my baby is ONE!
/I'm playing catch up here as the past month has been an absolute whirlwind. It all started with a transatlantic trip to Nashville the Saturday before Thanksgiving. The U.S. of A. welcomed us with colds for everyone, starting with Miles the day after we arrived, which also happened to be the day of his birthday party. Josh's mom and stepdad made the trip down, and we had a nice little family affair along with my parents and grandparents. And by "nice," I mean that the three of us were jetlagged, and Miles was an epic grump due to said illness.
It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to!
Despite the rough go of it, I did manage to make a pretty delicious cake (courtesy Smitten Kitchen, of course), and Miles got some awesome birthday presents from his grandparents - several wooden things-that-go... trains and tractors and such... some fun books, stuffed animals, some new clothes, lots of cold hard cash for his college savings account, and from Josh and me, Elmo to fuel his newfound obsession with Sesame Street on YouTube.
In true one year old fashion, Miles was most amused by the bags, boxes, and of course, glorious, magical paper.
Above is my (sappy) Instagram post from his actual birthday, but I'll give you a little update on what he's been up to for the last few weeks. It seems like overnight, my baby became a toddler - a miniature adult with opinions (and lots of 'em), an occasional tantrum, loads of personality, and curiosity.
- loves climbing and can walk (but still prefers crawling as it's much faster)
- will have "conversations" with you in his completely incomprehensible baby language but with inflections in all the right places
- gives lots of kisses, particularly to mommy, his stuffed animals, and the characters in his books
- still loves reading
- has added the words "light" and "keys" to his repertoire
- is still utterly obsessed with cars - I hear vroom, vroom all. day. long. every. day.
- has suddenly become very opinionated about his food - my excellent, adventurous eater has suddenly decided that he prefers cheese, bread, fruit, and yogurt and he'll stare me down as he throws food over the side of the high chair. Mommy is learning lots of patience!
- as of his one year checkup, was 20-something percentile for weight, but has shot up to 70-something percentile in height
- likes to copy anything and everything that we do and wants to do everything himself, including feeding, dressing, brushing his teeth, etc.
- has begun weaning (hallelujah!) and is now down to just wake-up and bedtime nursing
- is always, always on the move!
Life with a toddler, though exhausting both mentally and physically, really is a joyous adventure. I love watching the person he's becoming, and though I find it an epic challenge to parent these qualities, I know that his fierce independence, passion, and his desires to learn and explore will serve him well.
I'm looking forward to seeing what 2017 and year two of adventures with Miles bring!
P.S. If you're looking for another good read, be sure to check out my hubby's newly established blog starting with a little personal 2016 recap :) He'll probably be mad at me for shouting out, but honestly, he's way more entertaining.
