My baby boy has just turned two! To say that time flies is to say nothing. This year was so much fun! Him a year ago and now are almost two different kids, he made so much progress, it’s mind-blowing! First of all, a year ago he was not even walking, we did not sleep through the night and he would only say mama occasionally. Right now he is running around, sleeps all night and says “I luh u, mama”, “no do that, mama” and probably a 100 different words and sentences in 3 languages!
It has been such an amazing journey watching him grow this year. Every new word he learned, every action he took and every sentence he said on his own. I had no idea that they turn into actual little humans so quickly.
I looked through my daily Mom journal and picked few fun facts/memories for every month this year.
March, 12 months old
“Looks like we’ve officially finished breastfeeding. Alaric doesn’t want to eat from the boobie anymore. It happened so naturally that I didn’t even have a chance to be sad.”
“We started giving Alaric food we eat ourselves. He now loves avocados! I make a plate of avocado pieces and he grabs them and puts in his mouth, so cute.”
“We had a fun walk home from work. We put Rishka facing forward in the stroller for the first time and he really loved looking around. Big Boy!”
“I read a book to Alaric before bed (The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen) and he seemed to enjoy it, at least didn’t kick it out of my hands as usual. He fell asleep pretty quick. So Sweet.”
April, 13 months old
“Alaric learnt how to throw and catch the ball. Derek and him were playing “American Football”. Rishka was giggling like crazy.”
“We got a walker for Alaric and he loves it! He walks with it like a big boy pretty quick. He was all smiles waddling outside. Such a darling.”
“Alaric saw Derek workout today and he wanted to do pull ups too. It was so cute! He actually really tried to pull himself up. Derek was helping just a bit:)”
“We had such a fun beach day today! Alaric loved the ocean this time. Got his feet wet and didn’t mind cold water. He tried to eat sand non-stop, it was really funny.”
“Alaric’s fever is gone but he hates to take his medicine, it’s a battle every time. I have to sneak it into his fruit pouches so he takes it. Sorry, Rishka:)”
“We have this little booster chair and Alaric suddenly just loves it. The minute we get home, he gets in the chair on his own, grabs a table top and is ready to eat:)”
“I went to the Russian store to get some goodies for Easter. Later we went to the Getty Center with boys. Alaric stood on his own for at least 5-7 seconds, exciting!”
May, 14 months old
“Alaric brought me his first drawing as a Mother’s Day gift! Flowers made of his hand prints, so cute! I hang it on the fridge. Proud of my little artist.”
“It’s official! Alaric’s first word after dada and mama is Agua! Water in Spanish. Teachers at the daycare speak Spanish to him, I guess he learns quick. Impressed:)”
“We found two ore teeth in Alaric’s mouth! Top in the back, one on each side:) He is really into dada these days. Calls Derek all the time and smiles. Cute<3”
“It’s Memorial Day weekend and we are in Palm Springs. The weather is beautiful! We spent the evening by the pool, it was so nice! Alaric loved swimming.”
June, 15 months old
“Rishka is so big! He is getting tall and heavy, good thing we are working out, ha! He is really sweet. I love our mama and baby time before bed, it’s my favorite.”
“It sounds like Alaric learnt a new word – shoes! He lisps it pretty funny but he knows what it means. I hope he speaks Russian soon too!”
“Alaric started walking! We are so excited! He walks 5-7 steps at a time on his own and it’s so cute to see him walk. He seems to like his new ability too:)”
“We let Rishka practice walking skills, he feels shy sometimes but we know he can! He loves to eat although he is more suspicious about the veggies lately, oh oh.”
” Now that Alaric says “ball”, we play a lot more of it. We hide a little basket ball under a shirt and let Alaric find it, he loves it!:)”
“Rishka is such a good eater! He loves rice, beans, avocado, small chopped veggies. If he doesn’t want food, he just throws it over to the side, lol”
“Such a fun day! We went to a new playground by my work. Alaric loved the swings and playing in the sand. We almost forgot his walker at Whole Foods, mimosa’s fault;)”
“Alaric had his first sushi today – avocado roll. It was cute and messy, haha.”
“Friday! We went for a little sunset snack and drink. Alaric had an avocado toast which he loved but he threw out all the tomatoes, lol”
“Alaric learnt the word “no”, he says it “nah” though, it’s really cute. Even though he seems to use it a lot for every suggestions we make:)”
“We had a lovely evening altogether. Went to Mexican restaurant. Rishka loved enchilada, we loved tequila, lol. Went to the playground afterwards.”
July, 16 months old
“Derek and Alaric are traveling to North Dakota today. The flights were kind of tough, Alaric cried the whole time.”
“Alaric loves to hug these days or maybe he missed me but I love it, so sweet!”
“Alaric pretty much always sleeps through the night now and it’s awesome! He is so cute in the morning when he wakes up<3”
“Alaric hates taking a bath lately for some reason. He tries to get our 2 minutes after I get him in. It’s really funny to watch him try to climb out of it though.”
“It sounded like Rishka said “ba-bye” when we were leaving the daycare today. So cute!”
“When we got home, Alaric went straight to the kitchen, grabbed his sippy cup, sat down and started drinking.”
“Alaric is such a good eater. He eats pretty much everything except if it’s an obvious piece of green lettuce or spinach, haha. He loves veggies!”
“Alaric loved shoes! Today he was trying on my white heels and he even took a few steps in them, so funny!”
August, 17 months old
“We tried to wear Alaric on the back in Ergo today. It worked but he didn’t seem to like it as much. He’s just so big and heavy to wear in the front now.”
