new feats

1. the child thinks his tongue is hilarious.

2. standing on his own – i know this is nothing new to anyone because we all had to go through this transition in our lives and many of us did it earlier than 12 months! but he is well on his way to being an upright guy. he tried to walk, apparently, in waumba land yesterday and fell into a bouncy chair. he has a nice gash on his head as a battle scar. ok, “gash” may be an overstatement but i’m the mom. the awesome WL volunteer said he was laughing just a minute later so it really wasn’t bad.

3. climbing – he has figured out that he can get up to places by pulling up. yesterday, he got into the bathtub and we wish we knew how! don was standing in the hall but neither of us saw the deed until he was happily playing in the dry tub.

4. talking – he has repeated a few new words to me, but the only new one i feel i can really count because he’s done it several times is “burp.” yes, he is a boy.

5. asian noodles, bbq, pizza -these are new things he tried that he likes ok. it is almost anything he sees us eating. it takes him 45x as long to eat it. he is a careful eater. staples that he has loved for long include avocado, mango, beans, bread (< any kind!), peas, pears. everything else is on-again-off-again for him.

6. lovin – he has been a great kisser for several months now and he is now into hugging too. if i ever catch myself feeling a little overly clung-to, i just try to turn it into thankfulness for this love that goes both ways.

one incredible year

we never would have believed how wonderful this year would be. we heard about the challenges more than the rewards so we definitely were nervous about those challenges. but they really did pale in comparison to the fun of just being with maddox through all the stages of his first year. we still are trying to figure out what the personality of this guy is! sometimes wild and a little out of control … sometimes docile and laid back. you never know what you might get from minute to minute! for sure, he is a joy…… and he loved his little party. fun party pics seen here!

this is what total sugar overload looks like:

and here is one of my favs. we “found” him over here amidst all the aftermath:

toughest boy i’ve seen and …

… it’s not maddox! this is my cousin’s son (but i call him our nephew), caleb. look at his face and can you tell what happened to him? he did a face plant into this pinecone and did not shed one tear. under his nose was bleeding and his face immediately had the exact imprint of the sharp pinecone! can you believe this kid? he is so tough, but also is a sweetie. maddox loves him! as well as his other cousins.

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swimmer

M loved swim lessons at the Y in february. you pay to be able to go and sing wheels on the bus with your child while standing in the water. ha. it is actually a little more than that, but it is very basic stuff just to make the water fun for the kids – and parents. it was pretty funny to see several DADS in the water singing i’m a little teapot, doing motions and bouncing. most moms were on the side looking done-up and taking pics. not me

here are more pics from 11 months – pics with friend ella & with all 4 grandparents!

attack on the vacuum

seems like most kids would be afraid of loud machines, but since ours isn’t, i recently found a new activity that he loves.

too much for the dustbuster

a couple months ago, when throwing/flinging finger food off the highchair became a sport, i bought a dustbuster specifically for the highchair area. i thought that would be the way to ensure would routinely clean the floor right there since i wouldn’t have to lug the big vacuum out of the closet. well, i have been outsmarted. yesterday, the amount of cheese and cornbread on the floor and in the chair was too much even for the dustbuster and that is after many repeated “no”s and correcting. i am amazed at the ever increasing cleaning required!