Reu aged 21-24 months

Our boy has turned two! Reu's developing so quickly at the moment that we can't keep track. But here's an attempt to remember...

- Reu has really developed in coordination and courage. He's able to climb the big climbing frames independently at the Raby Arms pub, Ward Jackson park,  Stranton school, Summerhill and now the Parker's house! The other day he was right on top of the monkey bars! Daddy ran over to retrieve him.

- Reu enjoys a little kick about. The other day he giggled lots when I kicked the ball and my slipper flew off into the air.

- Daddy and Reuben created a 'special den' with blankets the other day. Now he asks for it all the time.

- Reu goes to swimming lessons with daddy. He loves swimming and asks to go all the time. We went on holiday to a haven caravan park and made the most of the pool while we were there.

His speech has developed loads. People frequently comment on how confident and chatty he is. Reuben only really has one volume for his voice though - very loud!

Here's a list of some things he says, there are far too many to remember but here's a snippet:

- 'crumpet, no crumpet?'
- 'strawberry ice cream!'
- 'no like it'
- 'gabby' (aka dummy)
- 'incy spider'
- 'mummy help'
-'mummy/daddy cuddle'
-'change nappy'
-'Bob, Nikki, Ophie'
-'twinkle star' - he had a nightmare the other night. I went in to comfort him and through sobs he said 'no more twinkle star!' Who knows what he was dreaming about!

- He likes counting and often gets into his teens.

The other day when he was meant to be napping I could hear that he was wide awake over the baby monitor. I was treated to 2 hours of Reuben signing, counting to twelve and chattering away to himself. He sang lots of rounds of 'bye, bye daddy see you soon' with verses of 'mummy' and 'poppet' too, as well as the 'go jetters' song. I could also hear him saying 'watch fireman Sam!'

He continues to be an extrovert. He loves people, loves going round to people's houses and he likes to say their names and ask if we're going to see them today? I have to be careful to not mention people too long before we're going to visit or he gets upset that they aren't here yet. I have to be especially careful when mentioning the parkers, he tried to get out of the front door to see them!

Reuben loves singing and he's started singing more Christian songs too, 'glory, glory to our God, behold our kiiiing', 'I believe in yooou'
He's started singing along with us now and not just stopping to listen when we start singing - his timing, tune and rhythm are getting better and better.

Reu has had a few transitions recently. He moved into his big boy bedroom, stopped having a bottle of milk before bed, and transitioned from the sleeping bag to the duvet.

His bedtime routine is a bit different now, he has a bath, a bible story and pray and then goes to bed. Every night we so him what he'd like to pray about and every night he says, 'simi, timo, eke'

His first proper prayer was thanks for 'simi my friend, Apple yum yum'. V cute!

Reu from 19-20 months

Reu 19-20 months 

How time flies! Reu is learning to do new things all the time now and there's more cute anecdotes than I can recount or even remember. 

-He's obsessed with 'Go Jetters' a CBeebies cartoon that is sort of action/ adventure for toddlers. It's pretty good actually! Reu asks for it 'Go go!' And he even sings along to the catchy song during the credits. 

- We are expecting another baby in August! We have started chatting to Reu about his baby brother/sister. He sometimes looks for my tummy under my top and then gives it a kiss. Because we've showed him the scan photos, he now points at his own scan photos (in his bedroom) and says 'baby'. Cute :) 

- Reu doesn't sleep as long at night anymore, 11.5 hours rather than 13 (which is still amazing, and we're thankful). He's pretty good and entertaining himself in the morning in his cot for 30/40mins or so. He chats to himself and this morning we could hear him giggling! 

- Reu loves to 'wak' (walk) everywhere. Getting him into the pram is a bit of a battle these days because he just wants to walk all the time. Sometimes I take him into Middleton grange so he can wander freely and climb up on all the little rides dotted around the place. 

- At playgroup this week, Reu was very enthusiastic about tidy up time. He efficiently cleared the kitchen table from all the toys by using his arm to swipe them into the box. It was very noisy but incredibly efficient. Lots of the parents laughed at his initiative.  Then he helped me put the farm animals away, he whisked the book way from Sarah's hand as soon as she'd finished reading it and ran to the book case to put it away, then I lost him for a moment - but found him in the middle of the ball pool helping to put the balls away. I need to utilise his enthusiasm for tidying up at home! 

- We had Chinese takeaway for the first time last night and he absolutely loved it! He devoured the prawn crackers, fried rice and spring rolls. Literally, the whole way through the meal he made his 'mmmm' 'yumm' noises - he couldn't have been happier!  

- We took Reuben swimming at Mill House (the first time he's been swimming for 8 months, and the last time was in Cyprus - so quite a different experience). When we first went into the pool, he screamed and just clung onto us for ages. But as time went on he really got into it, he loved jumping in off the side, being passed from mummy to daddy, he even went on the massive slide with both of us and loved it! By the end of our time in the pool he was too confident! He didn't want us to hold onto him anymore, but to play with the floats all by himself. We're going to take him a few times in the next few months and then hopefully start him on swimming lessons when he turns 2. 

