Naps: Henry takes two naps per day. His morning nap begins around 10:30am, and his afternoon one begins around 3:15pm. His naps still last exactly one hour.

For a while this month it seemed like Henry was starting the transition to one nap. He wasn’t acting as sleepy and seemed to be just as energetic. His morning nap sometimes wasn’t starting until 11:30am and his afternoon nap was becoming a catnap before dinner. Adam and I didn’t like that as much because it pushed Henry’s bedtime really late. Then, it started to get to be really difficult to put Henry down for a nap so I pulled his naps earlier again and things got back to normal.

Feeding: We’ve started the weaning process and have switched up Henry’s feeding schedule. Now Henry only breastfeeds in the morning. He gets breast milk in a sippy cup throughout the day, and he also is still getting his bedtime bottle in the evening.

Clothing: 12 month, but some of his onesies are starting to get a little short and tight around the middle.

Bedtime: Bedtime has been all over the place this month compared to previous months. It’s really hard for us to have a strict bedtime schedule in the summer. Henry’s bedtime is anywhere between 7:45pm and 8:30pm.

Eating: Henry is getting more and more insistent about using utensils when he’s eating. He’s got a silly grip though when he uses them that makes the utensil be nearly ineffective; he holds the fork or spoon by just barely pinching the very end of the handle.

Henry enjoys eating a variety of foods. If he notices that we are eating something different from him (which is probably due to it being too spicy or difficult to chew), he insists on trying it. He prefers “complete” meals with all the finishing touches over individual ingredients.

It seems like we’re just entering the stage of Henry becoming more picky about the foods he wants to eat at a particular time. There have been a handful of occasions where Henry only has a few bites of his favorite food or would much rather have a meal of just bread or banana.

Sleeping: Henry consistently sleeps 10 to 11 hours each night, depending on his bedtime. He wakes up between 7 and 7:30am. Occasionally he needs some quick comforting in the middle of the night, but generally he sleeps the whole night without making a sound. He still sleeps in his Zipadeezip and with his blankie. Both of those certainly add a certain level of security that helps him to sleep so well.

Development: As with rolling and crawling, Henry is taking the process of becoming a walker slowly. We’re just getting to the point where he is capable of free standing. However, he isn’t too interested in practicing this skill. It seems like wherever he realizes that we’re practicing with him, he just wants to bend his legs and sit down or crawl away.

That being said, Henry is getting much better at pulling himself up, and can raise up to standing by using support from a flat surface like a wall or door. Before he needed to use something with a ledge to pull himself up.

Henry’s sign language is also starting to take off. We have been introducing more and more signs to him lately, and the learning curve is not nearly as steep as it once was. It took him only a few days to learn and use the sign “done”. Henry is still convinced that you need two people to do the “more” sign.

Likes and Dislikes: Henry still loves going outside. He recognizes when we are getting ready to leave and starts to get very excited/a little worried that he is going to be left behind. If Henry’s in a bad mood, spending time outside is a near guarantee of turning his day around.

Henry also still has a fascination with playing ball. He loves to roll a ball back and forth, or throw it to watch it bounce.

This kid loves water. Splashing in the tub, playing in the pool, or even running his fingers through the water coming from the faucet are all things Henry could spend the whole day doing.

Henry does not like missing out on the action, especially when we are doing household chores. He likes to help with sweeping and putting the groceries away. Keeping him out of the dust pile while sweeping can be a bit of a challenge though. Cooking is by far his favorite task to be involved in; he’s constantly begging to be picked up so that he can see what we are doing. It makes him really upset when we have to set him back down after he’s gotten his glimpse of what we are doing.

When Henry is in a clingy mood or wakes up a little too early from his nap, he does not like it when Adam and I set him down to play while we finish up a task. He gets very irritated that we aren’t holding him or entertaining him, but also gets irritated when we try to play a quick game with him. It takes a while for him to break out of this mood, and he often just ends up whining and crawling back and forth trying to make up his mind.

New This Month: We took another family road trip this month — this time to South Dakota. We had a sort of family reunion with my extended family out there, and spent some time visiting the Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse monuments. Henry did well in the car, but there were a few short times where he had had enough of riding in his car seat (admittedly, we had all had enough of riding in the car).

We started bringing Henry to baby storytime at our local library. I tried taking him to storytimes when he was younger, but the times often conflicted with Henry’s feedings or naps. He really enjoys being around other babies, and it’s nice that most of them are at the same developmental level. At the end of each storytime, the babies get time to play. Most of the time, Henry takes off and doesn’t even worry about getting too far away from me. I was quite surprised that he wasn’t hesitant to join in the fun, but also glad that he’s willing to try things on his own.

Other Notes: Henry had to adjust to having babysitters for a week this month while I taught a summer day camp class. Henry did alright but he was going through a clingy phase at the time. It also didn’t help that I had to leave while he was taking his morning nap so he woke up to a “stranger”.

We signed Henry up for another session of swimming lessons. He’s a completely different kid this time around. He’s excited to get in the water and loves to splash. It seems like he was just a little too young last time.

Mama and Papa Update: Adam and I are enjoying having a toddler. He’s becoming more and more of a busy-bee everyday, but we love being able to do so much with him. It’s nice that Henry can eat most of the same foods as we do now, even at restaurants (as long as it’s dairy-free). We’re loving having a neighborhood park that’s only a few short blocks away that we can take him to to go swimming or swinging. It’s also nice having long stretches between nap times that we can spend together out and about.

We’re now entering the stage where we have to be aware of the example we are setting for Henry. We’re starting to see Henry being more vocal about his desires, and showing frustration at times when we don’t understand him or when he isn’t getting his way. We have been doing our best to be diligent about setting high expectations and encouraging positive behaviors.