Adam turns ONE!!!

To begin, here are some pictures spanning the time since my last blog post:

May 30, 2010 - 8 months old

June 12, 2010 - Very concerned about the wonky noises coming from this toy with the dead batteries (lol)

June 15, 2010 - Bear Lake

July 3, 2010 (9 months old) - milkie coma! oh how I love the rosy cheeks and soft, blondy hair. :)

July 23, 2010 - playing with John's DS. (Somebody loves video games! chip off the ol' block)

August 10, 2010 (10 months old) - Bear Lake

September 4, 2010 - watching Sesame Street (and wearing a Beatles tie-dye... that's my boy!)

September 4, 2010 - playing the piano with Mama at Aunt Tricia's house

September 13, 2010 - playing with a new toy from Grandma M (and looking fly in the alien jammies)

September 13, 2010 - playing with Mama's phone

Well, our busy little bundle of joy has had his first birthday (leave it to me to be incapable of blogging about it for 3 weeks. The only computer time I get is when AJ is asleep in my lap, and one-handed blogging is not my strong suit). Birthday photos can be viewed here.

Where did this past year go? How do babies grow up so fast? This has been the most challenging year of my life so far, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I already miss it. It's strange how no amount of pictures, videos or journal entries can make up for that time. I was there, but in a way, I feel like I missed something. Every nanosecond of your baby's life just slips away like water through a sieve! Even though being Mama to this very active, highly spirited, fiercely attached, curious, expressive, extroverted, powerful and dynamic pre-toddler makes it nearly impossible for me to complete just about any other task in my life, I do allow myself the delicious indulgence of "putting off today what can be done tomorrow" just so I can hold him/play with him/look at him a little longer and relish this precious time we have together. I do it because I can, and because it's those delicious moments that revitalize my commitment to him and recharge my batteries. Being a mom is so hard, and most of the time I feel like I am not cut out for it, or at the very least doing it all wrong. I'm constantly exhausted, sore, disheveled, mentally and emotionally drained... at least once a day I find myself overwhelmed and wondering how I'm going to make it (and I only have this one little person as my only employer! Don't get me started on the kind of superhuman powers one must be endowed with to handle more than this. I am a colossal wimp). But I'm pretty sure every mom I've ever known has felt the same way at some point, so I should do my best to suck it up. (We do have our good days, they are just hard to come by.)

We love our boy so much, it's impossible to find the words to express it. He is so beautiful, and such a character, and it is amazing to watch him grow. These past few weeks in particular, Adam has appeared more mature each morning. We can see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice. Even his mischief-making (exploring/learning, I know) has matured. It's fascinating, although extremely challenging at times. I recently read a quote in a parenting book that seemed the most apt description of our toddler: "He has a very strong will, and an even stronger won't."

He's a typical 1-year-old in a thousand ways that are likely only thrilling to John and me. It's the unique little "Adam-isms" that I want to remember forever:

• he loves music, and he will "dance" to it whenever he hears it by waving his arms up and down (like the dancing banana in the Peanut Butter Jelly Time video). Occasionally, he'll tap his fingers to the beat or applaud at the end of a song. If he knows the song, he will call out the occasional word or sing along as best as he can. His favorite song is "Bananaphone." We sing together all the time, and he's finally warmed up to listening to the radio in the car, although for long car rides we do still need to sing to him after a while to keep him from crying. (He hates long car rides!)

• he doesn't walk on his own yet (he can, but he chooses not to. Not that I'm in any hurry to chase after him, mind you), so he is literally under my feet all day. He clings to me like velcro.

• he loves any gadget with buttons, beeps or lights (perfect distraction for diaper changes) and likes to pretend each item is a phone, by holding it up to his ear. This includes remote controls, video game controllers, and some of his smaller toys. He's obsessed with our cell phones and gets really mad when we use them for their intended purpose (thereby preventing him from playing with them).
  
• he really likes to make eye contact with people and I constantly find him flirting with cashiers, waitresses and the other moms at the park. At least twice a month I'm stopped by a lady in a store who finds it remarkable how expressive and communicative he is.
  
• when you ask him how old he is, he holds up his finger and says, "None!"
  
• he thinks it's hilarious when you flick water in his face, "boop" his nose, and hide toys in his shirt.
  
• whenever we empty the ice cube trays or put ice cubes into our drinks, he shouts, "ice! ice!" until we give him a little piece of ice to eat or play with.
  
• I painted my toenails for the first time in a long time a few weeks ago, and I guess they look delicious to Adam, because he's always trying to bite my toes. He laughs when I squeal at him.
  
• he loves Elmo from Sesame Street. He has two Elmo shirts and is constantly pulling them out of laundry baskets. Getting dressed in his Elmo clothes is pretty much the only time he doesn't protest a shirt going over his head.
  
• he hates wearing socks or being covered with a blanket.
  
• he likes to taste the bubbles in his bath; he'l lean down and dip his face in the bubbles for a second, then sit up and giggle with a big bubble beard.
  
• he uses the signs for milk, more, where, no and potty.
  
• he can say Mom, Dad, AJ, hi, sing, keys, cookie, cheese, ice, more, one, two, three, yeah, tree, yucky, hot, phone ("fhmmm"), binky, banana ("nana"), sun, star, fish, duck, door, light, off and on.
  
• he waves goodbye, but usually only after the person leaving is out of view.
  
• he will devour an entire peach, or a can of mandarin oranges, in one sitting. His other favorites are cheese, pears, watermelon, grapes, black beans, yogurt, ham, meatballs, and goldfish crackers. and chocolate!
  
• when he's eating something he likes, he'll make the sign for more, and if you give him more while his mouth is still full, he'll pull the food he's eating out of his mouth to make room for the new food. Even though it's the same food.
  
• he's outgrowing his pacifier now, but it's so cute to play "neverending binky" -- if he has a binky in his mouth and he finds (or is offered) a 2nd binky, the first one comes out and the second one goes in. Then he'll see the first binky in his hand (or we'll offer it, for fun) and he'll swap them out again. and again. ...and again.
  
• I don't remember teaching him these, but whenever you say "mouth" he will pat his mouth with the palm of his hand and say "Aaahhh." Also, he clicks his tongue ("tick tock") whenever he sees a clock (even a digital one).

Needless to say, we think he's super terrific and adorable and brilliant. We love making memories with him and hopefully we'll get to blog about more soon!

October 22, 2010 - USU Campus