Tuesday, January 15, 2013

1 year old

Our precious little boy is 1 year old.  How is that even possible?  It feels like yesterday I saw his sweet little face for the first time and now he's turning 1.  Since his birthday falls on Christmas, we had a small party with my family the day after.  The dilemma of how to celebrate a Christmas birthday begins.  This year it didn't really matter since he was so little, but I could definitely see how it could pose problems.  You wake up to Christmas...and oh, happy birthday Mace.  We're going to have to work on it.  I'm thinking of celebrating in October or November, but not going to lie, that also seems a little strange.  I have pictures from his little party but they're on Kev's computer so I decided to share a couple pics from the past month for now.
He is wearing size 18 months although we still roll up the pants.  He wears size 5 diapers and they have prevented almost all blowouts.  He rarely wears shoes so I'm not sure what size he wears.  Poor child lives in socks.  I figure we will have to remedy this as he will be walking sometime soon.  Hopefully.  
He goes for his 12 month well child check on Friday and of course I'm anxious to see his stats.  He definitely feels smaller to me than E at this age, but I think our perspective of a "normal" size is skewed since she was always in the 90+ percentile in all categories.
 
His big accomplishment shortly after he turned 1 was learning to pull op on things.  He has really been pleased with himself as you can tell from these pictures.  It has caused some increased chaos in our life as he can now get in Miss E's space which has caused some pushing/tears and he has had minor injuries from hitting his head against things.  He's not really cruising yet, but I know it's only a matter of time.
He has been a pretty good sleeper lately and goes to bed around 7 and wakes up at 6:30 or 7.  He usually takes 2 naps for around 1.5-2 hours each.  He is still sleeping in a pack n play in our office.  He doesn't seem to mind it but I'm hoping he'll be able to transition to E's room soon (and to think I thought they would be sleeping in the same room by 6 months at the latest...ha).
 Food has been stressful this month.  I stopped formula at 11 & 1/2 months and tried to transition him to only sippy cups.  However, it has been hard to find a sippy cup he really likes using (so we usually resort to a straw) or any fluids he likes drinking.  I started giving him 1 bottle before bedtime with milk which he thoroughly enjoys.  He still has eczema and constipation (we give him Mirilax daily) so we decided to do a trial of no dairy/eggs/processed foods after Christmas.  I feel like our amazing eater basically went on a hunger strike.  I have had such a tough time finding food he actually enjoys and will eat.  So often, I'e had four or five choices on his tray which he won't eat but he screams like he's still hungry.  I have a whole new respect for moms who have kids that aren't good eaters.  Such a feeling of helplessness.  I've been reevaluating the past several days and considering being more aggressive with his diet when he gets a little older and is able to chew more foods.  Lately, he has been obsessed with Clementines and will easily eat an entire orange if not more and he loves mac and cheese.  He also seems to like bread/crackers (like every child) and yogurt (most of the time), but could give or take bananas, beans, chicken/beef/turkey, and any other fruits/veggies I've tried.  I have been giving him goats milk at nights and he drinks it okay, but he is not a fan of goat cheese or almond cheese (I can't say I blame him).  This whole topic certainly could have been a post in it's own.
His favorite activities include slamming cabinets/doors, clapping, giving high fives, playing with whatever sister is playing with, standing, trying to get in the dish washer, pushing things around while crawling on his knees, splashing in the bath tub, playing with the buttons on the DVD/surround sound, sucking on wipes, hanging upside down, and jumping on the bed with sister.
 
His least favorite things include changing his clothes/diaper, putting a coat on, getting strapped into his car seat, riding in his car seat, waiting for a meal, waiting for his bottle, being redirected. 
He has entered a phase I must admit, I'm not too fond of...the screaming/whining phase.  He definitely has become much more high maintenance which can be slightly exhausting.  It doesn't help that he has began to employ a high pitched scream that really grates on your nerves.  I know this too shall pass, but this 12 months to 20 months or so was difficult with E.
 He does love his mama and for that I'm thankful.  When I come into the room, he has eyes for only me.  When I come home from work, he holds his hands straight up in the air so I'll pick him up.  Melts my heart a little.  He also has the sweetest grin and the best little laugh.  I know all his tickle spots.

So thankful that God gave us this little man to raise although the task at times feels daunting.  He has brought and continues to bring so much joy in our lives and he adds so much to our little family.

1 comment:

  1. What a cutie! I'm sad to hear how fast a year goes by though :( some other friends of ours have a little boy that was born on Christmas a year before mason. The aars family - they have a blog which is linked to ours. You could always reach out to her. I know they have talked about some ideas.

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