How time flies...

Wow!  Is Leo already turning 14 months old?  It seems like just yesterday that he turned 2 months... actually, I take that back.  I gave up dairy when he turned 2 months and in cheese years that is about a million so it feels like forever ago ; )  The past 2 months have whizzed by.  We have been keeping busy with a 6th anniversary trip, birthday parties (because Leo's little friends are also turning one!), and trading off date nights/sitting with Emily and Steve.  I also had a couple of movie nights in there. 

Leo is changing so quickly and it seems like things I was meaning to write down (things he was saying or doing)  are already just a memory. He is moving through sounds, expressions, and physical achievements at a rate that makes my head spin!  So while I can still remember let me try to write down some of these adorable things my baby Leo does...

Let's take it back to 2 months ago, Leo was saying bip bip bip bip ALL THE TIME.  That quickly turned into bup bup bup bup bup ALL THE TIME.  Now it is rare that I hear a bip or a bup from him.  It was so cute and I am so sad. : /   

Leo definitely lets us know what he wants... he started with simple pointing and a bip or a bup, then moved onto "dat" aka "that" and pointing.  His favorite foods usually reside on the top of the refrigerator (bananas, apples, and snap pea crisps) so he took to pointing up there, saying "dat", and signing hungry.  This was cute and annoying all at the same time because I really shouldn't be feeding my 1 year old only three things.  We had to get creative with where to put his foods and hiding them from sight as once he get it in his mind to have something he will not eat anything else.

Sometime in the past month, Leo started giving hugs and as he got faster on his feet he would come over and sorta rush me and give me a big hug.  I started encouraging those wonderful embraces by calling Leo and spreading my arms open and smiling.  If I caught his eye, he would come running (or fast walking) and give me a hug that melts my heart every time.  He loves it and so do I and he will even do it when we are in a crowded room (just as long as I catch his eye and he is not super interested in something else).  Evan takes part now and we will sit across from each other and Leo will run back and forth between us giving us hugs.

We got Leo a bike seat!  Can't wait to take a longer bike ride because so far he loves it.

Leo often wakes up saying a word "ball,ball,ball" "cat,cat,cat" "dat,dat,dat" or "da,da,da" in a continuous stream until the light comes on and he can go find whatever it is is on his mind.  In the past week he has added "book,book,book" to this habit and we often start our day by reading some of Leo's favorites. :-). On that same note, Leo will now "sit in your lap" and he does this by first handing you a book than turning around and backing up then plopping down.  It is so cute!

 

I started working on blowing kisses with Leo in January and it took him awhile as he really only started mid February to blow kisses but now he does it quite often and we usually send Dada to work with a hug and lots of kisses blown in his direction.   He has also taken to talking about Dada while at work and has even pointed to his picture we have on our wall shelf.  The other thing he does occasionally is say Dada when he gets my phone... I take that as meaning he wants to Facetime with Dada (which we do once a day generally).

Leo has learned about stomping his feet and will do so while dancing (that was the first place he did it in some miniature rendition of Flash Dance) and now will do it if I sing "If you're happy and you know it..."  or if I am reading a book and say "Look he is stomping his feet!"
This brings me to Leo's dancing... this kid LOVES to dance.  We have "dance parties" and he just loves it.  He recently started requesting it by pointing to our tv and dancing (our music comes out of the speakers).  Evan has started a playlist on Spotify of Leo's favorites. How do we know if a song is one of his favorites, you ask?  Well, a Leo favorite will stop him in the middle of whatever else he is doing and require some booty shaking, knee bouncing, and head banging.  The funniest is when he is in the other room and he hears a song come on that he loves.... he tries to walk and dance at the same time so that he can get closer to where the song is being played (he also used to do the same thing while crawling :)

I mentioned earlier about Leo learning to sit in your lap after handing you a book.  Well, he LOVES being read to now.  He used to be wiggly (still is sometimes) and not very interested but now it is evident that he gets books.  He points to things in all the pictures, wants books reread multiple times, will sign when he recognizes something, and ask "dat?" when he wants to learn about something,  he even remembers what Evan and I say or what sounds we make and will mimic us by pointing or making a sound on the pages we make them on (usually on the 3rd or 4th go around).  My friend Megan (she has a 8 month old boy) gave Leo a book called Hello Florida and even wrote a message for Leo on the back of the book, which I usually read to Leo at the end.  Leo loves this book and has been requesting it a lot lately by name.  He waves hello and signs more (or says "mor" because that is a new word this week!)  :)  Well a few days ago we got to the end of the book with Leo turning the pages and he closed the book to the back cover and points directly at the message from his friend and says "dat!"  I read the message, he smiled, he turned the book over and we read it again then... "dat!""dat!" (while jamming his finger at the message).  It was so cute I recorded it and sent it to Megan and now I get to share it with you.  This was our 6th time reading it in a row and Leo was getting tired but he still was doing some of his normal antics (he usually gets really animated while reading it with lots of signing and sounds from him) but he didn't disappoint when we got to the back page.  

This past week Leo has really started to climb... into his toy box, onto the cat tree, onto his toy piano then onto the chest it sits beside, the kitchen chairs... I could go on but I'll stop.

