The Baylor Family Blog

I’m realizing that it is getting harder and harder for me to keep up with the blog. While the blog is a way to communicate what is happening in our life with friends and family, it is mostly a way for me to record the happenings of our family. I haven’t been faithful in keeping up with baby books, so this is my best way to “remember.”

A LOT has happened in our life in the past month, so I will do another THIS & THAT post as a refresher. Many of these details may not matter to anyone but me. But then again, its my blog to help my memory

Abi

• Abi is 11 months and quickly approaching her 1 year birthday on January 22!
• At the beginning of December, when Abi was 10.5 months old,  we switched her from Elecare to cow’s milk formula. She did great, so it appears she outgrew her cow’s milk allergy at the same time as her older brother…yea!
• After returning home from our trip to Wisconsin, we switched Abi from cow’s milk formula to whole milk. Once again, she did great with the change. The still doesn’t drink her milk as well cold, but we’ll work on that.
• Abi is holding her bottle, most of the time. She gets lazy sometimes, and we’ll hold it for her. We can now lay her on her back and she can feed herself. It is so nice!
• Abi is starting to drink small amounts from a sippy cup. She gets frustrated when she is hungry, so we haven’t switched over from the bottle yet. It is encouraging she can suck a little already, though!
• Just before Christmas, Abi started refusing baby food. So she is now eating table food. She enjoys bananas, canned peaches and oranges, soft veggies, cheese, and lunch meat. We give her samples of other foods, too. She has a sensitive gag reflex and only two bottom teeth.
• Abi is saying a few words/sounds: Dada, mama, baba, hi, ni-ni, and na-na.
• Abi is walking holding onto things, but doesn’t quite have the balance to stand for more than a few seconds.
• Abi is a climber. She can easily climb up the stairs and onto the ledge in front of the fireplace. However, she hasn’t mastered the coming down part, yet!
• The best way to stretch Abi to her bedtime, which is between 7-8 p.m. is to stick her in the bathtub. She goes from fussy baby to happy baby the instant she hears the water running!
• Abi is mostly sleeping through the night. She still wakes up around 4-6 a.m. to eat. Then she’ll sleep until 7-8 a.m. Otherwise, she wants to wake up and play between 4-6 a.m., which doesn’t excite us!

Eli

• Eli had his re-assessment for Early Intervention, which is the program that was providing us with in-home speech therapy. This assessment was to determine if he would qualify for free public preschool next year. Well, Eli did absolutely amazing during the assessment, scoring in most areas between the age of 3 and 4. He’ll be 3 in March. Eli did not qualify for preschool, but we are so thrilled with how far he has come in the last year. His speech is well above average now. He’ll have a couple more visits from the speech therapist and will graduate from the program just before turning three.
• Since Eli didn’t qualify for public preschool (which is a good thing…meaning he’s come so far!), we will start investigating our options for private preschool. We will need to decide whether or not we will start preschool next year before the school year ends. I think Eli would benefit from the social aspects of preschool, but I don’t think it is absolutely necessary, either. And its not cheap!
• Eli has a new and growing love for trains. And he thinks Thomas the train is very cool.
• After returning home from Wisconsin, we started potty training Eli. He wore underwear for two days, except during the night. We rewarded him with an M&M for sitting on the potty when we asked (every 30-45 minutes). He did well with following directions, but never managed to leave anything in the potty. He could tell us after his underwear was wet, but never before. It didn’t take long before he started acting out a lot. We realized he was getting really stressed with the change and not having much success. So we decided to stop and try again later. We aren’t discouraged, but we are learning lots!
• Eli is teething…again! Ugh! I thought we would have years of relief after all the teeth that he got between 1 and 2. After talking to some friends, it appears he is getting his two-year molars a little late. I initially thought he might be getting three-year molars. But I learned that three-year molars don’t exist.
• Eli is loving having table time during Abi’s nap. We play with play doh, color, work on puzzles, play games, and so much more. He loves the one-on-one time. I enjoy doing these activities so much more when I don’t have to keep Abi entertained doing something else.
• Eli really enjoys puzzles right now. I can hardly believe how much he has improved at putting the pieces together in only a week’s time. He still needs a lot of help, so we mostly work on puzzles when Abi is sleeping.
• Eli is suddenly very interested in what makes Jesus happy and what makes Jesus sad. He categorizes many of his behaviors in those two categories. Matt and I have not stressed how his actions make Jesus happy or sad, so its been interesting helping guide him through this.
• Eli is very incentive oriented. He still loves getting Elmo stamps for good behavior, but now he asks for candy, too. Our compromise is he gets a piece of candy when he fills his paper up with Elmo stamps. He often gets a cookie or a piece of candy if he has good behavior when we are at a store. The moment we get in the car to go almost anywhere, he proudly announces, “Me being good. Me get a cookie/piece of candy.” We hear those sentences repeated several times while shopping as well.

Matt

• At the very end of December, Matt had his last day at Focus on the Family.
• Matt opened his own business, called Impossible Solutions, and has been very busy setting up business bank accounts, a business mailbox, meeting with an accountant, working on a website, and so much more. He has a great office setting in our basement.
• Matt has been very busy networking. God has blessed him with several clients and business right from the start. We obviously don’t know what the future holds, but we feel very encouraged that God’s hand is in our situation.
• God is providing. He is providing encouragement from many people. God is providing financially from business in the first month of opening. God is providing wisdom from many people. God is providing open doors. And God is providing peace.

Kimi

• I am now 18 weeks pregnant and still feeling well. I’ve started having some backaches, but otherwise am doing great.
• My appetite is much better (or should I say much bigger) than any other pregnancy.
• I things my days of avoiding maternity clothes this pregnancy might be limited. My jeans are getting a bit tight, so I’ll probably give in soon.
• I have been feeling the baby move for several weeks. The kicks, however, haven’t been strong enough for Matt to feel, yet.
• Matt gave me the title of “Book-keeper” when he opened his new business. After a few days, I told him I didn’t like my title. So he promoted me to “Office Manager.” I’m much happier with my promotion and new title