One Year

One year old.  Wow.  Time, it is flying.

You might have noticed that we missed your 11 month update.  Y'know, I think I remember doing the same with Toby, back on another blog, 4 years ago.  The first baby months are full of getting-to-know each other, new surprised every month.  And then, sometime around a year, the surprises slow a bit.  There are fewer firsts to marvel at, fewer milestones to note, fewer changes as we all settle in.  You're part of our everyday now, kid.  You bring some great sparks, but mostly we just can't imagine our family before we were 4.

The last two months, of course, did include lots of firsts.  First Christmas, and all the other surrounding holidays.  First day at daycare--just a few hours at a friend's in-home setup, but it still feels like a big step.  First blizzards and snow days--we've had lots of time this month with our whole family snowed in.  After our Christmas travels I think you have now officially met all of the members of our family.

You're learning how to insert yourself into our conversations more and more--waving hello and bye-bye to everyone, cheering and waving with excitement, accidentally making the sign for "papa" and then grinning from ear to ear when the motion makes us say his name.

Oh, and straws!  We've been practicing with a straw, and you're getting it!  This is huge because: 1) You are awesome and it's fun to watch you try new things.  And 2) Once you figure out how to drink some milk through a straw then I can spend more than two hours at a time away from you!  You've got a distinct technique with the straw that is, um, noticeably influenced by your time spent breastfeeding.  Whatever, dude, independence is awesome, for both of us.

I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that your favorite toy these days is, well, cords.  You're remarkably adapt at finding them, especially since you're not scooting or crawling or in any way reliably mobile yet.  At Christmas, your favorite part was the ribbon, which is kind of like a cord, only without the electricity.  And at your birthday party your favorite part was the tissue paper--which is kind of gross when you drool on it, but at least it is not a choking hazard.

Yesterday we celebrated with cake and family and boxes full of tissue paper.  The look on your face when we started singing "Happy Birthday" was priceless--you were concerned and confused by the strange cultural custom that had overtaken your family.  You tasted some cake, but mostly you liked squishing it between your fingers.  You're stuck in the middle of a cold, so there was a bit more snot than anyone really wants on their birthday, but overall you seemed pleased with the attention.  And the tissue paper.

Toby surprised me with his excitement about your birthday.  All day he was making cards for you--and that's saying something considering the fight we usually have getting him to make one obligatory card when he attends friends' birthday parties.  He made you a little picture album and recorded his voice on each page.  The idea was that he would make up a story or tell you something about the people in the pictures.  But every time he turned on the microphone he just started in on the "I love you Max, and I love you very much, and I love playing with you..." and by the time he got around to narrating the pictures the album would beep and the recording time would be up.

Happy Birthday, One Year Old!  We all love you very much!