Happy Birthday to my sweet boy! This has been the best year of my life. Seriously. I never knew how much love my heart could hold. How hasn't it exploded by now? I'll never know.
We spent his special day as a family...just the three of us. I set my alarm and went in to wake him just before 07:23 so I could take a picture and hold him as he turned exactly one year old. After that, I took him downstairs and made him a yummy breakfast of waffles and cinnamon applesauce while he watched the Birthday episode of Yo Gabba Gabba. We spent the rest of the morning playing and cuddling.
At around 11:00, we got ready and headed out for the rest of the day. We started out at Cracker Barrel so we could order Nolan his first kids meal. He got macaroni and cheese, a baked sweet potato, a biscuit, and an apple juice box. He loved the potato and biscuit, but only ate a few bites of his macaroni. Luckily, Daddy was there to help him finish it.
Once we were stuffed full of delicious food, we hit the road to spend the afternoon at the Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy. Nolan
loved it. I kept pulling him out of his stroller so he could get right up against the different tanks. He kept following the fish around with his little hand and trying to tickle them through the glass. His favorite part was the penguin exhibit. We went back to watch them two different times because they made him laugh so hard.
We stopped at the gift shop to let him pick out a special toy (he got a stuffed penguin), squeezed in the photo booth to get our pictures taken, had a snack, and headed home. He was asleep within seconds of being in the car. He was in such a good mood all day long. I think he knew it was his day and I know he felt loved.
On the 15th, he had his well check appointment. He weighs 21.2 pounds and is in the 25th percentile. He is 30.5 inches long, which puts him in the 75th percentile. His head is finally evening out and is back down to the 50th percentile. He is absolutely perfect! We discussed how his eating habits should be changing now that he is getting older and he shouldn't be as dependant on formula. He only uses sippy cups now and drinks whole milk instead of formula. He's getting so big!
He is still in 12 month clothes and size 4 diapers. We need to move him to 18 month pajamas though...those seem to run a little small. His growth has definitely slowed down and he is growing more like a little boy than a baby. He wears size 4 shoes.
He learned so much this past month. He started waving bye-bye on January 20th. He did it really well for about a week, and then he just stopped. I know he still knows how to do it, but he chooses not to. On the 25th, he started standing on his own. Chris and I were sitting on the couch and looked down at him, and he was just standing there looking at us, like it was no big deal! On the 27th, he woke up and was rolling his r's with his tongue. I have no idea where he picked that up, but it only lasted a few days and he was done with that too. His 8th tooth came in on the 10th (finally!) This one filled out his bottom row and came in on the far left side.
He does so many things that just crack me up. On the 28th, he learned that he could "work smarter, not harder" by putting a book on the ground and sliding around on it with both of his hands instead of actually crawling. On the 5th of February, he was sitting on the ground with a toy cup and was pretending to actually drink out of it. He'd put it up to his mouth, swallow, and sigh really loud before taking another "drink." That same day, he came up to me while I was taking a nap, pulled the blanket off my feet, and tickled them. He also started screaming along with girls on TV. He doesn't even have to be paying attention, but if he hears someone scream, he will imitate them and smile. It is hilarious.
He isn't walking yet, but he is
so close. I'm guessing he will just take off within the next couple of weeks. His doctor said he is right on track developmentally and to just keep doing what we're doing!
Little Boy, you make my day, every day. I wake up and can't wait to hold you. You are the last thing I think about before I fall asleep each night. You have made me the happiest mommy in the world and I can't wait to see what your next year has in store for you. You're my best buddy. Happy Birthday, Nolan!
