12 months!

Happy 1st Birthday, Nathaniel Isaac!! My baby boy has grown up so much within a single year--I am shocked that he's a year old already, but so proud of all that he's learned! To a certain point, I am sad that he's leaving babyhood and all that it entails, but we are having so much fun as he enters toddlerhood.

Nathaniel is crawling now, so he is into everything! More often than not, I see his little bottom headed the opposite direction than me as he explores the house and learns his newfound freedom. He is getting to be able to crawl very quickly, but he stops often to stand on his head!

After only three days of crawling, Nate started pulling himself up to a standing position on the furniture. He usually only pulls up if there's something that's he's trying to reach (IE: books, newspapers, cups, phones, the remote, anything on the coffee table!).

A favorite activity now that he's on the move is practicing the single step that leads from the living room to our bedroom. Nate goes up and down, and up and down, over and over again!

One of Nathaniel's favorite toys right now is his wooden block set, which he loves to knock over when we stack them for him. He also enjoys his ring stacker, his little toy cars, his farm animal set, and, of course, his teddy bear. I love to watch Nate explore and experiment with new toys/items. First, he'll turn the object over and over in his hands to look at it. Then, he squeezes it, and, if it's flexible/soft, he'll try to rip it. Next, he waves it around in the air and pounds it on the floor or another toy. He often knocks two toys together (such as blocks) to hear what sound they'll make. I am fascinated with his process of learning, and I love to see him explore his world!

To my pride and joy, I think that Nate's very favorite activity right now is looking at books! He loves to drag all of his books that he can reach out, then sit in the middle of the stack and flip through the pictures. He will sit for 15 or 20 minutes at a time, just looking at pictures in his books. He enjoys board books, as well as books with real pages--and as of yet, he has not ripped or scrunched any pages. His very favorite is a picture book about Noah's Ark.

Nathaniel's verbal skills have really soared this past month; he can say several words, and his intonations are starting to sound like real conversation. He can say mama, baba (dada), mummm (yum), keekee (kitty), Gogah (Grover), and several more that we're not quite sure of the meaning yet!

Speaking of his words, Nate loves all of our animals! We have two cats and one dog, and he adores all three of them. Whenever he sees any of them, he squeals, waves his arms, says the appropriate word, and crawls to them as fast as he can! The cats tolerate him, although they're learning to stay just out of reach. The dog loves Nate, and they can often be found rolling around on the floor together!

As I mentioned a few days ago, Nate has been experiencing some major stranger anxiety. He is fine at home, but generally does not want to be held by anyone except Mommy or Daddy when we're out. If he's tired, a friendly smile and "hi" from a stranger is enough to reduce him to tears. While it's rough on both us and Nathaniel, I am not too worried about this stage. I know that it's actually a sign of a healthy parent/child relationship, and he will eventually outgrow it.

Nathaniel's sleeping habits have finally evolved to a wonderful schedule! He takes one nap most days, which is usually between 1 hour to sometimes 3 hours! Occasionally, he will take a brief second nap while we're in the car. Nate goes to bed around 7 or 7:30 PM, and he usually sleeps straight through the night until about 8 AM. He still sleeps in our bed most nights, although we are planning to start a transition as soon as he's finished teething because he's turning into quite the little bed hog!

Nathaniel has turned into an eating machine! We have totally moved on from purees, and he is loving regular table food. Some of his favorites include spaghetti, grilled cheese sandwiches, yogurt, peaches, baked sweet potato with cinnamon, cheerios, strawberries, watermelon, and steamed carrots. Of course, that ice cream cone at Lakeside was a huge hit as well! We are planning to have spaghetti tonight for Nate's birthday dinner, and then he'll get to sample his first birthday cake!
I am still nursing, although Nathaniel has started the weaning process on his own. He nurses before bedtime, when he wakes up in the morning, and once during the day (before naptime). We have started him on some whole cows milk, but he's not much of a fan. I have discovered that he will drink more milk if I warm it a little, but we still have a way to go until he's drinking three glasses a day!

Happy Birthday, darling boy! I love spending my days with you, and I cannot wait to see what you learn and how you grow during our next year together. I love you, Nathaniel!