19 Month Toddler Update

This month I have noticed Keaton’s attachment to Bradley increase. For the first 18 months of his life, I was the person he would want when anything happened, however as he hit 18 months, I have become second to dad. He constantly wants to be around Bradley, and cries when he leaves etc. In a way it’s nice for me, as I have a break ,and can sit down and have some me time, but I can’t help but feel a bit sad that I am no longer his number 1. I am in  group on Facebook for New Zealand mums, and I posted about it on there, and apparently it’s a phase,  and it passes, so I better enjoy it while it lasts. Anyway here is what he has been up to this past month.

Eating: he no longer wants me to feed him, he does everything himself now, either eating from the spoon or with his hands. One thing he has started doing more of, which is rather annoying, is throwing everything off his plate and putting it on his highchair tray and then throwing his plate on the floor.

Sleeping: has been mostly good. I am not sure if we are sending him to bed too early, his bedtime is 7pm, however the last couple of nights he was stayed awake in his cot until past 8pm and then gone to sleep. I think he is getting enough sleep, as he sleeps 2 hours+ during the day and about 10 hours at night if he sleeps from 7pm – 6am. We are going to try the later bedtime over the weekends and see if that helps.

Loving: playing with his “kitchen booking toys”, riding around on his motor bike. He loves to pick flowers for my parents on the way to their house. Shouting people’s names (he puts his head back and screams them). Being outside – he is such a busy body, and can play outside for ages.

Hating: Shower time and brushing teeth again – he likes to “brush” his teeth by himself, but really needs my help, which he is not too fond of.

Doing: Potty time, he says “ wee wee”, and “ potty”, and will use the potty if I take him there and put him on it, but he has not learnt to ask to go to it yet.

Teeth: still has 20, no change here, although I think his last 4 molars are starting to move down, he is getting a rash on his face, and increased dribble.

Nappies: still in huggies walkers 10 – 15 KG

Clothing: slowly moving into size 18months / 2 years, the pants are still way to long, and most of his shorts are still size 1, his waist is just too small to fit them, however he can comfortably fit into size 2 shirts.

He had his first haircut which you can read about here.

Next month is Christmas - and I cant wait to see the difference in him this year vs last year, he gets so excited when he opens things, so just know its going to be awesome.

Check what he got up to last month here

Until next month xxx

Christmas Is Coming!!!

I love Christmas – I have been getting into the Christmas spirit since the beginning of the November, and I think it’s only going to get worse ,I absolutely cannot wait until the beginning of December so I can put up the Christmas Tree. I spoke to my sister earlier this week (they live in South Africa), and she said she has already put up her tree...um WHAT???? I thought I was bad... that is just a tad crazy.

Since moving to New Zealand I have themed the tree differently each year. I am pretty sure this year will be Pink and Gold, but I have been seeing a lot of pastels around, and I quite like the idea of that. Or maybe just all silver.

The town we live in has started putting up decorations, and when I go into town I can’t help but get excited. They are lighting up the tree in the village square this weekend, so will have to take a wander down and show Keaton.

He is still a bit small to join in all my hype, but fingers crossed next year he will be as excited as me. 

I bought my first Christmas candle and decorations. The candle is nothing fancy – the scent is Vanilla Sugar, but when I light it, I can really start to “Smell Christmas”. 

The decorations are just small add on’s to my extensive decoration collection.

I just can’t put into words how excited I am, I can’t wait to decorate the house, put up the tree, drive around in the evenings looking at the houses decorated in Christmas lights, Santa Parades, going for our annual Christmas picture at Santa’s Grotto (well this will be the second year), it’s all just so magical.

I also can’t believe the change in Keaton since last Christmas. He was 8 months old and he will be 20 months this Christmas, time is going too fast.

LET'S BE FRIENDS
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | GOOGLE+ | PINTEREST

A Morning With The Gannets

We headed to Muriwai a few weekends back to have a look at the Gannet colony. I am sure that every Aucklander has been there at least once. Apart from the absolute stench of bird and poop – it’s a really amazing place.

