Two Year Checkup

Height: 2' 10.5"
Weight: 30lb

Masteries:

• Simple communication words. It's a real vocabulary; perhaps its own offshoot from English. But he can very clearly express his intent in single words and occasional word pair. It will be sad when he finally loses "Da" for yes though.
• Comprehension continues to be exceptional - he can clearly demonstrate that he knows exactly what you are saying to him, and can now even use a word or two to respond. Properly motivated, he can follow quite complex instructions.
• Electronics. Though later to develop the itch compared to his sister, Archer can now navigate and explore a variety of electronic devices.

Progressing:

• Sleeping. While certainly nowhere near the worst its been, we've started to have to fight for some bedtimes (and most naps) again. He'll usually sleep like the dead when he finally gives in.
• Sentences. Simple ones; notably the classic "more <x>" for all <x> in <tasty things>.
• Outdoor activities - he can stay on a swing, and climb our play structure (no small feat considering his size).
• Singing. Though all singing is "ba ba", he carries a tune impressively for a two year old.

Archer continues to work hard on developing his speech, and while he does, he struggles with the inequities of the world. Mostly, these inequities consist of "cookie pop" and their unequal distribution among the not him. [Editor's Note: "cookie pop" is not literal most of the time, but consists of a rotating selection of semi-sweet snack that cannot be predicted ahead of time].

 

Tambark Park

Safety First! (Seriously, completely unscripted!)

So happy in overalls.

1.5yr Checkup

Weight: 27lb 6oz (75%)
Height: 33" (75-90%)
Head: 18.8" (50-75%)

Mastered:

• Sleep. He is still not an "easy" sleeper, but through a great deal of hard work, we can reliably get about 11 solid hours out of him, with only the occasional couple of bad nights.
• Comprehension. Even more so, it's plain that he can understand what's going on around him, even some basic inferences. When told it's dinner time, he'll run to his high chair. When time to go, he'll go get his shoes and bring them to you to put on him.
• Actions - finally he's got the all-done-done-dance. He's also mastered "touchdown!" in time for the NFL playoffs.
• Toys. He's getting full value, beyond just chewing or throwing. He regularly rides his pirate rocker, drives the truck around, or sends the batcar careening off a table.
• Play places. New in the past few months, he can now really hold his own play places; climbing, sliding, and playing independently.

Starting:

• Speaking! We've been building to it, very slowly, very cautiously. But there are words! Real words, used with intent! Ma Ma, Da Da, Ra Ra (Aurora), Nooo, Nigh Nigh, hat (on/off), and many others.

I refuse to include it with the masteries, but Archer is currently the grandmaster of skutching. He is at all times aware of the person whose patience has been worn the thinnest, the object that means the most to them at that exact moment in time, and can with lightning-fast reflexes obtain and attempt to destroy said object. For me, this usually includes the TV remote, or my current caffeinated beverage (related the the aforementioned patience). If Elora is in the room, he will first attempt to destroy any meal she may be very slowly consuming, and otherwise, find the toy she is or wants to play with and try to run off with it. 

Needless to say, supervising this phase is a high-speed full-contact sport.

One Year Checkup

[sorry for late post, I know 18 months is coming soon!]
Weight: 23lb 5oz (75-90%)
Height: 30.5" (75%)
Head: 18.4" (50-75%)
Teeth: ...

Mastered:

• Mobility pt. 2. He can stand. He can walk. He can climb. All with nefarious intent to get into whatever he should not have.
• He continues to be a food champ, devouring anything put in front of him with abandon.

Starting:

• Speaking is still monosyllabic, though he is using his favorite syllable (usually "dat") with bold expressiveness.
• For all he doesn't use words, he understands them! He can follow many simple instructions; come, go, pick that up. He'll even make deliveries on request!

We won the war for sleep! We (well Amber anyways) are hardly green in the sleep training area, but none of our usual techniques were effective. We expect the main issue is that, unlike Elora, Archer has consistently refused a pacifier (or any other comfort item in bed). After a protracted battle with a worsening sleep regression, we relented and hired an expert, Julie Kennedy. Even then it was a long fight, but we won in the end, and Archer is back to sleeping through the night.

Even now, it's hardly smooth sailing; there are still the occasional wakeups he can't settle through, and during teething, ibuprofen is practically a religion. And no matter the bedtime, 6am is the most we can get out of him. But it's still a win.

Nine Month Checkup

Weight: 22lb (75-90%)
Height: 29" (90%)
Head: 18" (50-75%)
Teeth: 1

Mastered:

• All things baby movement. Can crawl at lightning speed, and cruises almost obsessively during every waking moment.
• Food! The tone changed almost overnight, from cautious foodplay to a power devourer of all things solid. Noodles, puffs, avocado, meat. Anything, and with volumes increasing dramatically by the day.
• Intention; Archer knows what he wants and clearly shows the pathing required to reach it. His current obsessions include any of my canned drinks, and getting into the hall bathroom. For the latter, he'll cross the entire house, over any obstacle, the second he suspects that door is open.

