Officially a Toddler!

Remember way back 3 1/2 months ago when Dylan turned 1?  Well today is finally the day that he is supposed to be 1...so he's now a toddler no matter how I decide to count.

And he's doing big things!

Milestones

Speech:
Dylan has his first word.  It's not "mama," not "dada"...it's "da" for dog.  He very clearly looks for and talks about the dog.  I guess it's a good first word - prevents competition between mom and dad. : )  Although I'm sure "dada" will be next because Dylan LOVES his dad, prefers the "d" sound over "m" and has a father who says "dada" to him over and over and over all day long.  Hah.

Dylan is definitely not ahead of the curve on language, but he's in a fine place.  Before the last couple of weeks he had three syllables, "ma," "da," "ba," but in a very short time he's added his first word as well as a variety of new consonants and vowels. It's kind of fascinating to watch how language develops!

Gross Motor:
Last night Dylan stood on his own for a good 10 seconds.  He doesn't think about doing it himself, I have to get him away from things and then let go, but he has excellent balance.  He stands up on his with no hands, he just doesn't realize walking is a possibility.  I have a feeling once he does, it'll all happen very quickly.

Fine Motor:
Dylan can use a pincer grasp and do fine activities, but he's still not great at it and still results to scooping at times.

Other:
He's had 8 teeth for ages now and nothing else has popped through.  I think they'll come soon though (based on ridiculous amounts of drool.)

Health

I think our only major health issue is reflux and it's definitely still interfering.  I have a separate post planned, loosely titled "vomit."  He throws up his nightly bottle A LOT, but he's also starting throwing up in the middle of the night, often without really waking or crying.  (He sleeps on his tummy so not a huge choking risk, but still scary!)  Google says it could be a brain tumor...or low blood sugar, but reflux is also a culprit and that seems most likely in our situation.  Otherwise, general health is good.

D is gaining weight like a champ too!  We switched from formula to Pediasure a month or two ago (30 calories an ounce versus 24).  He's also doing pretty well with solids.  He'll try most things, it's just hard to get him to eat much volume.  He averages between 6 and 9 ounces of solids a day and about 18 ounces of Pediasure.

Sleep

D is still an excellent sleeper, thank goodness.  he sleeps through the night, about 12 hours (6:30 pm - 6:30 am) and takes around a 2 hour nap.

Fun!

Dylan LOVES to read which makes this English major and English teacher very happy.  I'll write a favorite books post soon, but he pretty much likes ALL OF THE BOOKS and can happily sit on my lap and read books for a half an hour or more.

D still loves to be outside.  He got a wagon for his birthday and it's so cute to watch him ride in it!  Have I mentioned his car on here?  I better post a video of that too.

All in all, it's been a fantastic year plus...even though at this time last year, Dylan was still in the NICU.  It feels much, much longer than that though.

I love this little boy : ).