Anlon is 12 months old today!!!!!!!

I've had a mixture of emotions leading up to today. I love everything about this age and get excited when I imagine what it will be like when Anlon is walking and talking. But there's a part of me that's a little sad too. I want to freeze time. I want to let go of all of the daily tasks and just soak up my little boy - every breath he takes, every little face he makes, every sound he makes, every time he wraps his arms around me and nuzzles into my neck (I am so thankful I have a cuddler). On July 26, 2010 at 10:06 am, Anlon Vipul Shah arrived and I felt a peace, strength and purpose that I've never experienced before. One year later, I am challenged to be a better mother than I was yesterday - to care for this little boy that God has entrusted us with in the way that would please Him most.

These days Anlon is active!!!!!! He crawls everywhere and is FAST! He now uses his hands to crawl, but still goes back to army crawling at times. Today he especially enjoyed maneuvering around tight corners and found his way between our legs more than once. His absolutely favorite thing to do it toss his colored rings, wooden blocks, puzzle pieces or his favorite tupperware lid in front of him and watch how they hit the floor and then crawl after them. It amazes me with how intrigued he is by this. I love to see how much joy Anlon gets from the most simple things. He also loves spending time in the kitchen with me, playing with his small pot, wooden salad tongs and plastic cups.

He's now pulling himself up pretty effortlessly and this weekend started sitting back down from a standing position. He's also loves crawling up our stairs, especially when he sees our cat Sebo sitting at the top. He loves to crawl after her and smiles every time she passes him. She's been so sweet with him and we can tell they're going to be best buds. 

He also loves books more than ever and now he often wants the same book read multiple times in a row. Today I read Goodnight Moon at least 8 times. He got six new books for his birthday and I'm sure these will become old favorites soon.

Anlon now has 4 teeth, although 1 is still a little bud. His eating continues to improve and we were thrilled when he weighed in at a whopping 16 lbs last week! We get so excited when he opens his mouth really big for food he really likes and then eagerly takes another bite without encouragement. Of course, this doesn't always happen, but it's happening more and more. The foods he enjoys most right now are yogurt (particularly blueberry), ground beef, bananas, and sweet potatoes. Vipul took this picture the other night as he was enjoying some ground beef - I wish he always looked this happy while eating!

Today Anlon made it very clear that he completely understands when I tell him "no". We were playing in his room and he knows we don't want him to touch the diaper trash can. He started playing near it, but not trying to touch it. Then he began touching the foot pedal on it and when I said "no sir" he giggled and then moved away! He did this several times - I must admit it was pretty adorable :) Oh, and it begins......

We're working more consistently to teach him to sign. It was challenging during the months when he was eating so poorly and not gaining sufficient weight. But we feel this is important and will hopefully begin to see him communicate in this way until he is able to verbalize his needs. His only words at this time are "Dada" and "Mama". He loves to make this growling sound and then we growl back, and he growls again and thinks it's so funny.

Today Anlon had some of his birthday cake - and enjoyed it much more than he did at his party a couple of days ago. He had napped very little and was very, very tired - so enjoying cake for the first time was not something he was too excited about. But he sure did on his birthday!

I'll be sharing some of the pictures from his party soon, as well as writing more. For now, this tired mama's turning in :) Happy Birthday my dear baby boy. God gave us far more than we could ever deserve.

 

Multitude Monday

Monday 7/11/11
254. for dinner with the Cullum's, delectable cupcakes and a very sweet birthday card
255. for our little boys eating side by side

7/12
255. that I have a birthday to celebrate and loved ones to celebrate with
256. for my Mom driving 6 hours in one day just to spend the day with me
257. for the thoughtful gifts she brought Anlon and me, and my favorite key-lime pie
258. that Vipul planned a wonderful date night out

 259. for Bern's dessert room and the special memories we have there
260. for all of the warm birthday wishes from family and friends

7/13
261. that we were able to make it to the later library storytime
262. for seeing Crista and Mateos there
263. that God keeps drawing my eyes to the sky and I'm reminded of how amazing it is that I have a personal relationship with my Creator

7/14
264. for Carolina taking the time to send me some helpful information for a family member
265. that today I can smile at the fact that our small home looks like Babies R Us

266. that Anlon still nuzzles into my neck as I rock him
267. that I was able to put together something that I didn't think I could by myself

268. for godly counsel
269. for Vipul's letter

7/15
270. for Vipul doing an incredible job cleaning up splattered spaghetti sauce while I was asleep
271. for Anlon only waking up once to nurse the last 2 nights

7/16
272. for Amber's amazing talent that she freely shares
273. for Bill and Pat's work preparing their home for Anlon's party
274. for Vipul going over to help them while I stayed home with a sleeping baby
275. for Chrissy's thoughtful gifts for Anlon and me
276. for Chrissy's excitement to read Vipul's book

7/17
277. that Anlon enjoyed his new class at church and that Heather put me in it to volunteer
278. that Vipul and Sam got to see Harry Potter together
279. for Anlon doing being so happy this afternoon
280. that Vipul is so enthusiastic about starting a new meal plan and the work he did preparing for it

Monday 7/11/2011

I am thankful:
6/27
 210. for lunch with Chrissy and the exciting plans God has in store for her

6/28
211. for so easily finding the two toys that our speech pathologist used during Anlon's feeding therapy
212. for the delicious pizza Vipul made
213. for hearing Vipul read to Anlon upstairs
214. for an answered prayer

6/29
215. for the library's children's storytime program and how much Anlon enjoyed it
216. for the beautiful dark grey sky and the needed rain that came

