18 Months Old!

I haven't been very good about monthly updates for Peyton, but I was going to be good and do an update when he turned 18 months... and then we were on a spur of the moment missions trip to Chicago, so it didn't happen.... but late is better than never, right? There's no pictures yet...

Peyton is 18 months (plus a few days!) old!! He has left the baby stage and is most definitely a toddler!

Peyton loves to explore.. and climb... and check out anything he can. He's very curious about everything around him and loves to copy everything his older siblings do!

Peyton loves to eat. As long as he has a fork, he pretty much each whatever we put in front of him. We are still avoid dairy, eggs, soy, and peanuts. He also still loves to nurse! We are down to three or four times a day, but he loves his mommy cuddles and mommy milk!

Peyton doesn't really say many words, but is very good about communicating. He says "that," "dip," "mom," and "boob" and makes some other random noises. He is good about pointing and grunting to get what he wants and knows how to throw a good fit when he gets something he doesn't want or doesn't get what he wants. 

Sleep wise, I think it's safe to say he's sleeping through the night for the most part. The past couple weeks when we've been in Chicago, he slept in bed with Mommy and Daddy and nursed at least once in the middle of the night, but when we are at home and he's in his own bed, he typically nurses to sleep around 7:30 or so and then sleeps for about twelve hours! Most days he takes an afternoon nap as well. If we are home and the big kids are quiet, he'll typically sleep for two or three hours!

Peyton has six teeth that are all the way in, two that are partially in, and another two that you can kind of feel, but can't see yet.

When we got home from Chicago, we changed out his clothes and he know has 18 month clothes in his drawers, but I have a feeling they aren't going to fit him for too long.

Peyton still isn't too sure about most adults, but seems to love other kids. He loves to watch kids play..and sometimes play with them. He likes to "blow it up" and sometimes gives high fives, but some times refuses if he's not too sure about the person. 

Peyton enjoys playing with cars and doing puzzles... and playing with Kyle, Emily, and Colby and whatever they are playing with. He also LOVES to be outside and to go places. He often brings me his shoes and wants to go!

11 Months Old!

In one short month this little man will be a year old! It's crazy how fast time can seem to move!

Peyton has becoming proficient at walking! It's his preferred way to get around... other than mommy carrying him! He's also gotten good at climbing and getting around things in his way. I'm pretty sure if I allowed him to have enough time and didn't stop him in the process, he could get over the gates blocking the kitchen! Luckily though, he hasn't tried climbing out of his crib yet!

Peyton is still a boob boy! He loves to cuddle mommy and nurse! Today, when I was getting ready, he knew it was time and started clapping and said "Yay!" He still nurses on demand... some days that means every few hours and other days it means three times during the day.

Peyton still isn't a fan of much food besides baby food.... and sometimes he doesn't even like that. He's finally gotten to the point where he will suck on crackers until they are soggy and eat a little bit of them, but for the most part, anything with any sort of texture makes him gag and puke.

We had allergy testing done a few weeks ago. Peyton is allergic to cow's milk, goat's milk, eggs, and soy as far as foods go. He's also allergic to lots of environmental stuff, just like Colby. He was put on a few allergy meds and they seem to be helping. The allergist told me to keep eating everything Peyton is allergic too since it doesn't seem to be bothering him through my milk....and he encouraged me to keep on nursing him as long as he will nurse in hopes that it will help "heal" some of his allergies like it has Colby! (I was already planning on "extended breastfeeding"... but now I have a "doctor's note" to do so!)

Peyton still isn't the best sleeper. If I time things right, I can normally get a two hour naps from him after lunch time. At night, he normally goes to bed around 8. Sometimes he sleep until 4 or 5 am, nurse and goes back to sleep. Sometimes he wakes up every few hours to nurse. One of these days I'm sure he'll consistently sleep through the night.. I'm just not counting on it being any time soon!

Peyton is into everything and curious about everything! He loves to watch his brothers and sister play and then try to imitate them... or mess up whatever they are playing with! He's a big fan of cars. He pushes them around on the ground and plays with them just like the big boys do!

