Shane measured at 97th percentile height, 95th head circumference, and 90th weight for his age. My boy is already wearing 18-24 monther clothing depending on the brand. Carrie said he weighed in somewhere over 28 lbs. I'd ask her, but she was sprawled across the covers face down asleep when Shane and I came back from our walk a little after 7 PM. Our son is a high-energy toddler! He can tucker a parent out who chases him around all day!
He's a lot of work, but we love our son!
A day later, I'm restarting on this draft. Carrie passed out around 7:30 PM and I put Shane down just before 8:40 PM. Once again, I forgot to ask her exactly how much our boy weighed in at. Rats. At least she didn't fall asleep with the iPad upstairs. There are pictures and videos I've been meaning to upload.
On with the update!
Five words to describe my son:
Accident Prone:
Last Saturday, Shane vaulted out of his crib at Grandma and Grandpa's house. Everyone heard a thud followed by wailing. Carrie raced upstairs and opened the door to find Shane racing around the room, crying, and pissed.
My son is freckled black and blue. Earlier today he decided to grab a chair under the cushion and flip it over. Of course, he lost his balance and hit head head on one of the chair legs when he fell forward. I had only turned around for a moment to get a diaper! Another time, I watched as he stood up, dropped a truck behind him, and reached up for something on the dinner table. It was almost in reach! Shane stood up on tiptoes to get a finger snagged on it...and then he stepped backwards on the truck, slipped, and pulled the water bottle onto his face. I was ready to write a whole update on "Shane's many bruises" a few days before he took that terrifying fall down the stairs.
I've told Carrie multiple times: buying carpets was one of the best parenting decisions we've ever made. My son needs the extra cushion! I want him to develop some sense, but he's determined to knock as much out of his head as possible.
Active:
I still suspect my wife is dropping something extra in Shane's milk. Espresso? Protein Powder? Shane is an endless font of energy! He love to run, run, run, and climb. He will take occasional time outs to chew on something or play with a toy, but nothing holds his attention long. Soon, he's up again and running around or trying to climb.
He obviously gets this from my side of things.
Strong-Willed:
And how. Whenever Shane doesn't get his way, he lets you know. He also doesn't give up easily. There was the one night I had to break the midnight feeding habit where Shane cried for over 40 minutes. Then there's the 2,001 times I've had to pull him back from trying to step through the kitchen gates. The boy gets his legs stuck and cries. I pull him out, and then he goes right back to it.
Lately, he's begun to tantrum and throw his head when he doesn't get his way. I have to either put him in time-out or lay him down to let him thrash it out so he doesn't fall. One time, Shane wanted to pull the printer off the desk. I pulled it away and he threw his head in anger. That is, he threw his head forward straight into the desk in anger. This was followed by falling on his ass and wailing. See: "My son is accident prone." These two go hand in hand.
Happy:
Bumps, bruises, and the occasional "I'm so pissed off I'm going to hurt myself showing it," Shane is generally a very happy baby. I love how he smiles for me when I get home. He'll start turning around and looking for me or camp the stairs when he hears me calling down to Carrie. If she's been out of the house, he'll do the same thing for her! Shane has a big smile that lights up his whole face. I love to hear him laugh too! He's a lot of work, but he's a joy and a blessing in our lives.
Strong
Shane is forever getting into things a baby his age should not be physically capable of getting into. He can pull himself over anything that's around his navel; he can life up the front of chairs and throw them over; he's been able to reach and open doors since 11 months! My son is amazing. Our house has had to evolve rapidly to keep Shane safe from his own antics. Carrie and I have had to sharpen our reflexes, as well! My wife has sported a couple of bloody noses from our son's headbutts.
Shane's Likes
Shane loves animals, going outside, climbing, running, cartoons, music, baths, and books. He's also very social. He's gotten to where he enjoys the foster kids and going to the nursery at church. Shane has shown very little anxiety towards strangers and enjoys being held (as long as you're moving). I can still sing away his troubles when he's hurt, and I sing "nighty-night" every evening when it's bedtime.
Shane loves us, but he'd prefer to have us all move over to Nana's house. She's got her own swingset, a dog, and dotes on his every whim! He's so excited there, he doesn't always eat well. Today, he drank 10 ounces of milk when he got home!! Nana offered him plenty of milk and the little stink threw a fit when Carrie showed up to take him home. He didn't realize how hungry he was until he was in the car. Oops. There's that Absolutely Damn Delightfulness.
Bread is Shane's new favorite food. Whenever I eat a bagel, or just about anything, he comes running over. He'll pull down my hand and try to take a bite of whatever I'm munching on. He's not good about biting down and tearing off a chunk of food, though. Normally, I just rip off a small piece of the bread or crust and Shane gulps it down. My boy loves his carbs!
Shane's Dislikes
Shane has some very clear dislikes. He hates any form of gate or opening and closing a door when he's within a few yards of it. Instant pissed off baby. His anger is directly proportional to how close he was to the door or gate when it opened. Also, never walk outside or into a room with a bathtub carrying Shane and return from whence you came. A tantrum will soon follow without a long walk or a bath.
Food-wise, Shane does not like textures in his baby food. He'll eat puffs and cheerios and some stage 3 baby foods. However, if you give him a baby food that has pastas or solids in it he scrunches up his face and spits it out. I came home to a baby tray full of pasta stars. Shane's not a fan of water either. He'll drink milk, watered down milk or formula, but water gets a couple sips at best. It would be a low calorie alternative to the whole milk, but at 97th percentile height and 90th weight, I guess he's pretty proportional (it's all the running and climbing!)
Face wiping is another parental no-no. Shane smears his food on just right. It offends him to have us try and wipe it off.
Would you believe it took me close to 40 minutes to write this? I took a time out for a couple of work emails, but most of my time was spent writing. I want to find some time to upload pictures of our house for an "Evolving house" entry and I have a video for a "My son is a narcissist" post where Shane marvels at a video of himself. They will have to wait for another night. I have bottles and an interview tomorrow.
Good night, Internet. Try not to rage too much.
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