One. Whole. Year.

I can't really put into words how important and special it was celebrating Benjamin's first birthday this weekend. I'll post about all the birthday details (though sad I didn't get all the shots I wanted of the food spread!) soon. It will take a bit longer than this post to get in order. Having a toddler is hardly something we're taking lightly. I knew we'd be celebratory at our childrens' birthdays always, but reaching our first ONE was just huge.

We had both families here this weekend and it was just plain special.

Let's recap his first year.

In Numbers:

Weight: 20 lbs, 9 oz.

Height: 29.5 inches

Shoe size: Still in 6-12 month Robeez with no plans to transition anytime soon. 

Clothes: 12 month, mostly

Food: He's eating everything but nuts. We'll be consulting with his pediatrician about introducing nut spreads into his diet soon. 

Favorite foods: yogurt, blueberries, oranges, bananas, peas, pancakes, pizza, nitrite/nitrate free hot dogs, meatballs (thank you, IKEA), cucumber, Goldfish & Annie's Bunny crackers, Veggie Sticks, pasta with marinara, tofu, bagels with cream cheese...

Drink: We're breastfeeding only wake time and bedtime, though the wake-up feed might be gone quite soon. We introduced whole milk on his birthday and he sucked the cup down. He's been drinking about 3 cups of that (one at each meal) since. Otherwise, he drinks water and an occasional smoothie if I make one.

Sleep: Naps 2x/day. First nap is 2 hours after he wakes in the morning and 2nd nap happens in the afternoon. Naps in his crib with an Aden & Anais blanket only. Nighttime routine starts around 8 p.m. and depends on when he woke up from his 2nd nap. Bath, teeth brushing, sleepsack, then Dad puts him down for the night after family hugs and kisses. He sometimes sleeps 13 hours with no wakeups and sometimes doesn't. 

Favorite Games: Loves to be chased around the kitchen island, open/close doors, empty cabinets of Tupperware and anything else he can find, explore the inside of the fridge, climb stairs, crawl insanely fast, play peek-a-boo, picking out all the Goldfish in a pile of Cheerios, hold his (transparent) plate after mealtime and look through it while making faces, play cars, play with door stoppers (especially the spring ones!), rolling balls & handing back to us {baby fetch?}, read books...

Favorite Toys: Anything you're playing with, cars, his new dump truck, anything he can suck on.

Favorite Book: Where is Baby's Belly Button & any flap book, really.

Mode of Transportation: Speed crawling and cruising. My parents saw him take a step toward them this weekend, but I think he still has a ways to go before he's fully walking.

Bad Baby Antics: Licking the metal floor vents, escaping the baby gate, crawling swiftly away from us, dropping his sippy cup on a regular basis just to hear it bang, trying to stick fingers into {covered} sockets, pulling out computer cords, chewing on cords, banging on shower doors, attempting to unroll toilet paper, chewing everything, standing and peeing in the tub

Happy Birthday, Baby Love.