You Are My Sunshine: You Are So Beautiful to Me

12 month stats:

32 1/2 inches (100%)

23 pounds (60%)

Nosy-Posy,

Puddin' and pie.

Where has the year gone? It does not seem fathomable that you are one year old already!

You can not possibly have even an inkling of how much joy and delight you bring to my day. Your Dad and I constantly wonder where you got such a huge personality. You come from very quiet, reserved parents, but you are the opposite: bubbly, outgoing, gregarious, full of enthusiasm, engaging. It is so much fun to get to know you more each day as you grow and learn new things.

You love your Mommy...and the feeling is mutual! I have never met such a Mama's Boy, not that I mind in the least! So sweetly you shadow me around the house, crawling as fast as you can to keep up with busy Mommy. Whenever I pause, you pull up on my legs and talk to me while I work. And when I stop to snuggle with you or play a bit, you light up and giggle and so enjoy our play time. It is often difficult to leave you places because you tend to miss me...a lot...and you express this loss loudly and shrilly and without ceasing. You have yet to remain in the church nursery for the entire church service, unless Mommy is working in the baby area.

You have frustratingly been on a hunger strike for awhile now, although your weight does not seem to have suffered for it. The pureed baby food I have so lovingly homemade for you all these months is no longer palatable. It comes squirting back at me as fast as I shovel it in. Alas, you like very few big boy foods. Most things go in, are sucked on for a little bit and then pop back out of your mouth. And so you are being sustained by breast milk, bananas (you could seriously eat three a day if I let you!), animal crackers and yogurt. You will sometimes eat a piece of toast or a few bites of a grilled cheese sandwich. I really am surprised you have not lost weight! The screaming that is happening in the photo is because your yogurt is all gone. You had been nibbling on Cheerios, but once you spied the yogurt, the Cheerios were ejected. It seems that they stuck to your cute chin. You do relish your yogurt!

Your adoration of Big Brother continues. You strive to be right by him (if not on top of him!) all day. You get so excited when Owie takes the time to play with you. You put up with quite a few questionable games (sit on top of Noah, push Noah over, feed Noah random inedible objects, pat Noah on the head...with a baseball bat) just to be by O. Don't get me wrong, O loves you right back and often pauses in his play to smack a big, juicy kiss on your cheek. Sometimes he just gets worn out by your constant desire to play with him and his special things.

You are a speed crawler and cruise really well. Every so often, you will pull up and then let go, leaving you standing alone for a few seconds. Hooray, No-nos! You will be walking before we know it. I, for one, love the crawling stage and am glad you are still in it!

Your fit throwing is becoming more frequent, a sign of your determination, strong will and adamant opinions. I am excited to learn about these aspects of your personality which differ so drastically from your Brother and me, traits that give you such individuality. I continue to pray that the Lord will grant me great wisdom as to how to mold these wonderful characteristics of yours into the godly man God desires you to be. (I also pray for patience and understanding, as I restrain you from banging your head agaisnt the hard wood floor!)