One Year

One whole year of waking up to this sweet face.

I thought before having children that milestones would be pretty expected and anticipated, marked and somewhat scheduled.  I did not anticipate the baffling nature of said milestones and the disbelief that would come along with them.  How on earth my son has defied the laws of this world and reached the age of one year in a matter of weeks is beyond me!  Wasn't it just yesterday I held this tiny, wobbly head?

Now, twelve months later, he is a curious, adventurous, sweet and light hearted, playful, easy going, throw-caution-to-the-wind type of little boy who I adore.  With exception only for his health and feeding issues, this make-me-want-to-pull-out-my-hair infant has transformed into arguably one of the easiest varieties of these things they call babies.  He is not easily angered or frustrated but far from a pushover when it comes to battling the will of his big sister.  He goes down easily for naps, doesn't beg for me to stay when I leave the room and will welcome me and say goodbye again with a smile if I have to sneak back in before he's fallen asleep.

This month he has added consistent "mama's" to his vocabulary as well as "paci" (pa-dee) and "blueberry" (bu-bwee).  Just in the last three days he has started freeing his arms from his Woombie when I put him down for naps and with that newfound freedom, throwing his paci's out of the crib and then looking at them longingly on the floor saying, "Pa-dee?  Pa-dee?"  We'll see how this transition goes but I'm hopeful after seeing the progress he's made in just a few days.

Grayson's eating is going much better and his weight gain is stable.  This month we added carrots, honeydew, eggs, chicken and peaches to the repertoire, and today introduced yogurt again.  If he is able to tolerate it we'll be slowly introducing cheese and then milk into the mix this month.  For now he's drinking 20-28 ounces of soy formula a day from a bottle and has just started holding it himself.  We've tried a sippy cup a few times but the speech therapist advised us against letting him drink with his head tilted up and he has yet to get the hang of a straw.  He has, however, taken to fruit and veggie pouches and is getting better at sucking from those.  He is consistently taking purees from a spoon now (though he won't eat any veggies unless mixed with fruit) and though he still spits out a number of different foods, he is more consistently swallowing a good variety.

Finally starting to hold his own bottle!

At his 12 month appointment Grayson weighed 19 lbs 13 oz and is in the 10th percentile for weight, 25th percentile for height at 29 inches.  The doctor urged us to get as much healthy fat in his diet as we can as well as add things like butter or salad dressing that pack a lot of calories in a small serving.  I can't say I'm on board with that yet but I'm so grateful he's healthy, gaining, and may be able to split a cookie with me in the near future.

Big news for this month is that I decided to stop his Prevacid, the medication he's been taking for acid reflux since he was two months old.  And, wait for it... he is symptom free!  It seems with the thickened liquids and solid-eating that his esophagus has gotten a break.  Hallelujah.

Poor little man's immune system did not get a break this month, however.  Two weeks ago he was hit hard with the flu, a fever peaking at 104.3 and an ear infection to top it all off.  Oh, and did I mention at the same time he popped out his first tooth?  And it just so happened that Blair also had the flu, I had an upper respiratory virus and Ava had Pneumonia.  In the same week.  A week we would prefer to never relive!  Grayson appears to be cutting his second tooth as we speak, these mini-chompers making their debut later than average but a solid 6 months before Ava ever saw her first tooth!

The Flu and an ear infection, minus the bottom tooth that

popped just a couple days after this picture was taken.

Grayson is easily walking along furniture now (though crawling on his knees primarily) and has just started taking a few steps while holding onto a push toy.  He is far more adventurous with his mobility than Ava was and I've found him on the couch, inside his toy bin, in the dishwasher, in a trash can, half-in the dryer and with both hands in the toilet.  I'm curious if whoever deemed daughters more expensive than sons included the bounty of Emergency Room bills that are sure to be in our future.

An Average Day at 12 months:

7:30a  Wake, bottle and breakfast
9:00a  Nap for 1-2 hours
11:30a Bottle and lunch
1:30p  Nap for 1 1/2 - 2 hours
3:30p  Bottle and snack
4:30p  Nap for about an hour if needed
5:30p  Dinner
7:00p  Bottle and down for bed

Favorite Books:  He still has no patience for books and won't let me read one or turn pages but he loves to look at them himself.  His favorites are Baby Animals and the Little People books.

Favorite Toys:  Having just had a few new toys introduced since his birthday, I'd have to say he is partial to most of them.  Tried and true favorites though are Ava's Elmo CD player, the shapes sorter, and any and all balls and musical toys.

Favorite Items:  iThings.

Favorite Foods: Blueberries and avocado take the cake, runners up being grapes and multi-grain cheerios.

Favorite Games: Tossing or rolling a ball back and forth or being chased around the house.

Woe is the second born, with nary a real birthday party.  We celebrated his actual birth-day by driving up to Sedona with Mimi and Pappy who are visiting for two weeks.  Happy birthday kid-- five hours in the car and no real naps!  We gave him his presents over the course of a few days and enjoyed watching him shiver at the sweet taste of icing 3 days later (Blair's next night off from work).  Though it wasn't one special day full of quintessential photo-opps, this boy is no less loved and his birth no less celebrated.  What a joy it is to remember his entrance, his homecoming and each month as we got to know this beautiful boy and our love for him grew to a gush.  He is, in short, an absolute delight, and I cannot wait to see what each new month brings.

Cranky birthday boy in Sedona!

Happy One Year sweet boy.