The Whole World In Our Hands...: The Happenings of a 12 Month Old

It's amazing how quickly babies become kids, toddlers, children. In just one short year they grow and develop by leaps and bounds. It doesn't cross my mind that often but when I think about where we were a year ago it seems like it went by so quickly yet it seems like it was soooo long ago. So much has changed in a year. A year ago I was stressed about breastfeeding, I was fighting Aaden for naps, I was sleep deprived, I had anxiety, I was worried about getting him into a routine, I was stressing over tummy time, I would get overwhelmed really easily and I was deathly afraid of him getting sick. Makes me exhausted just writing it out! Now that I think back on it, I'm so happy to be past that and to be where we are now.  I think surviving that first year as a first time mom is a rite of passage - you made it through and it's definitely something worth celebrating. And now we're here - Toddlerhood. Onward and Upward. And so far my impression is that this age is so enjoyable!

Aaden is so full of energy. No time for cuddling except for some rare occasions. There are things to climb and things to get into. He will make our house literally look like a tornado hit it within 5 minutes. Picture frames on the floor, DVDs scattered, pots and pans pulled out of the cabinet, tupperware lids EVERYWHERE, broken bottles of wine (yes, you read that correctly). It seems he loves all things that aren't his toys. He still has an obsession with our nightlights. He has recently discovered the guitar in our room. He'll walk up to it and pluck the strings or strum it sometimes - I'm hoping he can learn to play it someday since I never did :( He also likes the drum sticks to our RockBand drum set, so maybe he'll be a bit more musical than Aaron and I. One thing I think he is taking after Aaron in is his love for the outdoors. When there is a door open, he makes a break for it. Maybe it's because of his love of tan bark, rocks and dirt clods but whatever it is, he loves going outside. All the more reason to love that we have a nice yard for him now.

He's becoming more "ham"ish everyday. Just recently he started this funny eye squinting, wincing thing. Not sure what it means yet but it's hilarious - he'll look at you, close his eyes a little longer than usual and then open them and do a silly squinting thing - he almost looks like the people that don't know how to wink and close both eyes and try to flutter their eyes a little. Maybe he is trying to wink?  Seriously, goofball.

He's pointing a LOT more now. He points to his blankie, to Mama, to Dada, and to Papa so far.  And now when we say, "Aaden, where's _______?" he just automatically points. Not to anything in particular, just points. It's pretty darn cute. He's obviously learning what the question means. He's starting to know where his nose is but we're still working on it.

And now he's clapping more. If we're watching the Giants game and we start cheering or if we say "Yay!" he'll clap. We were rocking out to Lady Gaga in the car recently on our way to daycare and I could see him in the back clapping away. Which reminds me, he likes dancing when he hears music. It's more of a bouncing up and down (along with some hip thrusts) but I think he has rhythm. Too cute.

He's waving Bye Bye a lot more now too. It used to be pretty hit and miss but now if he hears "bye bye" he'll wave or he'll even do it on his own when he knows someone is leaving. He seems to be waving Hi now too. He will especially do this with older men when we are in public. Seriously, he loves men. He's just drawn to them for some reason. I'm not exactly sure why? But we noticed that a lonnnggg time ago.

He blows me kisses when I drop him off at daycare. Even without prompting. I love it.

He pretty much eats anything under the sun now except for things that might be choking hazards. And we do try to feed him pretty healthy but we are not super restrictive with him. He loves pasta, mac and cheese, bananas, cheese, gold fish, bread, yogurt, blueberries and a lot of other fruit. He doesn't mind veggies but I don't think they are his total fave.  If we're eating, he walks up, pulls his paci out and throws it down (and actually just started setting it down) and opens his mouth. He does this when we are giving him medicine too, he loves taking medicine. The other day I was painting my toenails and he walked up and took his paci out and stood there waiting for me to give him something - I think he thought the nail polish was medicine! Silly boy!

He babbles a lot but doesn't say a whole whole lot.  But he does say  "ahna" for banana, "Iiiiiii" for hi, Mama, and Dada - he says Dada for EVERYTHING. He also tries repeating sounds somewhat. He says "Ah-duh" (emphasis on the "ah") all the time, we haven't quite figured it out yet. He says it when he's pointing something out - he points and then says "Ah-dah". So, who knows?  Oh and he can sign "more" which Louise taught him. He is sooo proud of himself when he does it.

There are a million things that he does that I wish I could explain in writing but I'll have to rely on video for those things. One in particular is throwing his blankie in the air and then falling to the ground. Over and over again. And another is this goofy thing he does with his arms, he swings them out and then stops them abruptly with his hands spread and this look on his face and says "ohp"  - it's like a silly scared, shocked and amazed thing he does as a way to be silly with people. It's like he just stopped dead in his tracks and he's trying to get your attention. It's so hard to explain but it's soo goofy.

He walks really well and I think he's actually getting close to being able to run and jump - we're in for it then! This boy is all boy.

One thing I learned in this last year - at the end of the day, Aaden is my baby and he will always be my baby no matter how big he gets.

Just a few recent pictures:

The jersey that Uncle Alec and Auntie Nicole sent him from Korea