It's Beginning to Look A Lot like Christmas

Now that Luc is a year old, I'm not going to religiously update every month about his goings-ons. I will do it sporadically from now on. Just like when a baby turns a few months old, you stop counting in weeks, I think at 1 year you should stop counting in months.

Tooth #7 FINALLY came in! Luc's been cutting this tooth since October. And we've all had enough of this never-ending teething ( I think even Luc would agree with that). After lots of chewing and biting and night-wakings, it's finally poked it's way through. Whew! One more to go with this set. Then can we have a break???

Luc can now stand up by himself without using anything for support. This is a relief for Frederic and I since now we can take Luc outside to play and not have to stand next to him every time he falls on his butt.

In the last few weeks, Luc has ignored the steps to go upstairs. I haven't blocked them off with the footstools. The only time he will go to the steps at our house and at Grandma's is when he needs his diaper changed- especially if it's a poopy diaper. If you ask Luc if he needs a new diaper, or if he's stinky (and he really is),he'll shake his head yes and start heading to the stairs to get a new diaper.
Luc also will head toward the steps and start going up when you tell him it's time for bed. We still need to work on how to get down the stairs safely. I'm thinking he will catch onto that soon since we've been showing him how to go feet first on his belly off the couch or bed. He's starting to do that now on his own to get off instead of thinking he can just walk right off and not get hurt. Silly boy.

A few days before Luc turned one, I decided to start mixing less formula and add coconut milk to his bottle. I wanted to get Luc on coconut milk entirely believing it's more beneficial and healthier than cow's milk. Well once again Luc showed me he had his own idea. Ever since I started mixing, Luc was eating less and less of his bottle. I was giving it some time thinking he was getting used to the taste. Since Luc didn't like it and was eating less, that meant he was up at 4am screaming because he was starving. I would give him a bottle and he would fall back asleep. After a few weeks of this, I realized I didn't want to get into the routine of having a newborn again with middle of the night feedings, and that coconut milk just wasn't working. Luc doesn't have any fat storage to burn off when he doesn't have a full tummy, and he doesn't have any weight to loose.
After I realized Luc was telling me that coconut milk just wasn't cool, I decided it was time to try regular formula and cow's milk. The first night and morning Luc ate almost the entire bottle, like old times. What a relief. What a pain too! I wasted those nights and days fighting with Luc to eat more and waking up all hours of the morning to fill him back up. Sometimes I could really kick myself that it takes so long for me to realize what isn't working and how to fix it. It's recommended kids at 1 year til they're 2 drink cow's whole milk. Since Luc isn't obese, I shouldn't be put off by the fats in it. So far he hasn't been having any problems with the lactose in it either, which he did when he was a baby. And buying organic makes me feel better against all the hormones and antibiotics and pus, etc that get into regular milk that then could get into my babe aren't there. Thought: If doctor's don't want you to breastfeed your own baby when you're on antibiotics or hormones, why is it okay for them to drink cow's milk with all that stuff in it?
We will see how this experiment goes...

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To get more into the Christmas spirit (in case not that listening to Christmas music every time Luc is with us isn't festive enough- in fact I'm already tired of the music weeks before the actual day!) Frederic and I took Luc to Homstead Gardens in Davidsonville. They decorate a ton of trees, have carolers, a train garden, and of course- Santa!
Background info on why we thought Luc would love this even at 1 year old. One evening before this day, Luc was getting a little cranky. Since it gets pitched dark by 5pm now, I don't take Luc on a walk anymore after work. He and I both miss that. I knew going outside would help Luc, so I bundled us up and decided to walk with him around the block to look at Christmas lights on people's houses. Luc loved it! The moving reindeer is still his favorite, and he'll actually wave hello and goodbye to it as we pass. He sees it from the other side of the street and we have to cross back over to see it once more before going inside. Luc is in love with Christmas lights! We knew he would love Homestead Gardens.

Luc, looking at a decorated Christmas tree is saying, "AaAAaayy!!!"

Watching the trains go by

The magic of Christmas glowing in his eyes

winter wonderland

No way did Luc want to sit on Santa's lap. 

There is a street near Bonne Maman and Bon Papa that goes all out with Christmas lights on the houses. One house plays music, has trains, and even elves that move. We decided to take Luc on a walk to see all the lights around the neighborhood. When we came up to the main attraction, Luc's reaction was: "whoooooaaaa!"

The ride there, Luc got excited and would screech with each new lighted house. In between houses, you could hear him saying, "Ho ho hoooo."

