Cracker, cracker, cracker

There is one word that I hear all day every day: cracker.  And once said, it usually repeats itself over and over again.

When I open the pantry door: cracker

When we walk into the grocery store: cracker  (it used to be the only way I could keep him happy at the store)

When he sees the diaper bag: cracker

When he’s still in the crib in the morning, but is hungry: cracker

I have to say that it’s much better than the whining he once used to communicate his hunger.

And he does have the sweetest little voice in the world. (biased statement, I know)

New Year Resolutions

I entered James’ second year of life in true Chollet fashion: Freaking Out. Many changes were awaiting, and in my opinion, the only thing worse than change is anticipating the change. So little did James know, some luxuries in life were about to go.

First on the list, the doc said it's time to take James off of formula and bottles. After taking her advice of “cold turkeying it” and having a horrible day of it, I decided that I know my baby best, and he does better with gradual transitions. And now, we are officially off of formula and onto a whole lotta whole milk! We are transitioning to the sippy cups, but still doing bottles of milk a couple of times a day. Baby steps never hurt anyone, right?

Secondly - the transition I have been dreading for months – take James out of the swing. Yes, at one year old, my baby was still napping in the swing. A habit we started early on and kept, because it worked. I’ve known I needed to kick this habit for many reasons. Mainly because he can’t nap anywhere unless I bring the swing, but also because he wasn’t far from learning to climb out of it.

He’s very busy and very curious these days always.

Anyways…. Four days after his first birthday, I put him down for a nap in the crib, and he never saw the swing again. Poor baby got shocked into that one. (Although there was one weak meltdown moment when I got the swing back out, but at the last minute, I stayed strong.)

Now to my not-so-smart-move. The day I took the swing away, I switched James to one nap a day. WHAT, WHAT!! Was I thinking?? I just wanted these changes to be over and done with. Also, it just so happened, he had inadvertently gotten only one nap a day for a weekend so, I thought, “well, that’s two days under our belt. Let’s just continue.” Right. Not so easy. But I’m glad I did it, and James and I will now be able to enjoy our summer days, rather than being stuck in the house all day for naps.

So, there we have it. Formula? Gone. Swing? Gone. One nap a day? Done. Bottles? Working on it, but not worried about it. In three {very long} weeks, we got over the hump. And down the road, when people ask me when I made these changes, I have it documented, because if I’m anything like my friends, my baby timeline will be a blur.

What better way to say bye-bye to babyhood than to wave like James and say in his southern little accent, “biiiigh.”

(And then make a funny face for the camera, of course.)

Transparency

I know this has been the month for short blogs and long videos, but I just can’t resist recording the discoveries of James Wallace.

Today it was transparency.  He can see through the bowl he is holding.  Oh. My. Gosh.

And since I have your attention, and for my keepsake, here’s a video of James and his Papa.

Koozie

Papa has the best ideas.

Love

Standstill

My parents came to babysit James so, Justin and I could celebrate our five year anniversary in Charleston.  Before we had even left, James was worn out from playing with his Grammy and Papa.  This is a long video, but it is well worth it to see Sweet Baby James sleeping while standing up. 

Pip Squeak

Here’s a better video, because James is walking in his new shoes!