Its official name is the Tapaku Refuge, and was established in 1979, and is a breeding area for about 1200 pairs of gannets.

Keaton and I were both sick, and we went on a super windy and chilly day. Luckily the gannets are there no matter what. He really enjoyed seeing the “birdies” as he calls them, so did my husband.

This picture if of 2 gannets literally flying right above my head - If I had reached up, I probably could have touched them

Anyway I thought I would share some pictures I took – as it really is a remarkable place and its just amazing to see these birds in their “natural habitat”.

18 Months of Awesome

As I write this, it still has not sunk in… we have an 18 month old. Time has gone by so quickly. I am so annoyed with myself that I did not start doing monthly blogs when Keaton was born. Oh well, guess better late than never.

Anyway – here is what he is up to at 18 months

Eating  Everything, he is a really good eater, and there is little he won’t eat. He feeds himself with a spoon or a fork, and  has become less messy the more he does it. We also say prayers before eating, and he get so excited as we get to the end, as he says “Amen”, its just the cutest thing.

Sleeping: Luckily still sleeping through. He has been since 7 months. He goes down at 7pm, and wakes at 6am. The sucky part about that, is that its 6am everyday – 7 days a week. We don’t even use our alarm clocks anymore.

Loving: He has taken a liking to my parents neighbour’s son. Not that he has ever met him, but he knows his name is Peter, and every time Peter goes out, or Keaton sees a car that looks like his, he says “Peter”. It’s really cute how he picks up words that we unintentionally say.

Hating: Nothing really – apart from strawberries. He is not a fussy eater at all, but strawberries seem to be his nemesis at the moment.

Doing: Lots of talking, his vocabulary keeps on increasing, and it’s amazing how he is able to interact now. 

Weight: He is around the 12/12.5 kg mark

Height: around 80cm

Teeth: I think he is cutting his last 4 molars, so he currently has 16. We have been lucky that he has gotten his teeth quite quickly, I think by 16 months he had all but 4 left to go.

Nappies: he has moved into the Huggies 10-16kg (think they are the Walkers ones). Huggies are more expensive in New Zealand, but they really are a quality nappy, and will definitely stick to them with my future babies.

Clothing: Brand dependent. He is still quite short for his age, and he has a small waist. Some clothes are 6-12 months, and some are 12-18 months. I am trying to pack away all his smaller sized clothes, and put him in 18 month to 2 years. Most of the 2 year old clothing is too big for him, but there are some smaller brands that

he fits into. He has so many clothes, that if I don’t put him in the bigger ones early, he won’t get wear out of them.

Shoe wise, he is a size 3, but he has fat feet, so is wearing size 4’s. He seems to fit into Converse best, so is wearing those in a size 4 and size 5.

I have seen a lot of changes in Keaton this month. He is showing signs that he is ready for potty training, which is fun and exciting. We have had a few accidents, but I guess that goes with the process. He is also into playing with pots and pans, and his imagination is really coming out. My husband made him a stove out of a cardboard box, nothing fancy. He will stand over his “stove” and stir his pots and bang them. Other things he is into is watering the garden. He takes the watering can and makes "psssssh" sounds as he waters the plants, he a real busy body. He always has to be doing something.

I love all the moments I get to share with him, he is growing up way to quickly.
Click here to read my Mummy Monthly Posts

LET'S BE FRIENDS

FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | GOOGLE+ | PINTEREST

Tantrums are like coffee, you will have at least one a day.

Keaton (who is 18 months old today) has mastered the art of back arching, dropping to the floor and screaming. I think it has especially peaked in the last month . From a very young age (like a couple of weeks old), he would cry so hard  he would stop breathing and start turning blue. It was the scariest thing ever the first time it did it. My sister used to do the same thing when she was small, and my mom used to take her straight to a tap and put cold water on her face and she would snap out of it.

I had to start doing the same thing, apparently it’s not harmful to them, and they won’t die, but it’s still scary. So from a young age, I knew that he would have a short temper.

