February 2016 – Peanut Smiles

My dear sweet William,

Happy 1-years old! You make me giddy with excitement. I really don’t know how else to explain it, but every time i see you, I just about burst out of my skin because you are so stinking cute. No joke, even if I just walk around the corner. The way you light up when we make eye contact could turn me into puddle. I just can’t get enough of you. You are a true mama’s boy and I 100% completely underestimated how awesome that really is. Please don’t change.

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Yearly stats:

Weight: 22 lbs (76%)
Height: 30.63″ (61%)
Head: 18.5 cm (74%)

Favorite moments:

You achieved the big milestone of walking this month! You had been so close for several weeks and at the beginning of the month you transitioned to the older infants classroom at daycare and within a week started taking tiny baby steps 2-3 at a time. The following week (on Valentine’s Day) you took off and actually walked the same distance and in the same location that Lexi did for the first time. You were so darn proud of yourself when you did this, you just didn’t want to stop and for the most part haven’t. Occasionally, you will crawl but for the most part, you walk everywhere. I know I’m your mom, but it is the sweetest little walk. You have a wide stance and arms extended in front or to your sides and waddle around. You absolutely refuse to hold anyones hands, I’m not sure if it is for balance or independence yet.

Earlier in the month the four of us were all upstairs getting ready for bed. Daddy was in the rocking chair with Lexi reading books and you were playing. I walked into your doorway and you raced over to me, pulled yourself up on my legs and begged, ‘Mamamama’ with your arms held up. I picked you up and you pointed to the chair and signed milk. So sweet and exciting to see your little brain making connections like that!

At the beginning of the month, we got a pretty decent sized snowstorm. Daddy and Lexi were outside clearing the driveway and playing and you climbed up onto the step stool and stood at the front window and banged on the window and watched in jealousy the entire time. You just can’t wait to be big enough to be out there with them. Next year bud!

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Your favorites:

Wrestling and rough-housing. You love to pile into tickle feasts or just wrestle with mommy and daddy.
Balls
The little people horses (and really all of the animals)
Cars, you love to push them around and make ‘Vrroomm’ sounds. You also love to play with your race track
Eating anything in sight–specifically stuff that is on my plate. Even if you have the same thing, you want to eat it from my plate.
Smiling and laughing. Whenever you have a sub at daycare, we get the comment, he is so cute and so smiley. He just never stops smiling.
Playing chase with Lexi. You love to laugh at her and she gets your going pretty good!
Opening cupboards and drawers and taking everything out of them. You also really like to climb and sit in chairs.
Crawl up and down stairs. You’ve been going up stairs for awhile now, but have recently learned to climb down them on your belly.

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Other interesting things about the month:

You got another tooth (bottom right) for a total of 8. With that came a little cold which led to an ear infection.
Talking is few and far between. You can say ‘Mamamamama’ and ‘Dadada’ but don’t do it consistently or on command. You also say ‘Ba’ which means Ball
At the beginning of the month, you transitioned to the Older Infants classroom at school. Overall you did great! You took your first nap on a cot and eat at the table with the other kids. The only real hangup has been bottles. You refuse to take a bottle or a sippy cup from anyone in that room, even Mrs. Margaret whom you used to take bottles for all of the time in your old classroom. For the first couple of weeks, I came down and sat with you in the classroom and gave you your bottle. Even then it was sort of debatable on if you would take it. Outside of the bottle/sippy situation, you’re loving your new classroom and playing with the kids, singing songs, reading books and going for lots of walks!
As a result of your new classroom, you’ve started to show more interest in books. You bring them to me and plop yourself down in my lap and will sit there for maybe a page or two before you insist on starting to flip the pages yourself. You’re favorite book is the animal book. You love to look at all of the different pictures and hear the sounds they make.
As you have developed your walking skills, you’ve started to walk in the bathtub. You’ve been pulling yourself up to standing in the bath for many months now, but you’ve now become a little more adventurous but not quite stable. You probably fall 3 times every time you take a bath, even when I’m sitting right there. You’ll be a tough cookie with all the times you’ve banged your head and even gone under water. Ironically, it hasn’t scared you at all. You lie right down on your back with now hesitation and love the water coming up around your face.

Oh sweet buddy boo! There is something so magical about you that I’m not sure how to explain but everyone who meets you feels it and trys to articulate it but just can’t. We love everything about you and can’t get enough of you. Happy 1st Birthday! We can’t wait to experience all the fun the next year will bring!

Love,

Mama

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