Thomas at One Year (12-15 months)
July 2007: Thomas is really settling in at the day care, but he is very glad to see us when we pick him up - especially with a cool bottle of water on a hot day. Another favourite way of cooling off is by spending a bit of time on our breezy balcony - the bars are most convenient standing aids, as is the glass door which provides hours of entertainment!
There is a lot of learning and development going on right now: standing without support, nearly walking, forming new sounds, moving the tongue in funny ways, putting things in other things, banging pots and pans, feeding with and without spoon, drinking from a cup, brushing teeth, opening cupboards, taking things out and hiding them in other cupboards and drawers... no wonder he doesn't want to sleep much!
August 2007 - Summer Holidays
We started and ended our Canadian holiday in the Montreal region; Thomas found his grandfather's campsite in Lanaudière most interesting, and enjoyed spending time with family and friends from this part of the country. It was a nice way to relax and adjust after the long flight, and Thomas had the first of many swims and sand castles at the local beach. The last weekend was spent in Montreal itself, where we reunited with several other friends; first with dinner at our old favourite Indian restaurant Mysore, where Thomas enjoyed a mild Butter Chicken, and then with a bbq hosted by Sue and family; the beautiful strawberry Canada flag cake was a big hit as were the many backyard toys, swings and other equipment.
In between we spent 10 days in Southampton, on the shores of Lake Huron, where Thomas got reunited with his grandmother and met many other members of the extended family. Here too, much time was spent at the beach and on the swings, much to Thomas' delight. He picked up several new tricks while there, including various hand gestures (waving, pointing, beckoning, touching various parts of his face, and rolling his arms around each other). He also took his first steps on August 1st, on the deck of Joe's Cottage #5, our residence during our visit. It took a few days before he tried it again, but by the end of the trip he was gaining confidence and taking several steps at a time.
Some of Cindy and her brother Nick's old toys were brought out of storage, including the wooden blocks which used to keep us entertained for hours; Thomas is just as good as Nick was at knocking down Cindy's structures. These days he likes to hold any object he can get a hold of up to his ear like a telephone, and the arch-shaped blocks were no exception.
Although in general the weather was warm and sunny, things were a little cooler the day we went to Big Bay - too bad, as the water in Georgian Bay is always a few degrees colder than even Lake Huron! But it didn't stop Thomas from taking a dip, and from eating most of Cindy's ice cream.
Home again
Thomas was delighted to get home again, and celebrated by reuniting with some of his favourite kitchen cupboards. A few days later, young Isabella from one of the mothergroups came to spend a few hours with us, and it was quite interesting to see Thomas' reaction to having someone else playing with his toys! She quickly learnt his favourite trick of trying to stand in his walker and waiting for someone to push him around; although being two months older and of a quiet disposition, she was quite calm and happy to be distracted with something else whenever he got a little possessive. Both children are now accomplished walkers, so we were kept on our toes!
Thomas at 14 months: No longer content with walking, Thomas is now running around and attempting to climb everything; however he still hasn't gotten in the habit of watching where he puts his feet, resulting in several bumps and cuts to the face. He's particularly obsessed with stairs, doors, and phones (in that order); luckily his new toy tractor comes with a cell phone!
He loved having his Granny Lynda and Auntie Lisa visiting again, and the outing to the Copenhagen Zoo was enjoyed by all. He also learnt some more new tricks, like clicking cups together and saying "Cheers!" Other new words include "hi", "tea", possibly "tiger" (ga-ga!), and probably a few others we havn't quite deciphered yet.
He's gotten quite a bit more adventurous about trying new foods; he loves getting little sips of his dad's tea in the mornings, but thanks to our recent guests he's now also discovered a fondness for Marmite on toast, not to mention feasting on leftovers from our daily gravy dinners. He's not averse to sour tastes though - he was so intent on getting into a bottle of lemon juice that we let him try some, and after a momentary pucker he was back for more.
Some earlier photos
Some pictures taken at the day care between May and August 2007:
And a couple of super photos taken by Elizabeth at this summer's Southampton BBQ!
September-October 2007: 14-15 months
Despite a few colds, teething issues and other challenges, Thomas is still very active and enjoys trips to the local shopping mall (which now has a fully-equipped changing facility highlighted by a Wiggler-height aquarium!) as well as to local playgrounds or into the nearby nature area Amager Common. Stairs are still a big draw, and if he's not allowed to climb them he'll sit on the bottom step and bounce up and down.
He was quite intimidated by his first close-up encounter with a very large horse, but Teddy was very gentle and once Thomas was on his back he quite enjoyed the experience. He recently tried feeding the ducks with his dad for the first time, although he wanted to eat the bread himself - luckily it was still quite fresh as we happened to be out of stale bread.
He loves to have the pram dismantled so he can scramble over the two seperate parts. He usually has his mid-day nap in the pram when he's home, but sometime he'll plop down on the floor or on the sofa if he's relaxed enough - as long as the trusty blanket is at hand.
He's become fascinated with the washing machine, although he's more likely to put a pacifier or mobile phone in there than laundry. One day he suddenly found himself wearing his dad's socks!
Updated 13.10.07