Time Flies When You're Having Fun

Noah is one year old.  I can't believe it.  Today came and went like any other day, but yet it was different... My baby is one.  No longer an infant.  He just seems so big now.  We were supposed to have his birthday party today, but because of all the ice, we had to postpone it until next weekend.  Brian's mom and brother were here and our friends Layne and Casey braved the elements to come over for some sledding and the warm-up party.  Brian made Noah a sled out of a cardboard box, a jumprope, and some duct tape and we pulled him up and down the street.  He loved it.  I was a little disappointed at the beginning of the day because of canceling the party and my family not being here because of the weather, but it ended up being a really fun day.  

Here's what Noah is up to these days:

- Walks everywhere with his little walker.  He can't quite do it on his own, or he is just scared to try, but he pushes that walker all over the house.  He LOVES it!  

-  He has incredible rhythm.  For Christmas we gave him one of those fridge farm things where you match up the animals.  He isn't really interested in that part, but he loves the music that it plays.  He will pull it off the fridge and sit down on the floor with it.  He will then push the button and tap his foot to the beat.  When the song is over, he does it again.  The other day, he sat for over five minutes (which is an incredible amount of time for a 12 month old to sit still, or at least mine) just playing music and tapping his foot.  

-  He loves to wave!  Parking lots are his favorite.  He waves at all the cars and always uses two hands turned sideways (like he is milking a cow).

-  He loves being outside.  If ever I open the door to our back yard just to let Rudy, our dog, out, he gets so upset because he wants to go out too.  He will cry also when people leave the house because he wants to go out with them.  

-  He sleeps on his stomach with his hands tucked under his stomach and his bottom in the air.

-  He sleeps about 12 hours at night and takes two naps during the day.  What a good little sleeper he has turned out to be.  Who would have thought after his rocky start.

-  He has two teeth on the bottom and two that are coming in on top.  He loves brushing them.  He shrugs his shoulders, leans in, and says 'Ah' while we brush them.

-  Eating can still be a little frustrating at times, but it is getting better.  He doesn't throw his food down to Rudy quite as much, but you have to watch him pretty closely.  He does, however, love to throw his cup down.  Rudy, who is normally under his chair waiting for crumbs, has learned to be on alert for the falling cup.  We are always on alert with our hands to the side of his face when he is drinking and even then he somehow gets it past us.

- I think he may have inherited a few obsessive compulsive traits from his mother (and father).  He does not like to have too many things on his tray.  If there is too much food/stuff on his tray he starts clearing it off, aka he wiping his hands back and forth like a windshield wiper pushing everything to the floor.  He does not usually like his cup on the tray, but it is okay to have it in the cupholder section of the tray.

- He takes a big drink of milk, swallows some and then lets the rest dribble out of his mouth.  This is why he ALWAYS wears a bib.  Otherwise he will be soaked by the end of the meal and smell very sour after a few hours.

-  I am pretty sure he can say dog, daddy, sort of mommy (more like mamamamama when he is upset), and banana (he says something like na-with a long a -nu)

-  He is very independent and does not seem to notice when we are not around.  He loves people!

-  Perhaps more than his love of people is his love of Rudy and dogs in general.  He loves to grab Rudy's toys from him and play tug-of-war.  Thankfully Rudy goes easy on him.

-  He loves Brian.  As soon as he hears the garage door opening, he says something that I think is "Daddy" and crawls as fast as he can for the door.  He usually prefers to be held by Brian if he is around.  Unless he is upset and then he definitely wants Mommy.

God has blessed us so much in the last year, but by far the greatest blessing has been giving us the opportunity to be parents to such a sweet baby boy.  Noah, thank you for making this year one of the most exhausting yet most fun years we have ever had.  I don't know what we ever did without you. We love you so much!!!