Peyton has two teeth! I can't feel or see anymore. The first one came in without any issues... the second was caused a crazy high fever and crabby boy!

Peyton is not fan of bathtime! He screams and screams and screams... but if he's on the outside of the tub while the other three are in it, he does everything he can to climb in.. and when he gets in, he SCREAMS!

Peyton doesn't really say a whole lot yet! He'll gab if the other kids are being quiet or aren't around... and he'll let you know when he's not happy about something... but he really doesn't say too much yet. He does know how to shake his head "no" though...and does often! He also waves bye bye to people!

Brent says that Peyton loves Daddy more than mommy... I think it's true most of the time... when he wants to eat or in the middle of the night, he loves mommy more!

Peyton loves to be worn! He gets very excited when he sees me getting the wrap or carrier out. He recently has started being worn on my back during the day when I need to do things...like make lunch! He also loves to ride on daddy's shoulders!

Peyton is a pretty good listener when he's told no or not to do something. (He's even left the Christmas tree alone so far!)

Peyton is getting to be a little more social. He does okay hanging out with Grandma Franks is mommy is out of sight. He's also gotten over his fear of Aunt Kara. But, when there are lots of people around, he still likes to be close to mommy or daddy and isn't a fan of strangers!

Peyton is growing into such an amazing little boy. I am so thankful that God has given him to us and am excited to see what is in store for him!

Stinker Boy is TWO!

It's crazy how fast the past two years have flow by.

It seems like Colby was just a tiny little baby... and now he's a big boy with a tiny baby brother!

Colby lives up to his "stinker boy" nick name. The kid is full of spunk and life. He is into everything and doesn't like to be told no. He is always determined to do whatever it is that he wants to do and doesn't know how to give up.

Colby has ten teeth all the way in, and two more are working their way through his gums. This broken teeth are still hanging on, but are very slowly starting to get dark. Hopefully they will stay in for a few more years...

Colby is talking so much. It's sometimes hard to understand what he's saying, but he eventually gets his point across. His favorite words/phrases are "No," "I do," and "Me."

Colby LOVES to eat. His favorite foods are bananas, cheese, pizza, and ice cream. But, for the most part, he will eat whatever we put in front of him. He is still gluten free and peanut/tree nut free, but as I explained in the post about his well visit, we are going to slowly start to try introducing gluten into his diet and see what happens. We having been praying that God would heal him of Celiac's disease, so we will see if our prayers have been answered.

Colby is still nursing. Most days, he only nurses at night before he goes to bed. Every once in a while, he will nurse during the day as well. He was excited to have milk again (instead of colostrum) after Peyton was born. I'm still just planning on letting him decide when he's done...

Colby loves being a big brother. He tells us often "Peyton so cute" and enjoys giving Peyton hugs and kisses. He also tries to share his toys with Peyton (by throwing them at him).

Colby has discovered how light switches work in the past few weeks. There are a few he can reach standing on the ground and he loves to turn light on and off. The ones he can't reach from the ground, he has learned that he can push a chair over to the switch, and then he can reach them to turn lights on and off.

He also has taken an interest in helping making food. He loves to push a chair over to the counter in the kitchen and watch/help me make lunch and dinner. Sometimes it's fun... sometimes it more of a pain than anything. He also likes to steal food off the counter as I am making meals.

Colby has mastered walking up and down the stairs by himself. He's still pretty slow, but he can do it all by himself and loves that he can.

Colby enjoys playing with Emily and Kyle. He's starting to understand the concept of playing with them and not just next to them. He normally imitates whatever they are doing. They often get annoyed with him, but are all learning to play nicely together.

We haven't started officially potty training yet, but Colby is using the potty regularly. Normally he sits on the potty before rest time and before bed time just like Kyle and Emily. During the day, we help him sit on the potty if he asks. But.. he is still wearing diapers full time. We did buy him some spiderman underwear a few weeks ago and he loves to wear his underwear over his diaper. Maybe in a month or two we will really start working on potty training him.

Colby LOVES Spiderman and Elmo. He gets very excited any time he sees them. He got a Spiderman watch for Christmas and loves to show it off to everyone.

