Wallace | Eleven months

Hold me. He's getting seriously close to one year old.



Wallace is starting to understand what we are saying to him. He will give high-fives on command, will wave 'bye bye', claps if we clap, and will crawl to the backdoor when he knows I've left the house. He points at things he sees outside and if I ask him where Truman is, he will look around and find the kid, then smiles.



He's vocal and makes his very own sounds, like he's trying to pitch in with the loudness in our house. But he mostly enjoys taking it all in, playing with the big kids, and throwing balls everywhere. This guy is OBSESSED with balls, and also with tiny objects he knows he shouldn't have.



The biggest news from last month is that at 10.5 months, Wallace took his first real steps! As of today he can string together 3-5 steps before he decides to squat down. This is really freaking early but part of me is surprised he didn't start walking at 9 months for how mobile he's been for so long. I love watching him stand in the middle of the room for 30 seconds, then take a few wide steps. It's so sweet and he is so proud of himself.



He can also climb up a few stairs and really loves to crawl with one leg under him and one out in front. He's lightning fast and when he's on concrete, he comes up with a bear crawl to avoid knee dragging. Wallace just amazes us with his mobility.



Things he's not quite as advanced with, compared to his siblings: still only has two teeth! Also still doesn't sleep through the night. Yawn. I am actually sleep training him for the fourth (?) time and it's going okay. I haven't fed him in the night for the past four nights. He was consistently waking twice a night again and I've had it, and the dude cannot actually be hungry with all he's eating during the day. Today he didn't wake at all...until 4:45am, and so that's when we started our day. We are getting there though! Really ready to sleep again, holy cow.



Naps are good, usually about 1.5 hours each, at around 9 and 1ish. Bedtime is at 7:30 and usually he wakes around 6:30am. He nurses in the morning, once or twice during the daytime, and then before dinner. We've come a long way since those early days of nursing every two hours! However, we haven't come *that* far because we are back to Wallace refusing a bottle, or a sippy cup, or really any liquid other than nursing. Sometimes he will drink a teeny tiny bit from a cup but not that much, so I worry he doesn't get enough fluid from just nursing. But he's growing well, has wet diapers and is a super happy dude so I try not to worry too much. He also eats real food for three meals plus a snack every day. He is loving chicken, guacamole, and all types of carbs the most. Can't get him off the baby food purees either, so he gets about 4-8 oz in a sitting. Henry is madly in love with this child and how much food he throws from the highchair.





Wallace fits in really well around here and he is a great fourth kid--always happiest when his siblings are nearby, and he responds with giggles whenever they talk to him. Pretty much everyone says he looks exactly like Nate, or sometimes baby Truman. I can see both but also think he's his own person, but those dark eyes are just enough to make me weak in the knees. It's no secret that I'm 100% obsessed with Wallace  and the feeling is sort of mutual, as he's a total mama's boy. Separation anxiety seems to be hitting and he will sometimes start to whimper if I get my shoes on and head towards the door. Little sweetheart.





Wallace also made his first trip to Missouri and his longest road trip at 600 miles (took 12.5 hours on the way down). Pepaw passed away unexpectedly this month so we traveled as a family to be in southwest MO for his services. Although it was a sad trip I'm so glad we went, as it was exactly where we needed to be.





Other happenings: the exterior house painting is almost finished and it's amazing, like a different house all together. Cecelia turned six, and the big kids had their last day of school. Summer is finally upon us and we are loving it---just don't talk to me about Wallace's first birthday next month. How?





We love you, Waller Baller, Wall-Ball, Acey. You make life a little brighter, every single day.

Wallace | Ten Months

No quilt shot this month and it's already a week late. BUT, Wallace is ten months old.



He popped his second tooth this month and is standing unsupported, and standing up from a squat position often. He can climb several stairs at a time now and crawls incredibly fast, with one leg propped up under his body for added speed. He will push toys and laundry baskets across the room to practice his walking and has gotten brave enough to lean into me, ALMOST taking his first step. It's crazy to me that he's this close to actually walking. Crazy.



He hates the sippy cup and also stopped drinking his bottles when I'm at work, so he's just nursing 3-4x per day and usually once at night. We keep pushing the sippy with water, breastmilk, or even whole milk and he literally laughs at us and throws it to the ground. Still growing and has wet diapers so I won't worry, although I cannot assume he's getting *that* much milk from me anymore. Kid just loves the boob though, and I'm trying to look at the bright side of this. NO MORE PUMPING at work and I put the pump away for good. Hallelujah.



Naps are getting more consistent, still following the 3-3-4 rule for wake time during the day. He will cry before falling asleep at naps and also bedtime but not usually for very long. First nap is around 9 for about 1-1.5 hours and second nap around 1 for the same. Bedtime is around 7pm and then he fell into a routine of waking around 3 am this month. Of course, last night he was up FIVE TIMES AND I WANT TO DIE. But we have all had a bit of a stomach bug, Wallace included, so I'm chalking last night up to sickness. Porter puked in the middle of the night, Nate was puking all day on Mother's Day, Wallace puked last Thursday and his diaper are just disgusting, and I kept Cece home from school today. Truman and I were on the verge Saturday but we both fought off the pukes somehow. Living the dream around here, folks.



Wallace loves solids and has been doing better with real people food and not just purees. He eats 3 meals a day plus a snack or two. Loves his highchair time as does Henry dog, of course.



Oh yeah, I flew with Wallace and Lois to Oregon this past month. He did awesome on his first flights but was a little sick when we returned. Must have been those airplane germs and the nearly constant licking of airplane seats/windows/everything. Great trip though, and Ace is excited for his first ever cousin to be born SOON.





