Bottles, Bottles, oh, no more bottles!

It is official. No more bottles. No more washing bottles for a half an hour a day. More computer time.... well, maybe not. Yesterday I packed up all of Kyle's bottles, double bagged them in grocery bags, and put them in a box. To that box I added the parts and pieces of his bouncer.
Yes, I have given up one of the only things that will keep him in one place for any length of time. There were two very prominent flaws with the bouncer, potentially three.
1) Kyle has outgrown it by weight. I suppose that we did get a good 6 months of use out of it, so that is like $10 a month....not too bad, but still..... why do they have to outgrow stuff so quickly?
2) Not only has he outgrown it by weight, but he has also grown weary of it. It used to keep him entertained for hours- literally. I dont know if it is the fact that he can walk now, that he used it too much for too long, or that he just doesnt want to be confined anymore. So much for putting him in it to take a shower. I guess now my shower time will be when he naps, which leaves me two choices- morning nap or afternoon nap. Wow. That is OK though. I just always used the naptime for 'me' time and would shower whenever there was a show on that would keep him occupied. It is OK though.
3) The bouncer is big. It takes up a lot of room. We knew that when we bought it and it was worth every peaceful minute it provided. Once we removed it from the living room for a few days and put it outside it was blaringly obvious that we wanted the floor space back. We are keeping it for the next baby, but honestly, I dont know if we will use it or not. I guess it just depends. If the next one is like Kyle it will be nice to have because he really loved to bounce in it. We will see.
Kyle is doing really well with all of the changes. He takes the sippy cup no problem now, so that is a relief. I worried that since we went cold turkey on the bottles he might not be getting enough liquids. Check that off my list of worries. Check. He doesnt care that the bouncer is not here anymore. Children....sheesh. He has not had any adverse reactions to the whole milk. Granted, most of the time, he still gets some of the Next Step formula mixed in, but even if it is straight milk he is good with it. No abnormal digestive issues, no rashes, no unusual fussyness. That makes me happy, especially since so many kids seem to have issues with milk these days. Even more so since Levi had issues with milk.
Other than that we have been spending a ton of time outside. It is sooooo nice that Kyle can walk now and I can put him down and not have to carry him. He is really enjoying the freedom and is so interested in exploring everything. I am actually amazed at how well he is doing. He can do slight uphill and downhill now and rarely trips. Grass is a challenge because every single step feels different, but he doesnt like falling in the grass so he tries really really hard not to with success most of the time. It is pretty amazing. I am so proud of my little man!