One Year

It's offical. The baby (or should I say toddler) turned one year yesterday. I threw a party for him at our apartment and it was great. He had a great time and wasn't fussy at all. This is amazing considering he had an ear infection two weeks ago then another this week in both ear and his ear drum ruptured Thursday night. I can't believe how many presents he got. Some of the coolest toys were a parking garage and a sports center with a hoop. He also got some cool rock and roll clothes.

I wanted everything to be just right for the party. I felt the need to home make everything (which inevitably causes me a lot of stress, to the point where I didn't even get dressed for the party until 10 minutes before it was scheduled to begin). I made mini zucchini loaves and muffins, yogurt parfaits, and a breakfast casserole. I also made sangria and two cakes. For the cakes, the bottom layer was strawberry and the top was chocolate chip. I made the chocolate icing too. All the food got rave reviews.

The night before and I was hanging up streamers and cleaning I went through some of his baby clothes and started crying (I also started crying when I lit the candles for his cake). I can't really believe its been a year already. It has gone by so fast. I wish I could go back and take advantage of some of our time. Going through the clothes gave me a great idea. I picked some of my favorite things and hung them up on a makeshift clothes line in the apartment for the party. It was a reminder of how small he once was.

I also hired a lady to come in with music and instruments to entertain the kids. The birthday boy seemed more interested in putting the instruments in his mouth than playing them. I was hoping that the adults would participate more but just the kids and parents did.

All in all it was a great party. I love my son so much and I am amazed at how he really is becoming a little man with his own mannerisms and personality. I am so glad to have him.

11.5 Months

I didn't realize it had been so long since I have written. I often think that I should write a post but apparently I am very lazy. There is no other excuse since it really only takes 10 minutes to do this. Let's see where do we start....

The baby has 8 teeth now. He absolutely HATES having his teeth brushed. I hate doing it too since it is such a struggle. I have to tuck his left arm behind me and hold his right arm with my right hand and brush with my left. At least when its a big cry i can see all the teeth!

He isn't walking yet but it could still happen before his birthday. Since he cruised so early I though for sure he would walk soon. I'm not worried though since there are some kids at his daycare that are 2 months older than him and still not walking. Another thing that didn't help with the walking...

Last Friday the baby had a cast put on his right leg. The day before I noticed he wasn't feeling well and wouldn't put weight on his foot. We took him to the doctor the next morning who sent us to the emergency orthopedic. They said he had a fracture and he must have fallen. This was odd to us since we knew he hadn't fallen with us and he was fine after daycare on Wednesday so he probably didn't fall there. I was very upset and had to stay in the hall when he got the cast on. We didn't really think it was necessary but the doctor said we would be going against his medical advice. We took him for a follow up Thursday (and a second opinion) and she said there was nothing wrong with him and took off the cast. He immediately started cruising again and crawling. We were glad he was okay but angry they put the cast on in the first place. This is the 3rd time that NYU has messed up. The first time we took him to the emergency room they misdiagnosed him. Idiots. We will never go to that hospital again. Someone told us to go to Bellvue but that hospital takes all the criminals. We'll go to Beth Israel where he was born. At least living in NYC we have options.

The baby has gotten into trouble at daycare too. He started biting. (I like to call him Chompers) I later learned it was the same kid over and over. That kid hasn't been here this week and guess what, he hasn't bitten anyone. I watched that kid come over to him to play and put his hands in the baby's face. Of course he bit him. I admit the baby tries to bit us from time to time but we are teaching him its wrong. Daycare said that if he keeps biting he could be kicked out. In fact, they suspended him for a day for biting three days in a row. Not even a year old and getting suspended. I think that since it is one kid and my son was there first that they should move him to another room. Of course, I am biased.

He doesn't have a lovey per se but he loves his stuffed giraffe. He likes to hold it while sucking his thumb when he is going to sleep. Sometimes when we pick him up from bed he is still holding on to it. There is also this cheap white little ball we got from a happy meal. He will carry it around with him all day. It is crazy to me that his favorite toy is something so plain. After he got the cast I bought him a bunch of new toys to entertain him and one of his favorite toys was this white thing that was meant to be cargo for the train. I think his favorite color is white. To each their own. He also loves wheels. He will turn over any toy with wheels and roll them about studying them intensely. He could be an engineer when he grows up!

I am finding that feeding him can sometimes be difficult. We tend to give him whatever we eat including foods like enchilada, BBQ, slaw, chicken nuggets, etc. He is at the point where he doesn't get enough from finger foods so we still feed him baby food. He seems to get irritated with the baby food though and gets bored of feeding himself. I worry he isn't getting enough to eat. He loves goldfish (cheese and cinnamon), mac and cheese, frozen yogurt, and regular yogurt. I need to experiment with different options for him. I want to make sure he is eating enough. Oddly enough, he doesn't really like bananas. I thought kids were born liking them. When I went down south to visit family I gave him banana pudding. He loved it so I guess if they are coated in sugary crap he'll eat it.

His birthday party is two weeks from today. I honestly can't believe its been a whole year. I think back to those early months that were so hard and now when everything is so good. What a difference. I do wish I had taken more time to appreciate him. I am the kind of person who goes through the motions to get things done. Time to feed, time for a bath, time for bed that I don't always stop to enjoy. I am really going to work on doing that. I've already gotten teary thinking about him growing up. In two weeks he will technically be a toddler. He will always be my baby though = )