Colby favorite "toys" are puzzles and the iPad (which he normally does puzzles on). He is getting a LeapPad for his birthday; he likes to play with Kyle and Emily's, so hopefully he will enjoy having his own. He amazes us often with how well he does puzzles and how hard of puzzles he can do all by himself.

We love our stinker boy and are very thankful for the blessing that he is to our family! We have loved watching his grow, develop, and explore the past two years and look forward to many many more!

Colby's 18 Month Well Visit (at 19 Months Old!)

This morning Colby had is 18 month well visit..the visit gets pushed out a bit when you will only see one doctor and forget to schedule more than 3 months ahead...

We actually went in for a sick visit yesterday because the poor kiddo had a fever that we couldn't get to break. Last night it was thought that the fever was mostly likely from all of the teeth Colby is getting. He would have wanted to recheck him today, so it worked out well that we already had the well visit scheduled for today.

As far as his fever and such goes... he woke up this morning way early and was very warm and just plain crabby. Once he finally ate breakfast, Colby seemed back to normal and his fever broke on the way to the doctor's office.

Our pediatrician is still pretty sure his fever and crankiness is just from ALL the teeth trying to come in.... all eight teeth trying at once! Poor kiddo!

We talked about food and what's changed in the past couple months. The doctor is still very much agrees with the Celiac diagnosis.

Developmentally, aside from vocab, Colby is doing things that are considered milestones for two and two and a half years old!

The only concern again was Colby's weight. At his 15 month visit, Colby weighed 20 lbs 14 oz. Today, he was at 20 lbs even. We talked again about diet and the doctor agrees we are feeding him a very healthy and well balanced diet. So he wants us to come back in a month for a weight check and if he still hasn't gained at that point, we'll decide what's next.

19 Months Old

Mr Colby Oley is 19 months old today!

Recently Colby has been eating almost everything and anything put in front of him. I'm expecting him to wake up huge one of these mornings... Favorite foods right now seem to be noodles of any sort (gluten free of course!) and strawberries. He's also fallen in love with dips... if something can have dip, Colby wants dip and enjoys dipping his food!

Colby still only technically has four teeth, but the past week or so he's had another six trying to break through, the next two on the top and his two year molars. I can feel all of them trying to come up, but only two are pokey so far. They haven't seemed to bother him too much. He's had a low grade fever on and offer and hasn't been a little fussy when he's sleeping, but other than that, he's his normal happy self!

The kiddo is still loving his "booooob" time. He's still nursing twice a day, but is still slowly decreasing the amount of time he is nursing. Hopefully he'll decide he's done soon!

Colby is now consistently sleeping through the night! Every once in a while he wakes up and just needs a quick cuddle and goes back to sleep. Most nights, he is still awake when I put him in his crib. Half of the time he is quiet and goes right to sleep. The other half... he cries for a bit, but normally falls asleep within a half hour or so. The sames goes for nap time.

Last month I said Colby has finally started to talk more... but really, this past month his verbal communication has exploded. He talks and sings and talks and sings almost constantly!

Colby is still loving his puzzles! He's getting better and faster at them too. We went to the library today and when we got to the children's room, he ran over to the puzzle shelve and happily sat there doing puzzles while Kyle and Emily picked out books.

Colby wants to do everything Kyle and Emily are doing. If they are running in circles, he is running in circles. If they are singing and dancing, he is singing and dancing. There is very little that he has seen them do that he hasn't figured out how to do himself.

Colby has started bringing us clean diapers when he wants his diaper changed. He also asks to use the potty every once in a while... and normally goes when we help him take his diaper off. Before baths, Kyle and Emily both sit on the potty, and he normally does too and normally goes. I'm thinking he might be easy to potty train next summer!

Colby has gotten tall enough to open our front door. It has a handle that you pull down instead of twist and unlocks when you pull the handle down. We normally keep the door locked, which makes it a bit harder for him to open and is loud enough we can hear it right away and keep him from wandering out into the hall way. Hopefully he'll get sick of spankings soon and learn not to open the door!