“Alaric is nor big enough to sit at the kitchen table without high chair. He gets on it on his own as well. He is growing up too fast!”
“Alaric loves eating soup. He tries to eat it on his own so he grabs the spoon as I give it to him and puts in his mouth. So funny and cute!”
“We went out for dinner. On the way back we let Alaric walk on the street. He was holding Derek’s hand, it was so sweet.”
“Sounds like Alaric learnt some new words. He now says “pizza”, “book”, “baby”, “fish”, “mas”(more in Spanish). Still no Russian though:(“
“We had a really fun day at the beach. The water was so warm! Alaric loved the waves and didn’t want to get out of the water.”
“Alaric loves to get on a kitchen table and stand there tall. It’s cute but also dangerous. He’s been doing a lot of trust falls lately…”
“Alaric loves when I read to him before bed. As soon as we get out of the bath he runs to pick the e-reader and gives it to me. We’ve been reading Harry Potter:)”
“We went to beach today. Rishka loves the sand and keeps trying to kiss it so his whole face is covered in sand, so funny!”
September, 18 months old
“We got Alaric’s first potty today! He seems interested:) We have a fun journey ahead of us, haha. He is growing up so fast, I can’t believe it, love him lots!”
“Alaric was cracking us up today. He put on my heels and walked around living room. He was also giggling like crazy when Derek was playing with him spitting the juice pouch cap.”
“We skipped the walk today because of workout. Alaric played with his little dumbbells too, he also did some pull ups with Derek’s help. My mini athlete:)”
” I loved that Alaric understands me when I say stuff in Russian. Today he even translated the word “knizhka” into “book”, he is so smart!”
“We got Alaric new shoes today and he is loving it. He wants to wear it all the time and lisps “suss” (shoes). He is such a sweetheart, I love him more everyday<3″
“Alaric loved when I make him a ponytail and then he immediately pulls the elastic off and asks to make a new one. I must have made it 30 times!”
“Alaric decided to style his hair today with the face cream and he was generous. It was so funny, he looked so happy when we found out:)”
“Alaric has been naughty and it drives me crazy sometimes. He just throws everything everywhere!”
“Alaric and I are going on an adventure! Flying to Russia today for my mom’s birthday. I am ready for this flight with a toddler, kaboom!”
“It’s Alaric’s Russian grandma’s birthday and he was the best surprise ever! She was not expecting to see us at all! Success!”
October, 19 months old
“Alaric eats much better now, yay! We’ve been getting massage everyday, he kind of hates it but it’s good for him. He got really fun haircut at the hair salon with cars as seats”.
“Alaric is 19 months old today! It’s also our 4 year wedding anniversary. He pooped in the potty for the first time today, yay! He seems to be really liking the potty.”
“Alaric is staying with grandparents while I visit Novosibirsk. He is having fun with the family, he says ‘babes’ and ‘mao mao’ meaning ‘grandma’ and ‘cat’.”
“I am really proud of myself for pulling off this trip. Mom was totally surprised and traveling with a toddler is totally doable!”
“We went to the Pumpkin Patch today. So much fun! Took some cute pics of course. Alaric loved the hay maze and even said ‘pumpkin’.”
“Alaric started to try to get in our bed more and more. He basically wouldn’t fall asleep at night unless I let him sleep in our bed. I move him to his crib later when I go to bed.”
“We got diapers delivered today and Alaric & Derek has a lot of fun playing with the box. Rishka even packed himself into the box, so funny.”
“Alaric learnt a new word in Russian – ‘poupock’ (Belly button), so cute! He also says ‘sobaka’ (dog). I am so happy he learns more Russian!”
“Alaric now seems to learn new words faster than before. He says ‘musor’ (trash), ‘hi’ and ‘bye’ and waves, so cute! He is such a sweetheart.”
“Alaric learnt the word ‘hot’ today. When I cook in the kitchen, he comes saying ‘hot!’ and then hides in front of me hugging my legs:)”
“Alaric loved our night time reading. We recently got a package from my mom with lots of Russian books, he loves to grab them and bring them to me to read:)”
“Alaric is so much better at eating with a spoon. It’s still hard for him to pick up the food from the plate but he almost doesn’t miss the mouth:)”
“Alaric was an astronaut again for this year’s Halloween. We tried the costume on and it fit. Alaric loved it and wore it to the store to show everybody:)”
November, 20 months old
“Alaric started saying ‘cookies’, it’s so cute! He asks for cookies even though we don’t really give him real cookies yet.”
“I brought carved unicorn pumpkin from work, we put a candle inside, Alaric was pretty mesmerized. He also learnt the word ‘fire’ today.”
“Almost every night when I read to Alaric he snuggles up to me, gives me a kiss on the lips and smiles with his front two teeth. So cute!<3”
“I started making green smoothies for Alaric every morning. He loves it! He gets really excited and says ‘moosie’:)””
“Alaric learnt the word ‘coffee’. He is picking up new words so fast now. I love when he tries to say a new word, so cute! My smart boy.”
“Alaric loves his first ever Lego set that my friend brought him from Czech Republic. There’re a lot of different animals. I teach him how to say it and he repeats after me.”
‘Alaric is driving me crazy with the eating! He eats some food, then throws some around but then picks it up and eats it anyway! So illogical!”
Here I realized that they are just too many wonderful memories and moments and there is no way to put it all on paper let alone that somebody would read it this far. We are just so blessed to have our little Risha in our lives. Happy Birthday!
