re-training his sleep habits and helping him catch-up on the sleep he had been lacking.  Although I'm sure we didn't do everything right, we did eventually help him get back to his normal sleep routine, which we are so thankful for!  {When Enoch was little, we learned a lot from Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Marc Weissbluth, and it has really helped us understand baby's sleep habits and needs.  So that's what we looked to for some help when this sleep issue reared it's head.}

Likes- wrestling with Daddy, dog watching, reading books, stacking rings, putting objects in other objects, playing "where's the baby", getting out of the house & seeing people, being tickled (see video below), sorting tupperware, swinging

Dislikes- not getting his way {of course}, having to wait to nurse