Colby has learned how to take off his clothes. He can easily take off his shorts/pants and sometimes can take off his shirt. He's sort of figured out how to put his pants back on, but has a hard time pulling them up. Once he's taken his clothes off and is just in his diaper, it's a real challenge to get his clothes back on him.

Colby has gotten a lot better at stairs and wants to walk up and down them like Kyle and Emily. It's kind of a pain because he's so slow, but as my belly grows bigger, it's better than he can walk and I don't have to carry him. It's not to often that he wants to be carried anymore anyways. Normally he wants to walk, and we normally let him as long as he will hold a hand. He also LOVES his stroller (we got a new one a couple months ago), so if he sees that, it doesn't take much to get him to ride.

Clothes wise, he's still fits into most of his 12 months stuff, but I think most of it is going to get packed up this afternoon (because I have the bins out that the clothes will go in and I'm too lazy to get them out in a couple weeks when he really out grows the 12 months stuff). The 18 month stuff fits him well for the most part and I'm expecting a growth spurt soon...

Colby is still cute and still a little stinker and he knows it!

I told him I would be right back with the camera and we would take pictures. When I got back to his room, he was sitting in his chair being all cheesey. He "helped" me find the right blocks and then tried to help set them up. After a few pictures with the blocks, he threw them all on the floor... but he did help pick them all up! :)

16 Months Old!

Colby Oley Poley is 16 months old!

Colby is now a toddler for sure! He has opinions and preferences and will gladly try to communicate with you what he wants.... or doesn't want. And if he doesn't get his way, a fit is most likely to follow!

Colby still only has four teeth!

Colby is wearing mostly size 12 month clothes still.

I think sleeping through the night has finally become the norm for Colby!! A couple weeks after the gluten was all out of his diet and system, he started eating more real food... which lead to him sleeping all night long!! Normally he goes to bed around 8pm (after nursing for an hour or so) and then wakes up between 7:30 and 8:00!

He's still following pretty much the same schedule he has been. He's up between 7:30 and 8:00. Eats breakfast shortly after 8:00. Play or go on an adventure. Lunch is normally around noon. After lunch, Colby nurses and then takes a nap. He normally wakes up between 3:00 and 3:30 and we play until dinner at 5:30. About 6:30, we do baths and our bedtime routine and then he nurses and goes to bed.

We were having issues getting Colby to eat breakfast for a while, so last week I decided we were going to try to stop nursing in the morning when he wakes up. If he wakes up early, I'm still nursing him and he goes back to sleep, but otherwise, I have been pumping before he wakes up and then giving him a sippy cup of breastmilk at breakfast. The first two days we did this, the poor kiddo was so upset that he didn't get to nurse, but I think he's finally okay with it! :)

Colby's environmental allergies seem to be under control with the Zyrtec. The only time he seems to have real issues is when the grass is being cut, but other than that, he has been doing okay with the windows open and playing outside for longer periods of time!

Food allergy wise, I think some are starting to go away! I've been eating tomato based stuff (ketchup, BBQ sauce, salsa) in small amounts for about two weeks and he hasn't seemed to have any reaction. Last week, I gave him a tiny little bit of ketchup and he had no reaction to it!! We are going to try spaghetti for dinner one night soon and see what happens!

Colby loves to give hugs and kisses to people that he knows. Most of the time, he gives good kisses now that aren't as wet and slobbery... or with his mouth open! He also loves to give high fives and wave to people.

This weekend when we were in Chicago, Colby playing on the playground like a big boy! He climbed the stairs, ran across the bridge, and went down the slides all by himself! He also loved to be pushed in the swing.

When we are getting ready to leave the house, Colby likes to help get shoes out. He'll pull them out of the bin and give everyone their shoes. He even likes to "help" people put on their shoes!

I'm not sure what else has changed with Colby in the past month. I'm sure more than what I realize, but I can't think of anything else to add other than...

I'm so happy to see my baby boy thriving and healthy again. Cutting gluten out of his diet and made a world of difference. He has turned into a spunky little man and has so much life in him. He no longer wants to sit back and watch what's going on around him, he wants to get up and be apart of it! It's been an amazing transformation to watch and while it stinks that he has this life long illness (Celiac's disease), I'm happy that we have answers and know that God has a plan for all of this!!