It is such an exciting time in Leo's life as everything he sees and hears is just absorbed and a couple of days later he can say a new word or make a new sound (just started "mooing" tonight!)  Or he makes a new connection with something I and/or Evan have been repeating to him for months.  He started saying "ice" last week... it sounds more like "ccccc" but he has done it when I ask him if he wants ice and he goes to the freezer and starts in on the sound. I love it... every day is a new adventure.  Some days are not as much fun because one of us is sick or just in a rotten mood but it is always an adventure.  I'm adding additional pictures to share with you below... Enjoy!

Dearest Baby Mine,

Less than a day old...

One year old. What a difference one year makes...

One year = 12 months or 52 weeks or 365 days or 8,760 hours or 525,600 minutes.  It equals to somewhere around 2,788 diaper changes or 1,095 missed hours of sleep* and countless hours in the rocking chair. It equals to 9,125 kisses or 18,250 hugs or 32,850 smiles*.  But there is no number or measurement that could calculate how this year has changed me or how much I love you, I do not even know the full extent of these changes.  I will never be able to return to my life before you, nor do I want to.  I am your Mother and I know that is exactly who I was meant to be.

2 days a mother...

9 months a mother...

I cannot believe that you are almost one, that a whole year has passed, but also that you haven't been in my life forever.  I feel like I've known you my whole life and was just waiting for you to get here.  Everyday you teach me something new... about yourself and about me.  You challenge me to reassess my long held views of life and love.  What it means to really live... what living is worth... what is love?  How can I express to you my desire to keep you from all harm while at the same time giving you the freedom you need to grow? Should I be imparting some great wisdom to you in this letter?  The answers to the questions above would probably serve but I fear I am at a loss to do so because I don't have all the answers, I am still figuring it out.  Instead I have decided to be honest with you about what this year has meant to me.  About how life-altering your beautiful existence has been for me...   

First smiles...

 When you arrived one year ago, I was ready... ready to hold you, to look at you, to know you but nothing could prepare me for all of that, I only thought I was ready.  But how can one ever be ready for such a crazy, mind-blowing, rush of excitement and responsibility? In hindsight, ready really wasn't the word for what I felt... let's say I was more than willing to become a mother and I delighted in all that I would have to do. That hasn't changed, but was I ready... ready for the emotional upheavals, sleepless nights, and truly paralyzing moments of fear?  I don't think so.  You don't get ready for motherhood, you learn how to be a mother from minute to minute, hour to hour, day to day and it can be scary as hell.  

On the day of your birth, I was laboring and laboring and then... surgery. Scary things being shouted all around me and knowing... knowing all too well that I was going to miss it.  Miss the moments I had waited for, for so long... your first cries, your first glimpse of the world, your first hours would be spent without me.  My heart broke for those lost hours and you entered this world in, what I consider, a traumatic way and I am so sorry for that.  I feel like I failed you... failed in giving birth to you and failed in being there to comfort you on your strange transition from my womb to the cold world.  I hate that I wasn't there.  Has it taken me a whole year to let go of those precious moments that we can never get back?  I hope not... I am still not sure.  I fear that when you hear that I had trouble piecing together my first emotions about you that you will think it was you but it wasn't, you were perfect and still are.  I felt like I had lost that special connection we shared when you were warm and snug inside me, when you were mine, and only mine.  From the first moment they handed you to me, I struggled to define how I felt about you... I felt responsible for you and I loved you in a way but I wasn't sure if it was enough.  My mom told me, that just like all relationships, you have to work at it and get to know each other.  I liked that thought as it gave me hope to think that our love would grow and evolve over time.  It wasn't a hit-or-miss feeling that had to be realized the instant you were placed in my arms, we had time.  I missed, and just wanted to continue, our graceful coexistence that we had had up until that point, it was so very easy while I was pregnant.  My greatest fear was not loving you the way you deserved to be loved...  it still is.

During your first few weeks of life, I rarely dressed you because I was told skin-to-skin helped with bonding... so we spent a lot of time skin to skin.  I held you, day and night, and I cried over you and what we had to go through.  I felt bereft if you were out of my arms for too long and I couldn't think about your birth without needing you held close against me. I thought about how you should be loved and I was so scared I wasn't good enough. I hope I have loved you the way you deserve this first year.

From the very beginning you have been a passionate little guy. I can't imagine where you get that from...  You hated diaper changes (still do), car seats (also, still not a big fan), and being put down.  You love eating, being held (particularly while sleeping), and exploring your world.  In between yelling over a dislike or demanding one of your favorite things, you are a thinker.  I can almost see the cogs in your brain turning.  I'm not sure what you think about exactly but there is no doubt in my mind that you are analyzing everything around you.  Even now as a one year old you are cautious and curious.  You make sure you know how things work before you try it out and you are very watchful of new things that you want to master.  A very common expression on your face is a furrowed brow.  Some people view that brow and your serious little mouth as a negative response.  After seeing it day after day though, I can tell you that you make it when confronted with almost every new thing and it means you are very interested in whatever is happening.  It is exciting to think about how you will use these traits growing up and, eventually, in a career.  I believe that you can do a great many things with your life and with the talents I already see. I know, however, that along your path in life you might find a passion that drives out all the other possibilities.  I do not want to narrow your scope and send you after just one possibility... you have far too many possibilities in your future for me to take any of them away at this point.  After you were born, I reread my favorite series, Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery, and came across a quote in Anne of Windy Poplars. 

