I am totally behind in my blogging (and everything else it seems lately). I can't let Nicholas' big FIRST birthday go completely so better late than never....
Hey Big Boy,
Your birthday fell on the Saturday after Thanksgiving this year (Daddy & Mommy got married in 2006 the Saturday after Thanksgiving, too!). We traveled to Grandma Anita and Bob's house on the Wednesday before. We celebrated with Bob's family---Great Grandma Ruth Ecker, Uncle Dave, Aunt Janet, Katie, Greg with Skyla and Saylor, Uncle Matt, Aunt Lynn, Jake, Kelsey, "Cousin/Godmother Emily, Nathan, Aunt Eileen, Gene, Gabe, Auntie and Uncle Scott. (I don't think I forgot anyone...) You were very sleepy and had some funky smelling diapers (to put it politely). Friday we hung out in the morning and then you stayed with Grandma, Auntie and Uncle Scott while Daddy, Bob, Mommy and Mikey went to McGuire AFB to see the airplanes. That night we went out to dinner and relaxed. On Saturday (your BIRTHDAY!) Mommy got a little sick. Ok, A LOT sick. Norovirus sick. Mikey and Uncle Scott came down with similar symptoms that day, too. Daddy and Bob got hit with it the next night and Grandma the following Wednesday after we had left NJ. On your actual birthday you spent quality time with Grandma. You played all day and ate yummy food. You drank your first glass of whole milk and didn't bat an eye at the difference from formula. On Sunday, we were able to be in the same room together to watch you "open" presents (you pulled the smallest bit of paper and then Mikey took over) and see you eat your first cupcake. I baked you a Mickey Mouse cake on Friday night but was unable to decorate it the following day due to my tummy issues. We had a re-do over Christmas with Daddy's family! (See Christmas post for more details about that!)
At your 12 month check up, you weighed in at 22 lbs 11.3 oz and your height was 30.5". You got blasted with the MMR shot, chickenpox shot (varicella) and the first flu shot. You had to go back 1/7/14 for flu shot #2. You go back to the doctor for your 15 month check up on 3/3/14.
Now, the developmental stuff. The biggest struggle we had when you were 11 months (going on 12) was your communication. You were screaming for EVERYTHING. You are trying SO hard to communicate. If you were given a choice, you would choose to be turning 4 so you could do and be like your brother. And the fact that you can't communicate what you want, you are getting frustrated. There are only so many signs I know, so for Christmas you got some baby sign language DVDs to help with your frustration. As I write this on January 16, you sign "more", "open", "wash hands", "eat" and "bird". You do this fake cough thing when you want your drink. If something is in the room that you want, you will point your cute
Physical activity: You are MUCH more active than your brother. You were commando crawling for a few months. I brought you into work before Thanksgiving just to make sure everything was okay. We practiced with you pushing a bench to get used to being on your knees and by Thanksgiving you were up on your knees. A few days later you were doing more hands and knees crawling than commando. Now at 13 months you are pulling to stand on everything! You are enjoying being upright and your feet are not as thick as they used to be. At the easel I have witnessed you being so distracted that you have stood independently for a second or two. It is just a matter of time now.....
At Mimi's house over Christmas you discovered (and mastered) crawling up the stairs. I refuse to let you do that here 1) the hardwood steps are well, hard and 2) that is all we would be doing every day, all day! You can stand at the ottoman and shift over to the couch without dropping down (one hand on the ottoman and one hand on the couch to shift back and forth to the different surfaces). I have a feeling that you will be able to climb out of your crib one day. I saw you (in your sleep sack) put your foot on the bumper last night and try to lift yourself out. Mikey wasn't this physically adventurous. You will keep me on my toes for sure.
Over Thanksgiving you were obsessed with light switches and were understanding the cause/effect. That fascination has now passed as you are able to get into everything on your own. You enjoy playing in the pretend kitchen opening and closing the doors, pushing the buttons to "cook" as well as "making food" by putting food into the pots and pans. You have a lot of patience for this task. You aren't as attentive when it comes to reading books. Especially at nighttime. By bedtime you only want your milk and your thumb. I need to find a better time of day when you are more focused to look at books.
This month you started a Sibling class at My Gym with Mikey on Wednesdays. You love being around the big kids and moving around the fun room. We also started music class again this month. We are in a Thursday morning playgroup with three other Moms and babies in Wellesley and you also hang out in the babysitting area of the gym 1-2x per week while Mommy tries to lose some leftover baby weight.
Sleeping is going well for the most part. I would say 1-2x per month you wake in the middle of the night either due to a soaking wet diaper (you LOVE your liquids) or due to teething. So far you have 3/4 molars in addition to the 8 teeth in the front of your mouth. It looks as if your incisors are coming soon, too. You take two naps a day---one around 11 and another one around 4ish (which is super helpful while I make dinner!). I know you are tired when you start rubbing your eyes and sucking your right thumb. You also scrunch up your shirt/sleep sack in your left hand. [You have sucked your thumb for awhile now and I don't know if I ever documented that on the blog. Aunt Peggy mentioned that you could be left handed if you suck your right thumb (it has been noted that kids suck on their non-dominant hand).]
You aren't the biggest fan of running errands if you aren't getting attention. As soon as someone makes a fuss over you, you stop fussing and smile. You ALWAYS are stopped due to your cute bear bunting outfit you wear every time we go out. Taking you to Mikey's skating lesson is another challenge. You want to GO! GO! GO! but you can't yet. We will be chasing after you soon enough. For these reasons, I tend to do food shopping at night, on the weekends or have it delivered as a last resort. You like to turn around in the cart and pull the stuff out of the cart and throw it on the ground. Not very helpful!
Typically you are very happy. If you get frustrated, your first reaction is to bite someone or something. Ouch!
Feeding is still pleasant with you and I hope it never changes. You continue to eat more than your brother at every meal. For example, last night you had two stuffed shells (you would have had three but I didn't let you have it) as well as steamed zucchini and roasted cauliflower. Sometimes I think you eat so much you are going to BURST! Now that you had cake I let you try other dessert items when we indulge. You are a carb lover---poundcake, muffins, pizza dough are all devoured in no time. In the beginning you weren't fond of strawberries but that is no longer the case. Off the top of my head, there isn't anything that you don't eat. Thank you for making that part of my day so easy. I wish I could say the same for your brother.....
Okay. If I remember anything else I will edit the blog accordingly. Hopefully I can get some more updates on here soon...including ice skating and other fun things we have been doing lately (movie dates, BC hockey games, etc). Before I take another breath, I'll be writing about another birthday! Time needs to slow down a bit!!