(Sorry there's no pictures... Mommy has been very sick!)

14 Months Old

This little stud is fourteen months old! Hopefully being fourteen months old will be a little easier on the kiddo than thirteen months was! 

Colby is picking up all of the "sass" from his brother and sister. He definitely is a spunky little guy and wants things done his way. He has mastered throwing a fit and tends to throw them often if he doesn't get his way!

Colby still only has two teeth, but the top center two should be making their appearance very soon. I've been able to kind of feel them for a couple days and today one is finally starting to be visible!

Colby LOVES to climb. He will climb on anything and everything he is able. He can easily get into Kyle and Emily's beds now. He can also climb on to the couch without any help. He climbs onto Mommy and Daddy's bed by pushing a chair next to it and climbing on to the chair and then the bed. I have also found him sitting on the kitchen table when I've left the room for a moment.

After being sick so for long, we were struggling to get Colby to eat normal. I finally feel like he's eating well again. He seems to enjoy most stuff that we give to him. At the moment his favorites seem to be potatoes, rice crispies (with coconut milk), and beans.

We are still trying to figure out some things allergies wise. Currently his "no-no list" is dairy, oats, peanuts, tree nuts, tomatoes, citrus, and carrots. For a while, peas were on the list too, but we tried those again last week and he didn't have a reaction! The doctors were thinking there was a dye of some sort that he was allergic too, but based on what he's been okay to eat, I'm back to thinking it was the zofran that he reacted to in the ER a month ago. I'm also thinking that there is some sort of preservative (possible MSG) that he's reacting too. Gluten is also an issue, but until we do his endoscopy, he is still eating gluten (read about that here if you haven't yet). And I'm also avoiding everything on his list as I'm continuing to breastfeed him!

Kyle and Emily got doctor kits for their birthday and they seem to be Colby's new favorite toy. He loves to play with the stethoscope and "listen" to everyone's heart. It's WAY cute!

Colby is starting to talk a little more. He has said "mama," "daddy," and "yeah" for a while. In the past month his vocab has grown to include "boob," "bye," "quack" (while playing with ducks), "vroom" (while playing with cars), "love you," and a few other words that I can't think of right now.

Colby loves to wave "hi" and "bye" to people. He also loves to give people high fives. In the past couple days he has also started blowing kisses.

Colby can follow directions now. Sometimes he chooses not to, but he understands when we ask him to do things. He is starting to help put away toys and his dirty clothes when asked.

Colby loves to play with phones and iPads. He will sit and play with the unlock screen on my phone for a while. If he happens to get my phone and it's unlocked, there is a really good chance that he will call Grandma.

Colby loves to watch out the window. We moved our living room around again and now he can easily look out the sliding door. He loves to watch people and the cars. I'm really hoping his environmental allergies don't keep us inside when it starts getting nice out, as I think he is really going to enjoy being outside and playing.

 Colby is still wearing 12 month clothes. I have a feeling he will be for a couple more months.

Colby knows which shoes are his shoes. When we start to get ready to leave and I tell the kiddos to get their shoes, he joins right in with Kyle and Emily pulling his shoes out of the bin. He tries to put them on, but hasn't really figured that one out yet. He will also bring other people their shoes and try to put them on their feet too!

As miserable as the kiddo has been the past month with all his GI and respiratory issues, he has been one happy kid! Other than throwing fits when he doesn't get his way, Colby is pretty laid back like his daddy. He's very happy and smiley most of the time, even when he doesn't feel good!

Schedule wise, things are pretty much the same. Colby normally wakes up between 4:30 and 5:30 am to nurse and then goes back to sleep until about 8:00 am. Breakfast is first thing, then lots of playing or adventures until lunch time around noon. After lunch, Colby nurses and then goes down for his nap. Most days he sleeps until 3:00 pm or so. Then it's more playing until dinner around 5:30 pm. After dinner, we pick up toys, take baths, read the Bible, and put the crazies in bed around 7:00 pm. Colby then nurses and goes to bed. Most nights, he is in bed sleeping by 8:00 pm.