“Babies are such fascinating creatures," said Anne dreamily. "They are what I heard somebody at Redmond call 'terrific bundles of potentialities.' Think of it, Katherine . . . Homer must have been a baby once . . . a baby with dimples and great eyes full of light . . . he couldn't have been blind then, of course.”

"Terrific bundles of potentialities"... what a wonderful and perfect way to describe babies, to describe you.  Never forget that you have potential, tons of it.  I've spent more time with you this past year then I have spent with anybody else, ever (other than my own mother, possibly)... both waking hours and sleeping, we have been together.  I know my love for you has evolved and I know it will continue to grow and change, as you grow and change.  As of right now though, I love you as your mother of one year, as your constant companion, as your guardian.  Love is not easily expressed in words but I hope you can feel my love for you through the thoughts that I have shared above
and in the memories we will share.
Baby of mine, I will always love you.
 

                                                                        Love Always and Forever,

                                                                                                      Your Mama

       

11 months

Dear Leo,

11 months!  Just a few weeks left until you turn 1! I can hardly believe it.  You started talking and walking this past month!  Your first word was kitty cat but sounds like "Ki cat" (with a very soft t).  When you say words for the first time you whisper them, which is just about the cutest thing ever. ; ) 

You have since started saying Dada and occasionally Mama (but most often you say it when you are crying in your crib) and we think we have heard you say kiss and definitely "hi".  Talking occurred around December 2nd and your first steps on December 14th.  They were from your dada to me and they were so cute!  You cannot know how proud we were of you as you took those first steps... you are growing so fast. 

You also had your first snow this month!  I bundled you up and took you outside and you could barely sit up you had so much padding on.  It got the better of you and you fell over but you just laid there, very still, watching the snow fall gently down on your face.  I think you were very intrigued by the snow...

11 months saw your first Thanksgiving, which we celebrated with our friends Doris and Greg and their daughter Melody.   Dinner ended up being ready so late that Melody missed the whole meal and you only saw the soup course.  :(  Right after Thanksgiving we got your first Christmas tree! (*see pictures at the end of post)  It was a small tree so that I could put it up on an old trunk we have, which I must say was brilliant on my part as it kept you from really getting into it.  I don't think that will work next year though.  ;)

You couldn't stop giggling with your cousin Tiernan!

The rest of December was a blur as I was sick and you were sick most of the time before we left for Florida.

We spent your 11 month birthday in Florida with your cousin Tiernan who turned 10 years old on the same day!  It was a great day full of family and love.  Can't wait to see what this last month of your first year holds!

Love Always,

Mama 

This month was exhausting!  I thought I would write my own update down here... so if you just came for the baby stuff you can skip this. ;)  Leo's 10 month and 11 month birthdays were both celebrated in Florida on 2 separate trips.  That, in and of itself, was a lot with the four 12 hr + days of travel and traveling back and forth across the state to visit family while there. Add into that infected fingers, mystery rashes (Leo, on both trips to Florida), hand foot and mouth disease (both Leo and I got it), colds, and oh yeah...Thanksgiving AND Christmas and it was like the perfect storm of exhaustion!  Don't get me wrong I love seeing family but all that in a month and a half time span was ALOT!  I am extremely grateful we didn't catch the stomach virus that was going around.  We were around a lot of people who had it.  I'm trying to rest up and catch up this week so that I can "get back in the game" so to speak.  On my agenda.... plan Leo's first birthday party, put together a yearbook for Leo's first year of life, start swim classes for Leo, try to fix my diastisis recti (by joining a class), and nap train Leo (once he is back on PST).  The last one is the one I am looking forward to the least as I am sure it is going to be a horrible couple of days. Currently, the little prince sleeps cradled in my arms three times a day.  I have no time to myself until Evan gets home or until Leo goes down for the night and that is exhausting too.  Sometimes I sleep in the rocking chair with him, other times I read or browse on my phone but it needs to stop.  For my sanity and for Leo's sake...

If I can get him nap trained then I can start looking into solutions for subbing more as I think a daycare would be possible.  I need to start working more often...

New Year's just passed and even though this blog update covers Leo's 11 month (which did not include NY 2013/14)... my main new year's resolution is to get healthy.  I (like I said above) need to work on my ab seperation (diastisis recti) and start working out more.  I also want to get more sleep so that I am not so grumpy all the time and so that I can accomplish the many things I want to in this new year.  Let's hope Leo cooperates ;)

Love to you all.     

P.S. Some additional pictures that were too difficult to incorporate into the post.

The nephews <3>

The nieces <3>

One of the better pictures from my Christmas photo shoot with Leo.

Adorable pic of my two favorite guys...about to break my pretty ornament : /

gimme, gimme, gimme!

 

The cousins (Sara is moving but you should have seen the other pics...lol)

Leo in our old rocking chair : )