You went and turned ONE on me today! I can't believe we met each other a year ago. While I still remember life without you, I wouldn't want my life like that again - I can't imagine you not being a part of my everyday life. I love you so much, and every day I discover something new about you that I love and my heart continues to hold more love than I thought it ever could. On this special day, I want to tell you two things in this post: 1) all about you at 12 months old, and 2) all about your birthday celebration.
At 12 months old:
- You absolutely love the remote control - yes, typical for a little man! But, your obsession is mostly with taking off the back and emptying the batteries. You have figured out how to do this on almost every remote we have, so we are constantly unable to find the remotes and where you hid them from us. We were going to tape the back of each remote control, but then we decided we think this phase will pass, and the tape would just be one more thing that you would try to eat. While Mommy is TERRIFIED that you will try to eat the battery (um, yes, this could actually result in a 911 call if you did!), we watch you very closely, and we are getting smarter about where to hide the remotes from YOU! Unfortunately, when we go to other people's houses, you go straight for their remotes, too. You little stinker!
- You say "hhhh" when we tell you something is "hot." You seem to understand this word well.
- We think you say "baba" for bottle. You certainly know what bottle means and look for your bottle when we mention the word. Then, you say "ba" or "baba." Once I even heard you say "ba-ul."
- You are quite the helper when getting dressed. You've done this for a while - helping to push your arms out through the openings, and you don't seem to mind dressing and undressing time.
- You overcame your fear of balloons this month. Mommy worked hard on trying to get you to hold, kick, swat at, and bounce balloons, and just a few days ago you found joy in playing with them.
- You CLAPPED this month (on Memorial Day)! Finally! :) I have been waiting for those two hands to come together in unison (in fact, I was getting a little worried and added it to my list for the doctor since I felt this was such an easy task that you weren't mastering yet). I always knew you were smart so I was wondering why it took so long for you to "get" this skill. You clapped toys together for a long time, so why did you just now clap!? Eh,who cares! You did it, and now you do it so well! I love to watch you clap after we sing or after you do something you are proud of, and now I know you really mean it!
- You're officially a model! :) Amy James went and made you the star of her Shutter Huggers advertisement. We didn't even ask her to do that; she just picked you, sweet boy!
- You can stand up and walk from a sitting position on your own without any leverage or support from anything now. This took some time for you to learn - you used to crawl to a wall, table, someone's leg, etc. in order to pull up to a standing position, and then you could walk from there. Now, you can simply stand up on your own.
- You had your first SWIM this month! You LOVED the water!! I can't wait to take you swimming more this summer.
- Your great-grandpa Manny died this month. You were actually in the room with him shortly after he passed away. Obviously, you had no idea what had happened, and you went about your day as happy as could be - which was what my grandpa would have wanted. You kept us all entertained even when we were sad, and a few days later, you paid tribute to him by attending your first minyan service. Daddy & I also put some dirt on his coffin for you - which is a big mitzvah (good deed)!
- I introduced you to blueberries again this month. We have tried them twice before (in puree form), and your eczema flared up. So, we tried again with real, whole blueberries, and you LOVE them (and didn't have any adverse reactions)! I get the really big "giant" kind because those are my favorites, and you adore them!
- You had another cold this month. I thought it might mean more teeth, but I have yet to see any additional ones pop up. I bet they'll come soon! The past 3 months before, you got 2 new teeth per month, and this month you got no new teeth, so I bet they're on their way.
- I still love, love, love when you blow kisses, give kisses, lay your head on my shoulder, or wave bye-bye. You have the most beautiful smile, too! And, Daddy and I cannot get enough of your excited squeals. Just today we were talking about how much we are going to miss those when you stop doing that... we hope you don't any time soon!
- Well, it actually started last night. Daddy and I were putting you to bed, and as I fed you your bottle and held you, Daddy told you the story of your birth (mostly because Mommy was emotional and couldn't talk well). As I put you to bed, I cried a little but laughed at myself for crying - and you laughed with me. You thought it was funny to see tears coming down my cheeks while I smiled at you! That made me smile even bigger, but it didn't take away the reason I was crying. I cried because I feel so lucky to have this beautiful boy in my life, and I can't believe how fast time has gone since I met you!
- After we put you to bed, Daddy and I sat on the couch, and I teared up thinking about how Bubbie won't be at your party tomorrow. Daddy and I miss her a lot, and even though today was a very happy day (as will be tomorrow), we feel a great sense of sadness that she isn't here to give you a big birthday hug and kiss. I keep imagining her at your party, and then I have to remind myself that she won't be there. But, maybe that's her way of telling me that she WILL be there. . . and I know she is always in our hearts.
- This morning, Daddy and I saw that you were awake, and we tiptoed to get all the balloons we had blown up the night before. When we entered your room, we sang "Happy Birthday" and put all the balloons in your crib (see why it was important for you to overcome the balloon fear??)! You didn't quite seem to know what was going on, but you were all smiles and played with the balloons for a few minutes. I also sang our special morning song to you - and yes, it's all on video for you to watch one day!
- The rest of the day, Daddy and I tried to spend time with you while also preparing for your big birthday party tomorrow. One big special thing that happened was Daddy and Grandma took you to the shoe store to get officially measured for your first pair of shoes.
- You took an awful second nap! You didn't really nap at all. Maybe you were so excited about your birthday!? But, after almost an hour and a half of you playing in your crib, we got you up to run some more errands.
- A couple times during the day (and once while we were getting you ready for bed), Daddy & I both think you said "Meh-Meh" or "Mee-Mee" when wanting or referring to me. I'm not sure - we'll see, but maybe, just maybe you wanted to say "Mommy" on your first birthday!
- After dinner, Daddy and I played with you in the living room. As you giggled and toddled around, I just watched you thinking about how amazing you are. I thought about how God had a big plan for you and how perfectly God made you. You were this tiny spec that turned into a sweet baby who struggled in the last couple hours before birth, you made your way out of my body safely, and here you are, this growing, learning, living, breathing, joy-bringing boy! I even turned to Daddy and said, "I love us."
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