Dude is Seventeen Months

 I haven't posted updates on Baelor lately so I thought I'd jot down some milestones that have passed by too fast. We've been busy with a couple trips to my brothers house in Coeur d'Alene, and then nearing the end of school means squeezing in my last FULL class (always good), and finally getting to our outdoors. All of this will come in a post hopefully soon.

 

 
Baelor just barely turned 17 months (as of June 2nd). He is quite the GUY. I mean this because he totally looks and acts like a boy. He makes "dude" looks with his face.  I guess I have to post a little video to explain this. He is extremely expressive. He mimics what he is doing. For instance, if he throws a ball you can tell he intends to throw it very far with the amount of momentum that goes into his mouth dropping. Or if he is being funny, he really throws his head back, squints, and makes a cheese face. If something is difficult or requires concentration, he sticks his tongue out and grunts.

The day before his 17 month birthday he was in horrible pain for about an hour and a half. We couldn't figure out why. He had only napped for a short while when he woke up in pain. He had no fever, no visible anything, no poopie, NOTHING. What could be wrong? Oh, molars! He had at least two popping through at the same time (we believe the top two), but the bottom ones may or may not have been poking through as well. You can see them in the swing picture above. We tried the baby Orajel, that lasted a whole 2 seconds. We knew he was exhausted so we broke down and gave him baby Motrin just to tie him over. Our neighbor had a great idea- popsicles! He loved it and that seemed to occupy him for a while until the medicine set in. He slept for 12 hours straight, then woke up only to eat some dinner at 4am then back to bed and right on schedule. Reina never had such problems so this was a new experience for us.

We gave him his first "mini" haircut when he turned about 16 months. It was making a Dairy Queen sort of swirl on his forehead. Really my mom just cut a few scraps and saved it in a bag for me one day, so really not a true haircut. He still has what we call "Jonathan" hair; I'm not going to explain this but my family knows what this means :) Right now it is too long to do the bedhead look and not quite thick enough for anything else so it's just a Little Man cut right now. It is still so blonde though. I'm loving his Nordic tones.

Checking out what daddy's doing

 Favorites: Still loves balls and vacuums. He will make anything a vacuum and will always find that missing ball. He is actually very good at throwing balls straight and far with his left hand. Grandpa Guinn says that they always need a good left-handed pitcher. Baelor is not interested in books at all like his sister was at this age. He could be outdoors all day, rain or shine. Of course getting dirty and wet is even better! He is just so different in this respect than Reina. She was really clean outside and never ate dirt, rocks, small objects that you can choke on, dog food....just to name a few. Baelor tests everything out via taste sense.

Throwing potatoes with Nash, the dog

Of course he still loves his binkies, but only requires them at nap/bedtime. In this regard he reminds me of a teenage boy because if he wakes up at night and it has fallen out, he won't even feel around to put it in his mouth. Lazy. He is also a teenage boy because he has recently discovered what makes him a boy during bath time and laughs every time he rediscovers it.

Baelor has really taken to Reina's baby blanket that she never cared about that Aunt Tarja made her. Anytime he sees it he has to maul all over it and feel the ballies (which is also what he does at bath time).

Many people have noticed that his personality has really developed. He is a happy little jokester. He enjoys laughing and will easily find reasons to make something funny. He does not trust everyone though. You have to prove your character to him before he will let you in. Reina was the same way. I am okay with this as they will not trust all strangers. 

We are still a little tense when he goes up and down stairs. He can do it well now, but he is rather clumsy so we still use a gate; another opposite of his sister. He has had far too many bumps on his forehead that I fear he maybe be losing more brain cells than he is gaining. I think it may be the fact that he is rather stiff. His arms and legs just don't bend very easily. It's difficult to take shirts off him, not the head hole but the shoulder area. He does look a lot like his Grandpa Guinn who is also not very limber so it may just be the genes.

With Grandpa Guinn

Baelor is still a great eater but if he doesn't want it, he attempts to throw it while staring you down (waiting for permission). When we were in Coeur D'Alene, Nash the dog loved when Baelor was eating because he knew he'd get lots of crumbs. I don't think Baelor had many vegetables that trip. His favorite foods are blueberries, milk, cheese, green/fruit smoothies (only if they are daddy's), fruit, and meat. He eats pretty much everything though

Eating his first ice cream cone. Don't even ask me what Reina is wearing...this was not approved by me. (Don't blame me, either. -Dad)

Besides Mama, Dada, and Na (Reina), all words he's said since 15 months, Baelor's newest words are: blueberries, Baelor, shoes, socks, ball, doggie, light, kaka, M (milk), more. They aren't clear but enough for us to understand.

Baelor sleeps about 12 hours a night (maybe less), and one 2-4 hour nap. Pretty regular with this schedule. He likes his blueberries for breakfast, then an early and big lunch around 10:45 am. He usually is quite active all morning until a snack and milk before nap at 1pm. He goes down to bed with Reina at 8pm, although this has become later and later with the lighter evenings. We're somewhat flexible with this as they tend to sleep in a little later if they go to bed late.

He loves his mommy and daddy, but still prefers mommy for now. He laughs often with Reina. They already have a great relationship. He knows his Mummi will take care of his every need and has special moments with Papa Will. Everyone just falls in love with this handsome little guy. But not as much as me.