Our ONE YEAR OLD!

This post is a little late in coming, but I couldn't let the last month of his first year go by without including his progression and a plethora of pictures.  (And "plethora is no exaggeration... so hold on to your hats.)

My biggest challenge with documenting Shad's progressions has been knowing exactly when he starts doing something.  Like for instance, he took his first step in December, but wasn't walking more often then not till weeks later.  He has been babbling and saying "mamama" but when do you determine that he actually knows what it means and uses it the right way?  Sometimes he seems to, other times no.  Nevertheless, I have loved attempting to document his progression.  I hope I'm as meticulous about doing it with our future kids. 

This past year has been jam packed with every emotion and feeling possible, from anticipation and excitement to anxiety and fear.  From frustration and impatience to complete joy and intense love.  I have loved being Shad's mom.  My mom used to tell me that I was a little "hellian,"  and she hoped I had one just like me.  Well, as karma would have it, it seems that I did.  He may look like his dad, but he stays up late and sleeps in like me, he sneezes 3 obnoxious sneezes like me, he goes and goes until he crashes like me, and it's impossible for him to just sit and chill like me.   Not to say he still isn't a good combination of the two of us.  He obviously has his dad's height, cowlics, big lips, and preference for salty treats over sweets.  I'm not in any way ready or anxious for him to grow up, but at the same time I can't wait to get to know him even better and understand him more as his personality develops and to see the person he becomes.

Newborn

Two and a half Weeks

5 Months

Six and a half Months

Eight Months

Twelve Months

I went and did a mini One Year photo shoot of Shad.  I love the close ups of his eyes, especially since they are so hard to get in focus.  

Gangster Shad

And of course eating bark afterwards...

At one year we can confidently say that Shad is a pro at walking.  He's doing better at walking in different shoes, especially after having them on for a few minutes.  He is getting really good at pivoting- switching directions, and can even take a few steps backwards.  Sometimes he even seems to be running, or just walking really fast.  That's pretty funny to watch.  He is also getting really good at carrying objects or dragging things behind him like his blankets or laundry baskets.  It's amazing how fast he's figured out his balance.  He can stand up now on his own anywhere, and can pick up objects off the floor without losing his balance.  He also likes to push or pull on things while using his weight as leverage, like with doors at church or drawers that won't open.  It's funny to see him hang on something to try and get it to open.

He LOVES his dad, and gets really concerned and usually cries when he leaves or shuts a door on him.  He makes the same sound, like he's saying, "Where is he?  Where'd he go?!"  He also loves when Jeff gets home from work and the play time that usually ensues.  Maybe he'd miss me and get excited when I came home or upset when I left, but it happens so little that he doesn't seem to notice or mind as much as he does with his dad. 

 

He is starting to get a little shy here and there, but will still go to just about anyone, and does really well with babysitters.  He doesn't always care when we return, especially if he's having fun with his aunt or uncles.

I'm pretty sure his hair is getting thicker and a little coarser.  It isn't near as baby soft as it used to be.  Is this because we cut it?  I'm not sure, but I miss the baby soft...

He's finally figured out how to use his sippy cup!  Hooray!  He prefers water to juice or milk in it too, which I don't mind at all.  (I don't have to worry about spoilage or stickiness everywhere, plus it's healthier.)  He also has decided that feeding himself with a spoon is fun.  Of course he only does this half the time and only with with diced peaches/pears.  But still, that's progress for this one who refuses all utensils.  Hallelujah!  

His foot fell asleep for the first time at Costco.  We pulled him out of the cart and tried to stand him up and he was holding his foot up, not sure how to put weight on it.  It was way funny to watch, I wish I had a video.  Since then he's had both his legs fall asleep in his booster seat which was just as funny.  

He very rarely falls asleep anywhere but in his crib, car seat, stroller, or in our arms.  But lately he's been doing it more often.  He fell asleep in his booster seat for the first time at his Grandma's house while we were out of town, and then did it again a few days ago.  He also has started crashing on the floor:

He throws more tantrums, or more little freak outs when told no, especially when he's tired.  Sometimes he even hits at us or something near him.  Luckily they're fairly short and he gets over them pretty quickly.  I feel like I'm doing good at not feeding into them and then disciplining him, so hopefully it's a short stage that he grows out of soon...?

 

He has started bringing his books to us and wanting to sit on our laps.  He still doesn't really care to be read the story, but he likes turning the pages and he loves when we make all the animal sounds.

He is starting to say "Hi" , and sometimes will repeat it multiple times.  He often will lean around us at the grocery store and say it to someone near us in the isle.  Or he'll come around the corner of the counter and say it to us.  We think he knows what it means as he usually uses it in the right context.  He also will repeat the same sound when we repeat a word so we think he's trying to imitate.  It's usually random when he does this and doesn't always sound like what we're saying.  We usually can't get him to do it again either.  The words he's done this with are: dinosaur, thank you, fishies, mom and dad, train, cheese.

In this video he repeats the same sound twice for "clean socks," but I know that's what he was trying to say because he did it about 18 times before I could get to my phone... but it's still a good example:

He's getting better at the sign for "more" and we're trying to get him to use it more rather than just whining or reaching.  I would really like to teach him more signs and be consistent enough for him to use them.   I know it would help our communication!

He seems to be getting more giggly, as well as cuddly, which of course I love!  He'll laugh at completely random things, and we don't have to work as hard as we did 6 months ago to get him giggle.  He is more cuddly and likes being held when he's really tired or just woke up.  He especially likes cuddling his brown and tan blanket, which is the first object he has shown a preference for.