Starting:

• Some vocalizations. Some very clear Mamamas, and even a few Daaaas.
• Standing.

It's hard to believe where we are at nine months! We're always surprised at his pace of development, though looking back at Elora's blog, he is following her developmental schedule surprisingly close. Knowing what to expect makes the milestones feel like they're flying by, while with Elora we counted down each day.

The one difference is that he continues to be huge, already bigger than Elora at 12mo, and fitting comfortably in 18mo clothes. Also, he's starting to show teeth, something that Elora was fairly late with (no matter how many things we blamed on teething). Sadly, the sleep regression continues, exacerbated by teething problems and a few changes in routine. The last couple of months have been challenging, with many wakings per night, and very little ability to self-soothe.

Happy baby can move.

Happy baby can eat.

Six Month Checkup

Weight: 19 lb 8.5 oz (75-90%)
Height: 28" (75-90%)
Head: 17.4" (75-90%)

Mastered:

• Grabbing, holding, and tasting. If he can reach it, he'll grab it. And pull it with great strength towards his mouth.
• Rolling and maneuvering in seal position. He can reposition effortlessly from front to back, and spends most of his time braced up on his arms. He can maneuver around through pushing with his arms; mostly backwards, but can intentionally rotate to reach an intended destination.

Starting:

• Rocking, the classic crawling precursor. He can get up on his knees and rock back and forth with no help (and he'd complain if you tried to).
• Food. He hasn't embraced solids with the gusto that Elora did, but has shown a strong interest in purees.

Regressed:

• Sleep. As he has become more active, he's become harder to settle and will wake multiple times most nights.

The monster immunization cycle - an oral and 3 needles. We spared him a fourth needle (and a booster in a month) by skipping the flu shot. Normally we'd never skip a vaccination, except that this year's flu shot has been shown to be highly ineffective, and it's already halfway through the season. He took it like a champ and slept it off over most of the afternoon.

Archer continues to be a giant and is about to height out of the infant carseat, which supports up to 30". Though it can support up to 30lb, would YOU want to carry a 30lb baby plus 9lb of carseat around?

The other big story is his mobility, which has opened a world of adventure for him. He can move all about the living room now at often surprising speeds. This has also exposed him to the wide world of toys - he can now genuinely play with something beyond just attempting to eat it. Favorites include the piano toys and a honking ball.



Four-Month Checkup

Weight: 16 lb 10.5 oz (75-90%)
Height: 26.7" (90-95%)
Head: 16.7" (50-75%)

Mastered:

• Tummy time! He's tolerant of being on his belly, and has no problem looking straight ahead for extended periods of time.
• Hand-to-mouth. His entire fist spends a great deal of time inside his mouth.
• Smiling and giggling. He's so incredibly aware of the people around him; he recognizes us and greets us with smiles and giggles.
• SLEEP! At four months, routinely sleeps nearly twelve hours, with 0 or 1 nighttime feed.

Starting:

• Rolling over. He can roll front-to-back, and will (occasionally) even try a back-to-front.
• Grabbing. He can grab and hold toys for short periods of time.

Archer is BIG and STRONG! He's already exceeded Elora's height at six months, and is showing incredible strength. His ability to control his head, and even drag himself around is incredible for a baby of his age. He can actually spin around in full circles by pulling on blankets, carpet, fences, or toys.

He loves his people. This can be a double-edged sword; he is happy to lay on the floor as long as he can see you, but the second you're out of eyesight, the fussing starts. This is particularly challenging in a rear-facing carseat, to which he still routinely objects.

I CHOOSE to wear this blanket...

Sibling interactions

Archer, Archer man! (two months)

2 Month Stats

Weight: 13pounds, 13.5ounces

Height: 24.3 inches

Head circumference: 15.75inches

Clothing size: 6 months

Diaper size: 2

 

 

 

The past couple of months with Archer have been a joy. Elora was a fairly easy baby but Archer has been easier. So, that definitely says something. Generally he's asleep no later than ten and often sleeps straight through till six. Sometimes he wakes up for a feed around three or four but not all the time. The past week or so I've started putting him to sleep in his crib and he's had absolutely no trouble with the transition. He has the amazing ability to settle himself at night. He sleeps better now than Elora did at six months and we had to sleep train her! He continues to have great neck and trunk control and it gets better every day. He now reaches for and grabs toys. Especially those hanging from the piano kicking mat. He's begun to articulate giggles and 'talks' in adorable goos and gaas. As the pictures below will show, he's very quick to smile and is usually in a very good mood. He still gets a little fussy in the evenings but can be easily settled by being jiggled on a knee. I think it would be even easier to soothe him if he would take a pacifier but he has steadfastly refused them and has not quite mastered finger/thumb sucking yet. The one particularly challenging thing we've experienced with him is a true hate of the car seat. He'll cry and grumble and fuss when put into it until he finally fusses himself to sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All that hair!