less traveled

Where have the days gone, my little one? I can't believe your first birthday is just 2 days away. You are the most beautiful soul and I am in amazement of you everyday. You have had some big milestones this year. You seem be ahead of the curve on everything. You started walking at 9 1/2 months and never looked back. Now you are running as fast as your feet will take you, usually with a ball in your hands, yelling, "Go, Go, Go!!" You chase after Gracie and laugh big belly laughs at about anything she does. You have recently started feeding her from your highchair, so nice of you to share. And you are talking up a storm. Your first words were Mama, spoken way back in July during your first visit to NY. Soon the word HOT followed because of the fireplace. I wanted you to learn early on to stay away, soon you made the leap that most things bright were hot, like candles and lights. You started making animal sounds soon after that, first the "Boof! Boof!' like Gracie, then the quack quack of a duck then on to monkey sounds and bears and even elephants. Then Daddy taught you the word hat and it was your favorite. You grasped the concept well and you would be silly and put anything on your head and call it a hat. You are always making us laugh, your sense of humor has been evident since day 1. Around December your vocabulary really exploded, you want to know the names of everything and as soon as we tell you you walk around repeating it. All of this is way ahead of schedule, kiddo. The doctors are amazed by your fine motor skills and vocabulary, as well as your laid back and easy going demeanor. You are such a good baby, everyday, all of the time, and I thank my lucky stars for you. You have only had 2 colds, the second of which you have right now. You've been so stuffly that I have held you upright every night for the last 4 nights. Last night was the worst, and I'm hoping you don't have your first ear infection. My fingers are crossed.

You got your first tooth at 6 months and soon 5 others followed that first. You broke almost 6 teeth all at once, and no one would have ever known. You were happy and unfazed by it. Very unusual for babies. You are a tough guy, like your daddy.

You love football. We took you to see your cousin Joe's high school football game on Sept 11th and you were mesmerized by it. You should have been sleepy and nodding off, but instead you were jumping up and down and so excited by the event. After that a football game came on tv and you went up the screen and said, "GO! GO! GO!" I think you are hooked. DId you and Grandpa ROn play football a lot in heaven before you came to us?? That is the only thing I can make of it all.

One thing that you started doing in October while we were visiting COlorado, was closing your eyes to turn the lights on and off. I don't know where you cam e up with this trick, but we help you out and turn them on and off with every tight blink you give them. It is the cutest thing. You have also turned into such a cuddle bear. I love to have you come up to me and grab me for hugs and kisses, crawl into my lap, and hold you close. It has to be the best feeling in the world, next to holding you for the first time. I still can't believe that was one year ago. I can't imagine my world without you in it, my bear cub. You bring me such joy and happiness. This next year I know you will continue to be unstoppable with development. I can't wait to see what is next for you. Thank you for being such a good little boy. I love you from here to the moon and back.

Happy Birthday!!!

A list of all you words:
Mama
Dada
Hot
Hat
Truck
Car
up
bagel
potato
carrot
cracker
car
ball
cake
clock
poopeck
paddle


Love,
Mommy