Eleven Months

Today we met a girl that has a baby that was born in the same hour, on the same day of the same year as Isaiah.  We started our labors at the same time & pushed about the same amount of time.  What a crazy thing that our births were so similar yet so different (She gave birth in a hospital with pitocin & an epidural; I didn't). 

We talked about our plans for their first birthdays. 

Isaiah is turning a year old in one month. 

And how is he doing, you ask?  Since I've missed almost an entire month of talking about my little one...

He's saying mommy all the time now.  And dada and papa and nana.  I don't know if the last two mean his grandparents, but he definitely knows when he's calling his mother.  Although I still think he also uses it to call for food. 

About food, he is eating everything.  He pretty much hates baby food now, because he loves everything else.  Veggies, fruit, dessert, pork, beef, chicken, everything.  I try to order varied flavors for him to try so he develops a well rounded flavor preferences.  Tonight he ate his Nana's greens with smoked turkey & loved it.  He eats a lot of homemade tortillas, tamales, rice & beans because his babysitter's mother is cooking all the time.  It was really important to him tonight to try & feed himself.

He is doing really well pulling up & occasionally letting go for a good stand.  But no walking yet. 

He is doing a ton of crawling & already loves climbing the stairs.  The hallway & kitchen in the Briggs house is tiled, and he's had a few falls, usually when he's tired & isn't 100% confident in his stand.  He is crying less & less when he falls.  He doesn't cry at all when he falls on the carpet. 

But he has been crying lately just because.  For the past several weeks he's been sleeping less & being generally fussy at various times throughout the day.  And he's acting fussy when I drop off when I know he loves his babysitter.  I know because he smiles in anticipation when we're walking up to the house & laughs & smiles when he sees her.  But just cries when I let him go.

Here is a glimpse of his troubled soul.

He blew me a kiss this morning.  He gives high fives.  He claps a lot.  On his first Easter he crawled around, found eggs, & threw them in his basket.

Despite his somber moments, he's still mostly happy.  That's good, because I don't think I could survive without his smiles & laughs.