Thursday 3 December 2015

Reu from 15-16 months

Reuben aged 15-16 months 

- Reuben has really progressed on the walking front. He went from walking in between people, to walking from one piece of furniture to the next, to venturing out to the middle of the room, to being a fully independent little (wobbly) walky talky as I like to call him

- Reu can say 'mmm' when you ask him what a cow says :) 
- He says 'mama' now! Hooray! 
- He can say 'again', 'dada' and 'bye bye' (well he's actually forgotten about bye bye recently, I think when he learns a new word it pushes the old one out! lol) 

- Reuben like to dance to sleeping bunnies. He lies down when the bunnies are sleeping and he jumps up and bounces when the bunnies are hopping. Very cute! 

- He loves the instruments at the library, snack time at playgroup and the little play room at Middleton grange. He's very aware of what's going on around him, and he points at balloons, cartoon characters and the the little rides that you see in town. He's definitely turning into a little boy, he's not just a baby anymore. 

- Reu continues to be a sociable little thing, and he's definitely most happy when he's around other people. He has a great time playing with all the kids from church, there's a fair amount of him getting passed around but he seems to love it. 

- Scott has trained Reuben to expect and love a snuggle in bed in the morning. Reu used to be hyper when he first woke up, now he has subdued snuggles with daddy for a few mins first. 

Thursday 10 September 2015

Reuben aged 13-14 months

Reuben 13-14 months 

- So it turns out that our Reu is quite the little performer, when the health visitor came to visit him for his 1 year check he was doing funny things to get a reaction from her. One such thing was that he lay on the floor with a toothbrush (a gift from the health visitor) hanging out of his mouth and he was squeaking the steering wheel on his pirate ship at the same time. All the while having a cheeky smirk on his face to get giggles from the health visitor. He looked so silly and it was very comical. 

While on holiday in Cyprus he wad great fun being the centre of attention. Not surprisingly, blue-eyed, blonde wavy-haired, chubby Reuben was a big hit with the Turks. He completely played up to it though, pointing, smiling, clapping his hands and my favourite, waving at random passers by to get waves back. He loved al fresco dining on the roadside, there were so many people to watch and give him attention , and lots of cats to feed from his high chair too. 

- Reuben likes putting things inside other things; pegs in a peg basket, the peg basket in the drawer, himself in the drawer beside the pegs in the peg basket; anything that fits into something else is worth playing with. On holiday he adored playing with wet sand, putting it in his bucket (and occasionally mouth) would occupy him for hours.  

- The little man loves the Mediterranean sea, he would squeal with delight when waves splashed him. 

- He also loved the pool and the slide into the pool, by the end of our fortnight in Cyprus he was so confident around the water that you had to be careful that he didn't throw himself into it (as my mum found out the wet way!) 

- Reuben loves the moon and stars and likes to point at them 

- in Cyprus he would walk laps round the pool with his lion baby walker - very cute

- Reu sometimes gets the giggles; his belly laugh bubbles up from inside him, it's contagious, and it's the best sound in the whole world! 

- on Saturday 8th August, Reuben took his first steps (just before he turned 14 months). He did it for daddy, and to show off to big cousins kara and kian. 



Reu aged 10-12 months

Reuben aged 10-12 months

- Reuben has become an expert sleeper! He now sleeps the whole way through the night and has a regular and predictable (praise The Lord!) nap. He sleeps for at least 2 hours every afternoon! It's bliss. He puts himself to sleep, no tears, no fuss. The little cherub is way more content and I am too. I think I'll be trying a strict routine like this earlier on with the next baby (there is none in existence yet, don't get excited!) 

- Reu has become very good at walking while holding onto fingers or while walking with the baby walker. He goes fast!  

- He responds to instructions and questions much more....

When you ask him to 'clap your hands' he does, or 'point to the... tree, flowers, ladies' (decorative ladies in our coving) he does. 

- Reu initiates games of 'peek a boo' while in the bath 

- He waves and says 'baba' when you leave a room, or he leaves a room, or in response to others saying it first. 