And oh boy, let anyone try and make him do something he does not want to, take something away from him, or try and stop him from doing something he wants to do, the face goes blue, the kicking and arching starts, and you kind of have to try and take him seriously. 

The latest addition to his tantrum is the screaming and fist clenching. You can really tell he is frustrated, and I feel so bad that he get to that point, but it only happens because he does or tries to do something that he is not allowed it.

My dad sent me an article about toddlers and tantrums and it definitely is a good read.

It basically says that kids like to be in control and that they can feel overwhelmed when they lose that control by not being able to put their feelings and frustrations into words. Which will leave them no choice but to act out, as they feel that all their previous efforts to get your attention have been unsuccessful.

The tips from this article on how to handle tantrums can be found here.

Luckily we have not experienced any tantrums other than at home – I don’t think I am prepared for when they start to happen when we go out. At the moment we have him pretty well figured out, and know what buttons not to push in order to keep him happy.

There are so many different methods of dealing with tantrums, and its really hard to decide on the best method for your child. Smacking is not allowed in New Zealand, and I am fine with that, I personally don't think smacking teaches your children anything apart from its okay to smack others. Parents spend so much time trying to teach their children how to behave and act, and then think its okay to smack them when they don't behave, talk about mixes signals. I don't disagree with smacking under the right circumstances, but don't find it a fit for our family.

I also don't think time out is effective at this age, as they have no idea what is going on. At the moment, we just try to ignore him and when he is calmer, we explain that he cant do that when he does not get his own way, and also that there are somethings he just cannot do (like standing on the table). I guess time will tell as to whether this is an effective method.

On a more positive note - he has showed signs that he is ready for potty training, this is a new an exciting time for him and us, and am excited to start this process of him becoming more independent.

LET'S BE FRIENDS

FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | GOOGLE+ | PINTEREST

Coffee Tables, Decoders and Sunshine

We no longer can use our coffee table for what it is meant to be used for.  I foolishly taught Keaton how to turn the Sky decoder on and off – Why did I think a toddler doing that would be funny?!

We had to move the coffee table to build a barricade around the TV unit so that Mr button pusher can not get access to the decoder. That was okay until he learnt to climb. Needless to say the coffee table is no longer able to be used as a barricade. He climbs on the table quite easily now, and proceeds to strut his stuff along it, as if he were on a runway. 

We are finding it really hard to teach him that climbing on things is dangerous, I guess it’s all part of being a parent, and he is testing us as much as he is leaning right from wrong.

When he is in the lounge, the coffee table is not turned on its side – it’s really heavy, so luckily he can’t push it over… (yet), but he enjoys climbing inside and through it. Unfortunately this also means that he has access to the sky decoder again, and he has also learnt how to turn the TV on. Not that he likes to watch TV (which can have its advantages and disadvantages – I mean I don’t want him to be one of those kids that HAS to watch TV all the time – but it would be nice if he would watch it for 5 minutes, so I can maybe go to the loo in piece), but he enjoys turning it off whenever anyone else is trying to watch anything… and by anyone I mean my husband, and its normally during the rugby or some sport that he is engrossed in, I find it really hard not to burst out laughing.

I love how as parents we want our kids to have all these toys (toys we think they will like), when in actuality, give them a coffee table, or a cardboard box and they could not be happier. He loves to play with pegs and a formula tin too – I cut a hole in the middle of the lid, and he sits and “posts pegs” – something that keeps him entertained for ages, well longer than his TV watching sessions anyway.

Weekends that are sunny are my kind of weekends. There is nothing worse than having to keep a toddler indoors. Especially one as active as ours. Keaton absolutely loves to play outside, he does all the stereotypical boy things, that includes eating sand, digging, running and so on. I love watching him play – he has such an imagination. He waters the plants, and makes the “psssh” noises, he smells the flowers ,and splashes in the bird bath.

Am really looking forward to spring and summer this year! Bring on the family outings!!!!

LET'S BE FRIENDS

FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | GOOGLE+ | PINTEREST