One

1, such a little number, but here, filled with so much.
Today, Luc is 1 year old. One year!
It's the beginning of a long life. As the years pass, One will seem insignificant. It'll seem like forever ago. It'll seem not as important as 13, 18, 21, 25, 30, etc. But right now, 1 is a big deal! It's the biggest milestone so far.

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One year ago, we celebrated Thanksgiving on November 24th, like all the other years. We sat around Aunt Alice and Uncle Bill's dining table. We joked about nonsense. We ate a lot of turkey. We covered our pumpkin pie with Cool Whip. We also took bets on when Luc would decide to arrive.
Luc was due on November 29th. My dad predicted Luc would be born Saturday, the 26th. Uncle Bill swore it would be Sunday, the 27th. I thought it wouldn't be until December 6th. We all hoped it wasn't going to be in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner.
Black Friday, Frederic and I started our morning as usual. I had my bout of morning sickness. We decided to go to a few stores later on in the day to see if there were any good deals around. I wanted to start decorating for Christmas that day because I didn't want Luc to be born and not have anything decorated. This was the first time since we got married that Frederic and I were in our own place for Christmas. The house must be decorated from bottom to top floor. The tree must be up and twinkling. The stockings must be hung.
Friday evening, Frederic and I finished decorating and putting the last ornament on the tree. We invited my brother over for dinner and to hang out and watch Elf on DVD. We then decided to invite my parents over to watch the movie as well. Everyone went home around 11pm, and we went to bed.
Around 2:40am, I got up to go to the bathroom (my usual routine). I got back into bed and barely fell asleep when I felt my water broke. I rushed to the bathroom while yelling for Frederic to wake up. It took a few yells before Frederic woke from his slumber.
The doctor on call told us to come in right away. By 3:30am we were walking into the hospital ER. My contractions started around 4am, as we walked the halls in the labor and delivery area. I wanted to try to do a natural birth, but by 5 centimeters I was asking for some medicine. With each contraction, the only word going through my mind as I clenched my jaw was a very bad curse word.
The nurse informed me I was too far along and all I could get now was an epidural, which I really did not want. She told me to think about it and page her when I had decided what to do. By the time I made up my mind and the anesthesiologist got to my room, I was already 8 centimeters.
At 10 centimeters, the strength of the epidural had to be lowered so I could feel where and how to push. I don't recall pushing for very long, and Luc was born at 2:34pm.
When you're in labor, every moment is concentrated on the pain, discomfort, and people pissing you off. When you look back on how many hours you were in labor (for me it wasn't even 12 hours), I can't recall where every minute went. I can only remember little moments, and mostly the pushing.
Luc came out crying and was placed immediately on my chest. We teared up as we counted his fingers and toes, and noticed how long his finger nails were!
Life has never been the same since.

Luc's first picture

Luc's Stats at 1 Year

Weight: 17 lbs 13 oz
Height: 29 inches
Teeth: 4 on top, 2 on bottom (3rd bottom one coming in soon)

New Vocabulary:

*Uggie = hug
*baww = ball (or almost anything else nowadays)
*UH... ... ... oh = Uh oh (sometimes without the 'oh')
Luc stopped trying to say "up" to be picked up and now just smacks his lips together like he's saying up because it made me laugh. Now that's what he does.

Mange Mange

Favorite foods: Cheerios, chicken nuggets, cheese, yogurt, peas & carrots, anything orange, bananas, pears, yogurt drops, crackers/bread

Least Favorite foods: steak, broccoli, milk

Action!

*Luc can pull shirts off over his head (once his arms are out)
*starting to run
*holds his own bottle when you feed him and even walks around the room while drinking his milk
*put things back into the 'box' they came out of
*can put together, and take apart, Fisher Price building blocks, stackable cups
*stacks rings, in order, on the Fisher Price Rock-a-Stack
*likes to pull and drag toys along
*opens and closes cabinets and doors
*claps his hands when he hears the "Happy and You Know It" song
*dances by lifting one foot up at a time and rocking back and forth
*loves to play Peek-a-Boo, hiding himself or a toy
*just laughs when you try to play Pat-a-Cake
*takes one cracker out of the box by himself instead of being handed his snack
*smells his feet/socks when he's told his/someone's feet/socks are "Peww, stinky!"
*tries to put his sock or shoe back on his foot when we take it off
*enjoys scribbling on paper with crayons
*starting to give hugs and kisses when asked
*loves to walk on the trails outside rather then spend the whole time in the stroller
*favorite game is chasing him or being chased around the kitchen table

Run free, Luc!