6/30
217. for Anlon and Bennett enjoying each other so much
218. for how sweet Bennett was as he came over to sit in my lap and share my cereal
219. for the beautiful rainbow that reminded me of God's goodness

7/1
220. for Claire's visit and how good it was to catch up with an old friend
221. that Vipul and I were able to enjoy a date night out
222. for a really entertaining, clean movie "Super 8"

7/2
223. for Spirit FM's Saturday morning kid's program
224. for the YMCA's waterpark and how much Anlon loved playing in the water

225. for food from my favorite Thai restaurant

7/3
226. that we were able to watch the church service on-line while Anlon slept
227. for an enjoyable time at a local farmer's market

228. that Anlon enjoyed some of our food

229. for the sound of a bird singing through the window as I took an nap

230. for an unexpected visit from a shirtless friend 

7/4

231. for the men and women who sacrifice everything for freedom

232. for Vipul's delicious burgers

233. that Anlon really likes ground beef
234. for a great time with Sambernette :)
235. that Anlon crawled over to Amber when he heard her reading to Bennett and wanted up to hear the story

236. for sweet boys playing

7/5

237. for Bennett pushing Anlon on B's Thomas the Train and that we have it on video

238. for the majestic sky at dusk tonight that reminded me of God's glory

7/6
239. that Vipul and Sam are continuing to meet to discuss God's truth
240. for a chance to go to the mall by myself

7/7
241. for thinking it was 6 instad of 5 and taking Anlon downstairs to play - it was a very sweet time together
242. for time to interact with Sandy while the boys played
243. for the wonderful surprise early birthday package sent by Robyn
244. that Anlon loves Aimee so much
245. for time to read back through my journal and remember all that God has done

7/8
246. for time with Ada and the wisdom I gain from her
247. that Anlon enjoyed interacting with Lucas
248. for Vipul's excitement as we watch "From the Earth to the Moon"

7/9
249. for the cool breeze that the rain brought this morning
250. for time with Carolina and her genuine, open heart
251. for finding an unexpected bargain at Anthropologie
252. for Bill and Pat's graciousness and for Bill telling us that they would do this for any of their kids

7/10
253. for a wonderful birthday dinner with the Johnstons

Anlon is 11 months old!!!!!!

Anlon turned 11 months on June 26th! Just about every day, either Vipul or I say to each other "Isn't he just the best thing in the world?" Even on our most challenging days, we are so thankful for our baby boy. These days Anlon is constantly exploring new things and crawling everywhere! He still mainly army crawls on his forearms, but he can move fast! To my surprise, he still absolutely loves to toss the colored rings from his Rock-a-Stack toy ahead of him and crawl after them. I thought perhaps he would get bored with this since he loved doing this 2 months ago, but he is still thoroughly entertained by this. He is also now very comfortable going from his belly to a sitting position and back to his belly - and he makes these transitions often as he plays. He also pulls himself up to his knees a lot, and many time he's in this position looking through his crib as I leave his room during nap times. He's been able to pull himself up to a standing position while sitting on the couch to look out the window and I think he's close to pulling up while sitting on the floor. He's quite steady on his feet now when he's holding onto something and enjoys standing against our storage ottoman while playing with items put on top - and recently he's been taking side steps or "cruising" while holding onto it.

In the last week, he's discovered how to scream with excitement and it's the cutest thing. He looks at us like "Did you hear me?" and smiles so big. He'll let out this high-pitched little screams over and over and thinks it's so funny. He says dada and mama a lot and we think he might now be saying them discriminately. Sometimes when he wakes up in the morning we'll hear him in the monitor saying "mama, mama", like he's asking me to come and get him! He loves playing peekaboo and often Vipul will hold him and they'll hide behind something and then sneak up on me - and he laughs and laughs. His laugh is still the greatest sound I've ever heard. He loves books more than ever. When he's not tired, he can be completely content and focused as we read up to 7 and 8 books at a time. He's been turning the pages himself since he was 8 months old and he usually does it at just the right time. Sometimes he pauses to look at the pages longer and then he's ready to go on to the next page. Some of his current favorites are The Going To Bed Book, So Big, Opposites, What's Wrong Little Pookie?, Touch and Feel Baby Animals, I Love You Through and Through, The Eye Book, and Name Me Pets. He's also starting to really enjoy his bible with lots of flaps he can lift up to find surprises. 

We began prevacid 6 weeks ago for his silent reflux and over the last 2 weeks we've seen a remarkable improvement in Anlon's interest in eating. Finally!!!! He's now eating the equivalent of 3 jars of food/day, which is easily double what he was eating before - and we're confident this will increase with more time. We recently started weekly feeding therapy with a speech pathologist since it's common to have an association between eating and pain, even after the pain has resolved with the reflux treatment. One of the greatest indications that he's feeling better is that he now shows interest in what we're eating, which he never did before. The one frustration now is that he has had some spitting up, which as our doctor explained, is a symptom of his silent reflux transitioning into classic reflux. And the medication does not stop this - it only decreases the acid production which prevents pain as the reflux occurs. He's also had a cold over the past week and the increased mucous production has increased these spit-ups. Just this morning he ate so well and then spit up a large amount of what he had just eaten. But despite this minor set-back, we are still SO, SO grateful that God led us to a diagnosis that is treatable and will hopefully soon resolve - and we know that our little man will begin to gain weight at a faster rate soon!


Every day with Anlon gets brighter and brighter. Thank you God for our wonderful little boy.