Such a big boy! And so funny. He makes us laugh daily. Gulliver has an all-around sweet disposition. He is very attentive, focused, and calculated in his actions. At 16 months old, Gulliver:
Loves to play "chase," climb all over the furniture and anything else he can find, push trucks & trains around on the floor, play in his wagon, pet the dogs, sort laundry (aka dump all the dirty clothes out of the hamper), crawl in and out of his fort, look out the window
Eats three meals per day, usually with an afternoon snack. Drinks a morning and evening bottle of milk and a sippy cup of milk with lunch. Likes to eat what mom or dad is eating.
Stacks and unstacks rings, cups, and blocks; pulls pieces out of the puzzle; pulls apart giant jacks; crawls after the ball; removes pegs from the peg board
Points to the moon, the stars, and the mouse in Goodnight Moon
Gets on / off his bike, Rody, and rocking horse all by himself
Smiles whenever he hears the door open in anticipation of dad coming into the room
Understands signs for "done" and "eat"; can sign "milk" and "more"
Imitates many, many crazy faces and sounds made by mom and dad
Crawls up and down the stairs all by himself
Dances to music and tries to sing along
Gives lots of Hi-5's
Has 8 teeth (still haven't seen any molars)
Sometimes has good evenings of teeth-brushing and sometimes not-so-good
Stands for several minutes without holding on
Walks with his hands held
Has an absolutely adorable smile and laugh
Is loved to pieces by his mom, dad, and many others!
The Mountain reported another 8 inches of snow this morning, which brings this season's total to 23 FEET! It's been a white winter. I think Gulliver's first word may be "snow" since every morning we look out his window and I say, "Look, Gulliver... Snow!"
Gulliver is spending more and more time on his two feet. This morning while we were playing with the "ears" of the rocking horse (he is obsessed with the handle that slides in and out of the horse's head), he was so engrossed that he didn't even realize he was standing by himself. He stood for almost 5 minutes, occasionally touching the horse lightly. But mostly, he stood on his own. That's the longest I've seen him stand yet.
Last night, he just kept laughing and laughing. At nothing. He just wanted to chuckle. So of course, Mark and I chuckled right along with him. It's good that he can crack himself up.
And he just loves to play with his wagon. He'll put the blocks in and then take them out. He'll climb in, get situated, and then just smile. Sometimes he wants to be pushed around the house; and sometimes he's content just to sit in his wagon. He'll push it all around, navigating around or plowing through any obstacles. The girls are not very fond of his wagon. They clear out of they way if they see him coming. But Gulliver sure has fun with that wagon.
Gulliver survived his first night away from mom and dad... Mark and I went out to dinner in town on Friday, spent the night at the lovely Elevation Hotel at the base of the ski area, and then went skiing together on Saturday. It was a wonderful 24-hour stay-cation!
Gulliver, Ga Ga, and the girls manned things back at the homestead. Judging from all the books and toys scattered around his room when we arrived home, they kept very busy! Gulliver was very happy to see mom and dad (and vice-versa) when we arrived home Saturday afternoon. But he seemed to do very well for his first evening away from his parents.
Ga Ga is on her way home today. Here's a little clip of our last night. I know Gulliver will miss her company!
GaGa arrived town on Monday. Gulliver and I picked her up from the Gunnison airport and then hit the grocery store. The two hit it off right away. They have been playing trucks and trains, walking around the house, singing, dancing, reading, laughing, and just having a grand ol' time. Ga Ga has once again witnessed first-hand just how delightful it is to be around Gulliver. The girls are awfully glad to see Ga Ga, too. They get lots of extra attention (as well as a few treats) when she is around.
Until recently, Gulliver has been resistant to taking many steps. He didn't like having his hands held to help him try and walk and he wasn't crazy about walking with his wagon, although he would do it if you caught him in the right mood. We never forced the issue and figured he would come around when he was ready.
After last week's PT session with Kaylynne, something clicked. Now he walks constantly (with assistance). He easily travels from one room to another. And he seems to enjoy being vertical. He is still a great crawler, and uses that to quickly get where he wants to go on his own. But he's one step closer to walking.
Here's a video clip of us walking the hallway. This was taken during the day when only the two of us were home. So I set the camera on a chair. My favorite part of the clip is when he finally reaches the camera and busts out his gorgeous, flirty grin!
On Friday, Gulliver woke up from nap time with a fever. After eating only half his lunch (extremely unusual), we sat in his rocker and snuggled for an hour. All he wanted to do was lay his head on my shoulder. And he was pretty mellow all evening. He slept through the night and woke up around the usual time Saturday. After finishing his milk, he fell asleep on my lap with the bottle in his mouth. After having a little breakfast, he seemed to perk up a bit, but was still pretty mellow and slept a lot. Last night around 8:30 (after normal bedtime) he finally seemed like his old self again. He was jamming with Daddy to "Weeee will… we will… rock you. Clap. Thump, Thump, Clap." And once again climbing up in his chair and playing trucks, trains, and cars. He seems to continue to be in good spirits this morning.
He hasn't been coughing, doesn't have a runny nose, and otherwise seems fine. He has been drooling more than usual. So once again we think it was probably teething-related. We'll be on the look out for some signs of molars.
We've had a lovely winter so far. Lots of snow, mild temperatures, and many Colorado bluebird sky days (which are my favorite). But lately it's been COLD!!!
Gulliver doesn't seem to mind, though. As much as he enjoys getting outside, he still really loves to just play around the house. And we do a lot of that!
Here are some photos from over the past week or so...
Last night I went to check on the G-man before turning in for the evening. He was in another one of his adorable sleeping poses - tummy down, bum up, probably dreaming away. I never take photos of him sleeping at night because I don't want to risk waking him with either the sudden noise or the flash. But I took a chance last night, and he didn't move an inch!
Gulliver continues to amaze us with the way he goes to bed with little objection and sleeps through the night. He still takes a morning nap and an afternoon nap. Although, lately it seems he spends as much time playing in his crib at nap time as he does sleeping. But that's okay. He seems to enjoy his quiet, alone time.
We're supposed to be on our way to storytime at the library right now. But when I went to get Gulliver, this is what I found...
How could I possibly wake that beautiful, peaceful baby??? Storytime will just have to wait until another day..