 I'm pretty sure he understands more than we realize.  He regularly surprises us by obeying commands that we didn't even know he understood.  As far as we know, he understands and will obey:  "Come here,"  "Show Dad/Mom," "Put it back," "Stand up," "Sit down," "Spin in circles," "Get it," "Pick it up/ put it down," "Where's your head, ears, shoes, (sometimes) nose," "Blow kisses," "Wave/ Say bye bye," "Squint," "Kick it," and "Give noggin/ high five."  He also knows what the following are:  fishies, water, snacks, popcorn,  bath (I think... at least if the water is running he does,) diaper change, socks, shoes, bottle, cups, food...

Blowing kisses:

Giving himself kisses:

Spinning in circles:

Kicking the ball:

Peek-a-boo:

Clapping like dad:

Though he'll often still squint on command, he always squints when he's getting into or about to get into something he knows he shouldn't.  When he thinks we're going to get after him or start telling him no he almost always squints with a half smile, as if he's thinking, "Oh I'll just be cute and they won't get after me..."  It is pretty cute... little stinker.  His favorite things to get into are the kitchen towel drawer, ziploc baggie drawer, trash cans, desk drawers, and cabinets under bathroom/ kitchen sinks.

 

He loves blowing bubbles with his lips, and always makes the same sound every time.  I'm pretty sure he has no idea that he can blow the bubbles without the sound!  I caught it on video once, but I can't figure out how to turn the video, so you'll have to watch it sideways:

He is doing MUCH better at eating food the past few weeks.  He is down to one bottle at night, which is mostly milk.  We're planning to just finish off the formula we have and then he'll be done!  Wahoo!  Foods he will currently eat:  grapes- if room temperature, olives, sometimes strawberries, yogurt covered raisins (LOVES these,) cheddar cheese, string (mozarella) cheese, sometimes bread or cubed potatoes, goldfish, yogurt melts, pretzels, diced peaches/pears, sometimes corn/peas, sometimes apples, fig newtons.  He doesn't seem to care for cake or a lot of other sweets (though he'll eat pieces of a sucker or other candy,) juice, or anything pureed like applesauce.  He'll usually try whatever we're eating, especially if he can hold it and put it in his own mouth.  He seems to like things with a lot of flavor.  He loves when we saute mushrooms or onions, and he likes sucking on jerky or steak.  He also loves watching us cook, and always wants to be picked up so he can see what is inside the pots/pans. 

He's getting much better at going to sleep on his own again.  I've been interested in and wanting to read various books on parenting and reading the signals babies put out, but I haven't yet and haven't had a strong need to.  Shad has done really well at adjusting himself to various things on his own.  Like at birth he didn't want to be held or cuddled, and now he does.  He used to hate being held or rocked to sleep, then he loved it and would only fall asleep in our arms (naptime and bedtime) which worried me, but now he's falling asleep better on his own again rather than in our arms.  We haven't done anything specific that I can think of to change these habits one way or the other.  He was very stubborn and impatient with breastfeeding which made it impossible, but the bottle ended up being a good and convenient option for us overall.  (Minus having to pump all the time...)  And now he's weaning himself off of bottles.  It hasn't been as big of a struggle as I anticipated.  We've been very lucky with the various transitions, and I'm glad we've followed his ques rather than trying to push him to do things the way someone else does or the way a book says.  At the same time I don't feel at all like we've allowed him to be the boss.  I still feel like we're the parent and have our parameters with discipline, eating, going to sleep, etc.  But I feel that the way we're doing things is working, and that's the most important thing.

Here are a wide variety of pictures and videos.  This kid is hilarious and keeps us on our toes.  We love him to pieces!

Huge moose at Costco

Getting ready for the lake, ha ha!

 This kid LOVES being outside.

He always crosses his feet while sitting in his booster seat.  He pulled this "This is the life!" pose all on his own:

Pushing stools around the kitchen:

 Buried in blankets, but nice and warm!  He still LOVES stroller rides, as long as he isn't too hot/cold.

Love these eyes!

He loves the swiffer.  He pulls/pushes it all around the kitchen, and sometimes tries dragging it up the stairs:

Yoga in his sleep?  I wouldn't put it past him...

I just like this one, scrunched up with his mouth wide open:

He LOVES brushing his teeth, but will usually only let us if one of us is brushing with him.  

First sunburn.  It was only like 65 degrees and we were only out for about 40 minutes.  I have the feeling we're going to need more sunscreen with how much this kid loves being outside...

 

Lots of wrestling and climbing!  He loves trying to stand on things:

Jeff also taught him to rock climb... sorta.  He loved it though!

Cute new summer clothes, helping dad in the garden!

New jammies!

MORE teeth coming... I can't believe how many teeth he has!

Playing basketball.  Dunk!

Every once in a while we let him sleep with us if he wakes up earlier than we want to wake up.  This day he fell back asleep and stayed asleep... 

And for some reason that picture reminds me of this ha ha:

Sleeping through a diaper change!  He likes sleeping on this belly and tried rolling back over on the table.

 Dad's sunglasses:

Riding the llama:

He dances to music, though lately his dance moves consist more of waving his arms around than bouncing. 

Bouncing:

He is so smart. It doesn't take him long at all to learn an new trick or how to put things together. It's fun to watch him figure out toys that he's had for a while.




He got this Jeep from my grandparents for his birthday. He's figured out how to get it to turn on, and will (sometimes with prompts) put it down and watch it cruise across the floor.




He loves going down the slide, and then trying to walk back up it. We are constantly amazing by how strong he is!






I just like this video because he woke up happy and was content to just wander around his crib. I love mornings like that!

We love you so much little buddy!