Time Change

Day Light Savings in November sure did make mornings worse at the Hairson house. Luc would wake up at 4:30am, thinking it was 5:30. It was a struggle to ever get him to lay back down and fall asleep. He was up a few minutes later crying to be picked up. For awhile, we couldn't figure out why he waking up so early and what he wanted. We changed his clothes, thinking he was too cold at night. That helped a little, for a little while. But he was getting up super early still. I decided I was going to try to teach Luc some sign language. I wanted him to communicate if he was thirty, hungry, wanted milk, and wanted more food. He wasn't really catching on quickly. He understands words we say, like milk and snack. But when he's tired, he doesn't react to them to let us know that's what he wants. Luc found his own way. I learned one 4:30am morning, that when Luc wanted to be picked up, it wasn't just to be held and come into bed with me. Once he was in my arms, he extended out his arm and started pointing. Following his little index finger, out of his room, down the stairs, into the kitchen, and to the side of the counter where I keep all of his snacks, I realized he was hungry, and he let me know what snack he preferred at the moment. Now that we can communicate when he's hungry (as long as we're home), it makes me feel a little less helpless.

Toddlerhood

It seems all at once Luc turned into a "toddler". He will now shake his head No, when he does not want what you're offering him. If he really does not want it, he'll actually push it away while shaking his head No. He's gradually not wanting to lay down and drink milk out of the bottle, or any milk at all for that matter. He'd much rather hold the bottle himself and walk around the house while trying to drink at the same time. Burning calories while eating kind of defeats the purpose, but he wants to do more and more on his own.
He's also started to dip his spoon into bowls of food and lick the spoon clean instead of us feeding him spoonfuls of it. He did a pretty good job on his first attempt. I did a pretty good job not fussing about the mess he was making. It was worth it to see him so proud that he could feed himself like a big boy. He's even trying to use a fork, but we have to stab the food on their for him. He also recently decided he wants to dip his cookie into his pureed fruit for his snack one evening. I have to keep myself calm about the mess he ends up making and tell myself everything will wash off in the washer or in a good bath.

yes, he is turning into a Lefty

Luc is definitely leaning toward being left-handed. He'll eat with his left hand, take something with either, but always switch it to the left hand to use it (spoon, fork, crayon, block to stack on second block, etc). I'm excited for him to be a typical creative lefty and spend hours drawing with him at the kitchen table like I did when I was a kid (even though I'm a Righty). Frederic and I aren't too surprised he's turning into a lefty though. Bon Papa is naturally a lefty, though he was forced to become a righty at school. Grandma and Uncle Dave are left-handed, as well as some others on Grandma's side of the family.
 
Instead of being content in your arms, Luc will now dive out of our arms to be put down so he can run off and do whatever it is he wants. He in no way likes to hold anyone's hand when he's walking. He might see it as us helping him walk, but we're more concerned about his safety and him running off.

Comic Relief

Luc is more and more becoming a little clown. He's going to be that kid in the class that tries to make everyone laugh. And I know that'll get him in trouble with his teachers. But I love that about him. And that's definitely something we need in our family. Frederic and I can easily get stressed out, and it's nice to have Luc always trying to put a smile on our face or to make us, and him, laugh. A lot of times, to also get attention, Luc will make funny faces and sounds. He'll also grab something he's not supposed to have or just give us a little look so that we'll go chasing after him. Being the clown might get him in trouble sometimes, but I never want that to change in him. We just have to teach him the appropriate time and place for it. I don't know how we got so lucky having such a happy, fun kid.



It's fun to see Luc more and more independent, and I know parenting will get a tad easier when he can better communicate to us what he wants and needs. The first year of life includes the most drastic changes at the fastest rate. A year ago we had a baby in our arms, now we have a little kid we're running after. We miss our tiny, curled-up baby sleeping on our chest, but so excited to see him continue to grow and learn. We can't wait to see what Luc will do next!

First Birthday Party

Luc's 1st Birthday Party!

Saturday, November 24, 2012

@ noon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Guests:

Mommy & Dada
Grandma & Grandpa
Bonne Maman & Bon Papa
Uncle Dave
Taty Nathalie & Uncle Billy
Logan, Taylor, Kendall
Great Grandma Uno
Great Aunt Alice & Uncle Bill


Originally, Luc's first birthday theme was going to be owls with fall colors. But Luc began to like Elmo, and would light up every time he saw Elmo anywhere. Since I couldn't easily find owl-themed birthday invites and decorations, we went with the Elmo theme.