- Reuben is a kisser! He loves kisses. He kisses with a pout and with a baby kiss (mouth open like a fish). He instigates kisses, he kisses teddies, he kisses pictures of animals, he kissed several of his birthday cards. He's so affectionate. 

- He leans in for snuggles, he especially loves to do this with daddy. 

- Reu had a lovely first birthday party with lots of friends coming to celebrate with us. He had his first taste of cake (blueberry muffin, with icing and blueberries on top). He was not really interested in the cake, he was just delighted to pick the blueberries off the top and eat them. Most of the cakey bit was thrown on the floor in disapproval! 

I can't believe that our boy is a year old. What an amazing year it has been. He's brought so much joy, laughter and smiles to our lives, and we're so grateful to God for him. 










Sunday 14 June 2015

Reuben aged 7-10 months

Well I don't get time to blog any more! The ipad belongs to Reuben. When he's awake I don't get a chance to use it. And when Reu is asleep the ipad is in his room with the white noise app on. Long gone are the leisurely feeds and internet surfing! He's grown and developed so much in the last few months that it's hard to remember what he started to do when, but I can certainly tell you some cute stories!

So the most revolutionary change in the last few months is that Reuben learnt to crawl! On the 17th Feb to be exact. He's certainly enjoying being able to explore and express himself more. Now he won't sit still.

Reu has always been a sociable little creature, enjoying snuggles with lots of different people. Since learning to crawl he's started crawling to other mums and trying to get up on their laps for snuggles (little flirt!) My favourite memory is when Caitlin had her little one (Ava) on one knee and Reu on the other. Reuben always climbs all over Linda the children's centre leader and gets lots of cuddles with her.

He started crawling slowly but then got much faster. One day I was sorting out paper work in the living room and I heard the door creak. I turned round and Reu had opened the slightly ajar door and started to explore the hall way. I called out 'reuben' and I heard the scuttling sound of Reuben crawling around the place and then little chap stuck his head back round the door with the cheekiest little smirk on his face! So sweet that he came back when I called his name.

It seems Reuben had about a million milestones in one week. Soon after learning to crawl he started to pull himself up to kneeling position and then standing position. Shortly after that he learnt to walk along using the sofa as support. Then he started doing it with just one hand.... He'll be walking by himself before long.

The little chap dances now. His favourite dancing tunes are the iPhone ringtone and 'who's a beautiful baby'. He often sticks his arms out in the air and then starts to jiggle about - I think the arms out are for balance as he's toppled over a few times from enthusiastic bobbing. He often has a really happy smile on his sweet face while he does it.

He likes wrestling with daddy. He has the sweetest belly laugh.

He absolutely loves watching birds. Sometimes I take him to the pond at the park so that he can watch the hundreds of ducks, pigeons and sea gulls squawking and flying around the place.

He loves food and he can feed himself very well. He can now have entire meals of finger food. Last night be had tuna pasta followed by grapes and he managed to put loads of it away.

He points at things.

I think he's starting to learn what 'no' means and he occasionally chooses to stop sucking on the taps when I tell him not to.

He's so much fun- he's into everything and is so energetic. He loves learning new things, making a mess, and he still loves making lots and lots of noise.

He can say 'dada' and an 'arrrr-men' sort of sound. He refuses to say 'mama'. Although occasionally when he's frustrated he makes a 'mam!' sound - cheeky monkey!

It's fun seeing more and more of his personality. He's a very fun, sociable, playful, cheeky, inquisitive, smiley and hungry little boy. He's also stubborn, boisterous, very noisy (the other mums think so!) and a monkey when it comes to sleeping. We love him lots; quirks and all.

Monday 19 January 2015

Reuben aged 5-6 months

It feels like Reuben has grown and developed loads in the last couple of months. He looks and acts less like a new born and more like a little person. He's so much more aware of what's going on around him and he's become very playful.