- Reu has got into building things. He loves stickle bricks and mega blocks and he spends a long time building big towers. He's quite protective over his creations though, so occasionally I need to intervene if another toddler tries to pinch/knock over his masterpiece. He would easily get frustrated with them and shout 'mine!' or start crying. It's fairly understandable I think. 

- Reu also loves colouring with felt tips (occasionally on the furniture), painting and sticking things.

- He's getting good at problem solving too, he's really improving at jigsaws, shape sorters and putting the train tracks together. 

- He talks away all the time. In the car the other day he was babbling like this, 'mummy, daddy, pops, nanny!' He said this sentence to me yesterday, 'mummy, daddy gone!' Which was true, he had disappeared into the garden. He likes to finish the sentences in books, especially 'A squash and a squeeze' and he likes to do the same in songs. He's getting pretty good at saying 'please' ('peas') and 'thanks', although only when it involves food! 

- Reu can say 'I ruv ooo!' ('I love you'). This is the best milestone ever. 

- He's getting pretty good at actions (head, shoulders, knees and toes, and the like). And spinning around is his favourite dance move. 

- Reuben loves slides. He close going down head first, he loves the water slide at the leisure centre, he especially loves climbing up them barefoot! He giggled so much when we put his socks on and he couldn't grip the slide with his feet so kept on falling down. 

- Reu really recognises people now. At play group he gets excited to see toddlers and mums that he knows. The other day we taught him to say 'Athol'. He said it once. Then two days later Athol was in our house (although Reu didn't know this because I had just gotten him up from his nap). Amazingly he heard Athol's voice and recognised it instantly, and shouted 'Athol' and immediately tried to escape my arms to go and find his little friend. 

Reu aged 17-18 months

- Reuben has started speaking. He's mastered animal noises and 'mama' 'dada' type words, and now he repeats words I say for actual things. 'Car', 'ball', 'go' 'bye!' And 'Poop' are amongst his favourite.

- Reuben is obsessed with Thomas the tank engine. He loves reading his Thomas books, he loves wearing his Thomas t-shirts, he loves playing with Thomas toys, and he is thrilled with his new Thomas slippers and Thomas advent Calendar.

- Reuben has a special friend, bunny. Or as he has called him 'Dee'. He loves snuggling bunny, playing hide and seek with bunny and playing 'sleeping bunnies' with bunny. Reu makes bunny do the actions, including going to sleep and hopping up and down. It's very sweet.

- Reuben just loves animals! Pictures of animals, videos of animals, real life animals,he  thinks they're amazing.

- Reu loves autumn. Mud, puddles and crunchy leaves are a big hit. Cutely, Reu sometimes picks up the leaves and then reaches up to the tree branches (which of course he can't reach because he's tiny and the trees are very very big) and he tries to reach up to attach the leaves back on again.

- Reu and Athol are good buddies. Reu giggles lots when Athol chases him, and they both love cuddles when Athol rugby tackles him to the ground. Then it all starts over again.

- The little man has become much more independent recently, he wanders off at play groups and gets on with his own little thing. He likes collecting all the bean bag creatures and putting them in the shopping bag and then walking around with his bag. He's far less likely to tumble or put toys in his mouth these days. My baby is getting big and he doesn't really need me anymore. Although he does still bring toys and books over to me to show me what he's found :)

- Reu enjoyed Christmas (although he was a little bit ill for some of it). His speech really progressed over the holidays and he learnt some special Christmas words, 'choc choc', 'copter' 'tree' 'claws' and 'box'.

- Opening the windows in his advent calendar was a source of great excitement to Reu, although he showed uncharacteristic self control when it came to leaving the next chocolate for the next day. He would open all the windows he could, then shut them all again, and then push the calendar away and say 'bye!' Maybe he loves delayed gratification like his parents.

- He was thrilled on Christmas Day when he went into the living room and saw his presents including a Thomas the Tank Engine scooter. He exclaimed 'car!' When he saw it and immediately climbed onto it.

- We went to visit the Lintotts for a few days over New Year. He absolutely adored Owen, and would grab books and hop on his lap in expectation of a story. He copied what he did too, including a naughty trick - shaking his plate with all the food on it to watch it jiggle about!

- While we were in fressingfield we went to the play area and Reu went on the swing, we were all saying 'weeee!' and then he started saying 'poop!' The more we said 'wee' the more he said 'poop!' it was very funny.

- On the poop front, Reu started to hide behind his chair and read a book while doing his business. He would often tell us what was about to happen.... Perhaps potty training isn't too far off.

- Our boy is absolutely full of fun and energy. He doesn't do things by half measures. When he sleeps he sleeps (for 13 hours at night, and 2 hours in the day, praise God for the respite!) when he eats he eats (he doesn't get all those comments about his weight for no reason) and when he plays he really goes for it. He's an inquisitive, sociable, happy little thing. He's also strong-willed, strong and fairly wild. He's everything I've been told a little boy should be, affectionate, energetic and clingy! He is very jealous when I'm around other babies.... Something to work on.

- I love him more than words can say and he brings me more joy then I ever could have imagined. All that being said, I've never need God's grace more or needed sleep so much :) where do they get their energy from?

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. 

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. 

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.