Happy birthday Alex! You're a year old today!

What a wild ride this past year has been.

My little person came into my world and turned it upside down. I really didn't know how clueless I was about being a parent to you. We stumbled along, changing endless diapers, spending hours nursing, burping, soothing you. It was like every three hours we got hit by a tornado, until you fell asleep again. You HATED the car seat, wet diapers, but loved the bath and being carried in the wrap. It became a guaranteed way to get you to sleep. Until it stopped working one day and we had to figure out other tricks. We bounced you, we sat you in your swing, we rocked you and sang to you.

Then one day we were making funny noises at you, and you smiled. Ah, that smile. We knew it wasn't gas because you made your displeasure about your gas known to us.

You amaze us everyday with what you can do. First that wonderful smile, then holding your head up. You wanted to see everything, and not miss a thing. Your cooing sounded like "ahhgooo" and sometimes like the frother on an espresso machine.

Rolling over was such a struggle for you, and you'd look like "hey what just happened??" when you did.

When you mastered that my scooty baby, you started to crawl, backward. You would push yourself backwards, and pivot to get where you wanted to go. Not graceful at all but it worked. Right around Christmas time, poof suddenly you could sit up. Sneaky baby, had you been perfecting it as my Christmas present?

You were pulling yourself up to standing and mastered the furniture walking long before you could properly crawl. Before figuring it out you would go up on all fours, and kind of shimmy. Like you knew movement was involved but you didn't know you had to move some limbs too.

Now, not long ago you started to take some steps. First 3 then the number went up from there. Your dad and I wonder what's the line between taking steps and saying you're WALKING. Well yesterday you seemed determined to be walking  by your first birthday.So yes, you made it just under the wire (not that it matters!) walking by your first birthday.

You're a very sweet baby. The sleep is getting a little better.

Your separation anxiety that seemed to come too early, has faded a bit too. I can actually step out of the room now, and you'll happily play. You HATE having your diaper changed, I've become quite good at changing standing up, like a strip search.

You've started doing a bit of sign language and saying a few words (well consistent sounds, anyways). You excitedly say "nanas" when you spot bananas. You notice the cats in the room before I do (Oh my gosh how you love those cats!) and say "kheeeeteeee".  Just last week your aunt Cathy taught you the sign for swing, which you do all the time now when we say park, or you can see it. You prefer your books to most other toys, unless it's the ball that you can toss and chase for hours. You're funny, opinionated, a bundle of energy and you take EVERYTHING in.

So happy birthday to my baby Chicken.

May you have many many more years of birthdays to come.

First day home from the hospital. You slept while mama finally got to shower. Then stayed up all night.

Month one. Look at all that hair! You were still a blob, but very cute nonetheless.

Month two. Notice the smile. And the buzz cut. Someone would pull his hair in his sleep and wake up because someone was pulling your hair. So you had your first haircut at 6 weeks old.

Month three. Oh those cheeks. I had a psychic tell me that I would have a baby with big cheeks. I thought pshah, all babies have big cheeks. And then I met you. People would stop me on the street to comment on those cheeks.

Month four. You've got personality little man. You were desperate to roll over and explore the world.

Happy Halloween Mr. Chicken. We went to a party but by then it was too late for your cute costume. You were not impressed.

Month five. Babbling and getting quite good at pushups.

 

Christmas! Your first taste of food! You tasted the sweet potato and looked at us like "why have you been keeping this from me my whole life? MORE."

Snacking on Sophie the Giraffe and look at you sitting up!

Seventh month. You were happy, as long as I was thisfar away. And oh, the drooling. Buckets of it!

Eighth month. Standing! That's all you wanted to do. You got your first tooth and you love your new toothbrush.

Nineth month. Oh boy you're crawling! There's nothing out of your reach!

Tenth month. Starting to take some steps. Now we're really in trouble. The cats too!

Eleventh month. Look at you standing up on your own. More teeth and a couple of words too. You're a person now, no longer a blob!

One year old! Fistfuls of grass, enjoying the music at the park (doing a little shoulder shimmy).

Life is good!