It's been a really fun time but also a tricky time in some ways, with teething trouble, a couple of colds, weaning, and developmental leaps leading to some trouble sleeping. He's gone from sleeping 11-12 hours every night to waking at least a couple of times in the night for for a feed and a cuddle. But when you consider all that he's been learning and doing and all the ways he's been developing over the last couple of months, perhaps it's no surprise. He's still so much fun. He's a smiley, giggly, sociable baby. He loves cuddles and he loves being the centre of attention. We love having him around.

So here's what he's been up to:

- He's got into the habit of latching on to my chin and using it as a dummy. It's very funny and cute. On Christmas Eve he got his first tooth through. A few days later he gave me a love bite on the chin and I think he will cut his second tooth any day now.

- He does this cute little monkey impersonation. When you change his nappy, he wraps his legs around your arms and holds on tight.

- He giggles when you tickle him but he also giggles when you speak to him in funny voices and pull silly faces.

- Just after the six month mark he learnt (with some help from daddy) to roll from back to front. He 
had been rolling front to back for some while. Just after he learnt this he just kept rolling and rolled straight off our bed and face planted onto the floor. He got quite a shock but was absolutely fine. 

- Daddy also helped to teach him to sit up all by himself. He learnt to balance unsupported just after he turned six months old. It's transformed his playtime. He doesn't play with baby gyms anymore, now he just sits up and plays with (munches on) toys. Now he prefers to sit up in the bath, but when he does lie in the bath, splashing the water with his legs is his favourite thing. We get drenched!

- He's a very tactile, affectionate and cuddly baby. Just this evening Scott and I were having a little kiss (while I was holding Reu on my hip) and he squeaked then leaned right in with his mouth wide open to make sure he didn't get left out.

- Because he's tactile he loves to reach out and stroke your face. 
He's been struggling to adjust to sleeping in his own bed as he just loves knowing that we're next to him. He loves to have his hands held, to stroke your face or to have your cheek pressed up against his. Scott and I have cumulatively spent hours hanging over into his cot with our cheeks pressed up to his to help him sleep. Utterly ridiculous but sort of sweet. He'll cringe at the thought of this someday, so we'll just enjoy this season for what it is.

- He's now grabbing his feet and sticking them in his mouth. I noticed that he managed to munch on three toes at one time the other day!

- He seems keen to crawl. He often dives onto his tummy and reaches out for things. The sometimes moves his feet and hands in crawling-like motions. Daddy is trying to help him learn (I'm fairly keen on him staying stationary for a little longer- well, at least till we get the safety gates up!) 


- The other day I glanced the beginnings of him playing/ being rivals with another baby. Alice and 
him were sharing(?)/ both trying to grab the same toy. There was lots of interaction between them. Alice scratched his face and he cried (and so it begins!) Alice is 5 weeks older. It won't be long till he tries to get his own back. Not that I'll encourage it of course! I got a chance to glance at what life will look like for the next few years, there will be lots of behavioural management and teaching of manners. It's a bit sad that this angelic little bundle will start to assert himself soon, although exciting too. 

- Reu has started being very expressive with his crying. He doesn't just cry now, he looks at you for sympathy and he has a pet lip.

- He's started holding out his arms to be picked up. I absolutely love it! I was his preference over Sophie the giraffe the other day, and because I was thrilled, he of course got a cuddle! I'll encourage independent play another day ;)

- We started weaning when Reu turned 5 months old. It was slow initially. The first couple of weeks he just had baby rice with pear. He wasn't too fussed on that. But the night he tried broccoli and potato we saw quite a transformation! He was all smiles. We've tried a mix of purées and finger food, and I'd say that the last couple of weeks we've really turned a corner. He has a longer attention span, he looks forward to food and he often gobbles it up. He's not a fussy eater but I'd say his favourites so far are, sprout, broccoli, potato, cheese, oranges, pears, banana and Greek yogurt. With eating being a bit more of a varied experience these days, Reu will take a bottle of milk enthusiastically. He likes to help by holding the bottle with two hands- so sweet!










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