Bonne Maman borrowed a bounce-house castle to set up in the family room for the kids. Luc had a blast with that and especially loved the slide.

 
Grandma made Luc's birthday cake and put a picture of Elmo on it. It was a homemade vanilla cake with vanilla frosting. Super Yummy! Luc loved it, and managed to keep somewhat clean while eating it. 

"I just wanna taste, Mommy."

Luc couldn't even wait to go outside to ride it

Luc got lots of presents from everyone. They included: wooden puzzles (from Mommy and Dada, and Logan and Taylor), Mega Blocks (from Taty Nathalie and Uncle Billy), a growth chart (from Kendall); wooden cars and a wire maze (from Mommy and Dada); a book and clothes (from Great Uncle Bill and Aunt Alice); money (from Great Grandma Uno); a T-shirt from the D.C. Spy Museum that says "Deny Everything" (from Uncle Dave); a v-tech learning turtle book (from Great Aunt Anita and Uncle Ron); a dump truck, pull cars, Crayola drawing markers with magic and bath paper (from Grandma and Grandpa); a SmarTrike (from Bonne Maman and Bon Papa). The tricycle is Luc's favorite (since it takes him outside).

Luc got to spend a lot of time with his cousins over his Birthday weekend and Thanksgiving. He loved playing with Kendall since she was more his size. But Luc also loved to follow around Logan and Taylor and see what they were up to. He would often walk away from Mommy and Dada into the other room where the boys were. By the end of the weekend, Luc was randomly going up to his cousins and giving them kisses. Luc does very well playing with other kids. When one of them stole something he was playing with, he had a stunned look on his face since he's not used to playing with others, but didn't complain. He would try to play with them or would move along to something else. Like always, Luc is most content when he's with a bunch of people.

Luc and Kendall playing with the new truck

Luc giving everyone Thank you kisses

Autumn Fun

 Frederic and I really love living in Columbia. Any store or restaurant you want is a few minutes from the house. Baltimore and D.C. are close-by as well. We're in the middle between our parents. Columbia is known for it's award-winning, planned community and excellent schools. It was also designed to promote healthy living and has over 80 miles of trails. We have an entrance onto those trails right across the street from our house. Walking on those trails has become a favorite pastime for us. Luc loves it as well. He's always loved to be in the stroller and go for a ride. Now he's liking to walk on them himself and look at, and pick up, the nature around him.

Look what I got, Dada!

You want some leaves? 

After we took some pictures of Luc playing with the leaves, we headed on our journey. We still had more than half our route to go (about an hour's walk total). Luc insisted he walk...and walk...and keep walking...until he wore himself out by the end that he agreed to go on Dada's shoulders.

No hand-holding here.

Blind driving. I can push my own stroller, Mommy.

Grandma & Grandpa

The Ultimate shoulder of Rest.

Luc spends the majority of his life with his Grandma at this point. It's a little bittersweet for me. I wish I were the one with him all day long, but at the same time I know he's with a wonderful person who will help raise him into being a great boy and man. Many times Luc fights not going home so that he can continue to play with Grandma.
Grandma's house is always an adventure. She's got tons of seasonal decorations that quickly become toys. Her pots and wooden spoons make the best drums. She's always got the best food around, and as a bonus, Cali makes for a great best friend.











Grandpa is sure to make a phone call to Grandma every morning after he arrives at work in D.C. Whenever the phone rang, Grandma would tell Luc that it's Grandpa on the other line. Now whenever Luc hears their landline ring, he always thinks it's Grandpa, even when Grandpa is home. Since Grandpa gets to to work from home on Fridays, Luc has the opportunity to spend time with him often. He takes comfort in his arms and can easily put a smile on Grandpa's face. I think Luc will have a great time playing with Grandpa and his trains when Christmas comes around too.

Luc, the Professor

Luc has taught me so much in this past year. He's taught me about life, motherhood, parenting, marriage, and mostly, Myself.

I once read an article about motherhood. It said, before you have children, you think you're the expert on how people should be raising their kids, and you have the answers to all their parenting problems. Then you have your own child. You soon realize, you know nothing about parenting. Luc has definitely made me realize this. I always had my own ideas on how my child would act, and how I would discipline him. I knew how I would react to any situation so that he was a great child 100% of the time, and I was a perfect parent. I've read up on everyone's advice on how to raise my child too. I'm pretty well-versed in all the different methods from sleeping to eating. However, I can read a million websites, blogs, or books. I can talk to every other mother in this world, and no one can give me advice that actually works with Luc. Everything I thought I knew about parenting and how I wanted to treat my child has change. I've had to come up with my own rules. I've also had to change the way I think about a lot of things.

