1 year

My son has just reached a huge milestone. He is now 1 year old! I don't know where this year went. Time has changed since I had a baby. It seems to be speeding by faster and faster. My father and brother visited for a few days. It was really nice having family around to share in our celebration. Over a pancake breakfast at IHOP one morning my dad turned to me and asked, "Do you think you have changed since becoming a mother?" I gave a big, "Yes." Who wouldn't? This little soul that came into our lives has brought out in me a new kind of purpose- the kind that forces reaction that has the potential to elevate. I am not the same person that left my parents at 18.

I am patient. I am far less reactionary. I am content with less. I am stronger. I am filled with a confidence that resonates from experience. I can love without condition. I am slower to judge. I am a lot more grateful. 

Nothing facilitates growth like having children and nothing produces more love. I would not trade this opportunity to raise my son. This is my calling- to teach, to mother. I love it more than anything in the world. It's pure beauty to see how my son's mind works, to see him filling with understanding, to see his curiosity grow, to share in his triumphs and to comfort his sorrow. I enjoy being with him. He makes me laugh. He gives me a place to belong.

Stats: Weight- 21.4 lbs (29%), Height- 30.8 in (80%), Head Circumference- 19.1 in (95%) 

I started weaning him from breast milk. He had lost most of his interest to nurse making it easy, but when we got down to a single feed and then cut it out he took it hard. Every morning when I get him up he cries, pulls at my shirt and points to my chest. He looks at me with this face that just breaks my heart. It's really difficult for me, but I need to put some weight back on. Loosing this connection with my baby really made me realize how grown up he really is. He doesn't cuddle me anymore or just lay quietly in my arms. He's go, go, go- exploring, learning and doing. 

He loves pointing to things. We play games asking him, "Where is the...." and he points to it. He is pretty good at pointing to things in our house and to his own and/or mommies head, hair, nose, ears, tummy and feet. When reading books he can identify dogs, pandas, babies, fire, bananas, bathtubs, toothbrushes, trees, birds and fish.

He is wary of our radiator- I don't think he's ever touched it, but he always gives it a wide berth and looks to me for reassurance that it's ok.

He loves dogs! We take him to adoption days at Petsmart so he can pet all the dogs. (We do not like dogs and will not be buying one anytime soon- adoption day is about as much dog as daddy can handle.)

He's always chatting. All of a sudden this month he just exploded in words. We don't know what he's saying usually, but he's always talking to us. It's helped us a lot since he started to point. Now he points to things he wants, which has made our job easier.

He is much more expressive of his personal preferences. He lets us clearly know what he wants and what he doesn't want.

He's become picky with food. He's been feeding himself for the last couple months, but all of a sudden he wants me to feed him. I really dread meal time- especially dinner when I'm trying to make our meal as well. He seems to only eat one or two bites of each thing we give him and then screams. Sometimes he'll eat what we're eating and sometimes he just throws it. He's pretty good with eating his fruits and veggies, but he started veto-ing dairy, grains (except cheerios) and meat. This is not a fun phase!

When he eats he has to have his own spoon and bowl. He practices using his spoon- even after meal time is over. He can't scoop anything onto his spoon yet, so he picks up bits of food, places them on the spoon and then puts it into his mouth. He's gotten pretty good at eating this way, but it takes a lot more time and so he only does it at the end of his meal when he's not hungry. It's pretty cute.

He's a walker. He now tries to run though, but as they say you can't run before you can walk and so he's bashing his face again. When we move we will not be getting wood floors again. They're lovely, but it's just not practical for us. I don't know if my baby is just more clumsy, but he's bleeding at least once a week from hitting his nose or mouth on the hard floor- the poor soul.

We bought him some blocks for his birthday and he gets really upset if we try to stack them. He likes all the blocks flat on the floor. He likes carrying them around or pretending to feed them to his animals, but he refuses to stack them. Sometimes we stack them when he's not looking and when he notices he stomps over and knocks them all down. If we continue stacking against his will he throws a tantrum.

He is a very contemplative baby. He always seems to be watching and thinking things through. He's especially interested in how things work.