dianaschnuth

Here we are: you’re one year old! (Actually, you turned one about a week and a half ago; Mommy’s a little behind schedule. But better late than never!)

This has been both the fastest and the slowest year I’ve ever experienced. Didn’t we just bring you home from the hospital? Didn’t you just learn how to sit up? Now you’re toddling around the house like you own the place. (Oh, wait… I think you do.)

That was the biggest milestone that happened this month: you learned to walk. You took your first steps just a few days before your birthday; now, less than two weeks later, you’re taking easily a dozen steps at a time before you stop and pop a squat.

More milestones: Signing! You signed “more” for the first time just after your birthday. Now you alternate between signing “more” if you want more and clapping your hands if you’re all done. We’re hoping to get you to sign more things, like “eat” and “tired,” but we’ll take “more” for now. You do understand a lot of words and phrases, even if you can’t say or sign them yet. Also, pointing, which kind of counts as signing, but not really. You’ll point at things you want to see up close, or that you want us to name or turn on (like a light or a ceiling fan).

You also like to spend some quiet time each evening “reading” your board books, which is super cute.

Things you’re not quite getting: The Sippy Cup. You like the apple juice we put in it, and you get the half-suck thing you have to do to get the juice out, but you’re not quite getting that you also have to tip it up.

As for eating, we finally found a food you don’t like: yellow lentils. Mommy fed you a spoonful at the Ethiopian restaurant in Ann Arbor, and you almost spat them out. You loved the injera bread, though, and a lot of grown-ups don’t even like that. In general, your favorite food right now is bananas, but you eat pretty much whatever we put in front of you: chicken, wheat bread, broccoli, baby food purees, applesauce, paneer (Indian cheese), turnip cake… Mommy needs to get better about making some veggies for you in advance and getting them into small containers in the fridge. Soon, we’ll have to stop giving you the purees and give you “real” food, just like we’ll be able to switch from formula to whole milk. Your appointment with the pediatrician is later this month, so we’ll get the official OK from her.

Even though it’s been quite a month, and quite a year, Mommy doesn’t really have much else to say, except Happy Birthday, and I love you.

To wrap up, here’s a slideshow of photos from your first birthday party. You were surrounded by lots of people who love you and who think you’re really cool, and you got lots of fun presents. Mommy might write a little more about your party later; but for now, there’s lots of pictures!