This is what Luc has taught me about being a Mother:


*You've never seen a 40-year old man still sleeping on his mother's shoulder. 
 I've spent way too much time worrying and trying to find solutions to Luc's sleepless days and nights. People and books, doctors and friends tell you not to let them sleep with you, on you, near you. They need to learn to put themselves to sleep, alone, in the dark, all the time.-even if this means having them scream their lungs out for hours on end. I've tried that. Luc fought back (strong) and even threw-up in his bed. I've taught myself to take it day by day, night by night. One night, one thing might work. The next night, that same thing will not work. I try to listen to what Luc wants by his cries. Is he in pain? Is he cold? Is he anxious of being separated from me? Is he just being stubborn? I hope some day he can sleep by himself, alone, and without my help. I'm sure he'll find a way, in his own time.

*Stop Worrying.

This one is very hard. I've known from watching my own mother worry about her children, that completely not worrying is impossible as a mother. But obsessive worrying is just no good- for me or Luc.

I've worried too often about sickness, accidents, autism, should Luc get vaccines or not, should he sleep in our bed with us or should I go on the couch, is he eating enough, are these habits he's starting now a development problem, etc. This article online put some things in perspective.

"We don't actually have much control over the way our kids turn out. Genes do a lot of the deciding, and the owner of those genes does most of the rest. People blossom when we love them, not when we worry about them. Worry just teaches worry. Let it go."

*Go with the Flow.

 I've grown-up to be a little control freak. Whatever I can have a grasp on, I like to control in some manner.  Part of it is hating relying on others to get it done and do it correctly. Part of it is to give myself a purpose. Part of it is just to have comfort in knowing what comes next and not having any surprises. I have to often remind myself that Luc is his own person, and I cannot control him. This mantra also ties into Luc's mood swings, tantrums, wants and needs, dislikes, sleeping issues, daily routines, etc. Yes, babies are known to thrive on routine and things they can expect to occur. But life does not work like that. You have good days, bad days, good luck, bad luck. You have to go with the flow of life. Work it one day at a time, and do the best you can in that moment. Luc is a little person. He has his own mind and opinions. I not only have to recognize I cannot control that, I must also respect it.

*Do what You feel is right.- Right for you. Right for him. Right now.

 There are books and doctors endorsing every parenting style ever imagined. They all believe they know what's best and what's going to work for your child. I've thrown all those books away. I've returned to my original thought on life and everything in life- Follow your Gut. I once gave a stressed new mother of twins this same advice the first week of her being a Mother. I soon realized (as an exception to the section above) that I was correct in this parenting advice, but needed to learn to follow it myself. I'm one of the very few who know Luc the best. I have the maternal instinct since giving birth to Luc to feel what he needs. I need to listen to that instinct and trust that little urge inside to do what I think is best for him. I need to learn to ignore what everyone else thinks.

Halloween, Halloween, This is Halloween!

Two days before Luc's first Halloween, Maryland and the North East were battling it out with Sandy the Hurricane. We were scared 1. she wasn't going to pass quick enough, and 2. there would be so much damage that Halloween would be cancelled. But alas, Sandy dumped her business on Monday, came back for seconds on Tuesday, and ran away by Wednesday morning. Wednesday night was perfect for some candy-collecting.

Yes, the typical costume for Luc would have been a monkey. But I'm honestly getting a little tired of all the monkey paraphernalia hanging around our house. I saw a cute circus lion costume in a craft magazine. Grandma was kind enough to put it all together for us.

I'm a Lion. Tada!

On the prowl

Ryan, Katherine and Audrey came over to Trick or Treat with Luc and us. It was a lot more fun then going by ourselves, especially since the candy wasn't going to Luc. We did the entire street and got lots of goodies. By the end of the route, Luc insisted on walking the rest of the way, and walking up to the front doors, himself. He would also point to the candy he wanted to take out of the bowl, just like Audrey was doing.
Luc loved to see the other kids in their costumes as well. He seemed to really enjoy this holiday.

Audrey and Luc ready to get some candy

Lion Luc and Dada

Lion Luc and Mommy

Lion Luc and Soccer Mom

Luc walking along from house to house

Thank you, Grandma, for making my lion costume!