He's getting more vocal and will mimic us now, which is the cutest. He will shake his head 'no' when we ask, motions 'so big' when we do, and can half-point at things . He likes to blow raspberries, squeal, and whisper sweet nothings into my ear.

Some separation anxiety hit this month and he wants mama, and only mama, more often than not. See also: 'boob baby who doesn't sleep.' Actually he DID sleep through the night twice this month, which is basically twice ever (because I don't count those sleepy first three weeks of life at all).





He's wearing all 12 month clothes and is around 50-60% for weight, and the same for height. Grew a little more hair but not a ton. He is seriously the cutest and I know I'm partial but, COME ON.



There's more to write about but my brain is mush after the five wake ups last night and cleaning kid vomit from puke buckets. Mister man is loved so hard around here. We can't get enough of him and I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual.

Wallace | Nine Months

Seems like he is 'almost a year old', but really---nine months. Still big and still growing way too quickly for my liking. And his birthday in July seems like a million years away, mostly because it's legitimately very much winter weather here at the moment.

But yes, my Wallace baby is nine months old now.



First tooth FINALLY sprouted this month. So now I'm on the look out for numero dos because baby Wallace can be incredibly cranky, so I am forced to blame the teeth.

I have failed to get a picture of the cherished tooth, but that closed-lip smile though.


Actually, that isn't entirely true. He is happy as a clam during the daytime hours. But at night? We are majorly struggling with sleep deprivation here. FOR REAL, something needs to change. I can't even form a coherent sentence regarding night time sleep (lack thereof), but I will just say this: I need to be ready to fully night-wean this 'boob baby'. And in order for that to happen, I need to be ready to wean all together in case my supply drops or I have to push bottles more to ensure he's completely full/meeting his milk requirements. It's a long story and a convoluted mess in my head, but we will get to a point when we aren't drowning...hopefully soon.



Picture by Truman:


I am flying with Ace and Lois in two days, and we are going to Oregon for a total of six days. (EXCITED!! Going for my sister-in-law's baby shower). After this trip, I promise to focus on night weaning and sleep. But I'm not bringing my pump and haven't had to start formula yet, so for this trip at least we will be nursing and not doing bottles.



Nighttime sleep blows, he's up at least twice a night and sometimes more (and sometimes cries after nursing). Naps are all over the place but usually happen after being awake for 3 hours, then again after 3 hours, and finally bedtime happens after 4 hours of wake time. I'd guess he's up for the day around 6-7 am and I try to get him down for the night by 7:30pm. Each nap ranges from 30 minutes to sometimes 2 hours. Meh.

My screen saver at work:


Also, he's nursing but this month I can tell my supply is dropping. I'm down to pumping just four times per week (at work) and he usually drinks 11 bottles a week. But recently he's been refusing bottles so I don't even know.  Happy to have my big freezer stash from when he didn't take ANY bottles! Regardless, I'm nursing only from my right side now, so let the lopsided fun begin! I'll pump about 4 oz from righty so I'm guessing he gets at least that when he nurses about three times a day, plus the two-ish times at night. See how those numbers don't totally add up? I want to keep nursing him but also want to sleep, and want to know my baby is full/satisfied. Ah, fourth time around and eating/sleeping is still a 'thing'.



Solids are not a problem at all, as Wallace eats three times per day and loves mostly anything we give him. He eats whole milk yogurt for breakfast, fruit and veggie purees for lunch and dinner, and then I'm still giving plenty of 'real' food that we are eating as a family. So far he love goldfish crackers, graham crackers, and Veggie Straws the most. Go figure!



Besides the typical sleep and eating talk, Wallace is still incredibly mobile. He's walking along furniture and has even stood unsupported for a few seconds recently. He crawled up three of our stairs and then fell backwards, because I had no idea he could climb stairs. So that was a fun milestone this month;) He will clap, raise his arms above his head when we say 'so big!', and can sometimes wave goodbye. Oh, and the screaming! Add that to his list of tricks, because kid loves to screech like the rest of the children. The louder the better.

Cannot with this face.


Truly, he is the sweetest baby, you guys. My favorite is when he nuzzles his face into my neck after waking up for the day. Either that, or when I come home from work and his face lights up with the biggest smile ever.

This is not his big smile, but it is a great shot of his double chin.



Best.


Wallace loves to be with the big kids and will crawl at lightning speeds to keep up with the crew. He has a particular obsession with Porter's train table and enjoys destroying any and all train tracks that big brother has built. I'm really proud of Porter for being patient with destructive baby but I wonder how long that patience will last. Wallace just adores the big siblings and will follow them around like a puppy dog. It's the best.





Super pumped about his first Easter, obvi.



Balls are a big deal this month as Wallace likes to throw them and then chase the balls all over the house. He will slap his hands on the table/high chair over and over again as if to say, 'Feed me, woman!' He definitely knows his name when I ask him to stay out of trouble (ie, don't suck on our shoes or crawl into the bathroom to explore trash cans).

Spring break 2018 at a museum with the kids. Nate has been working 12 hour days at his new clinic and we are all OVER WINTER already, obviously.


#blessed


What else? This past month also contained Truman's first broken bone (his wrist, during a soccer game), Cecelia's awesome dance recital, Nate had his kidney stone surgically removed and also opened his clinic, and we had a good but short visit from my mom, Memaw, and my Aunt Dana. It was a total whirlwind of a month, I guess!



Kind of can't believe our baby is nine months old already. But it also feels like eleventy hundred years since I was pregnant.

Love this little caboose of perfection, even if he won't sleep and gives me more gray hairs than I've ever had before.