And Now, a 1 -Year-Old

Our little baby turned 1 yesterday!

I was much more emotional about it than I expected. Munch was as well, looking at the newborn pictures and saying "Oh, I could cry." Me too, kid!

Hubs and I took the day off, as was our custom with Munch until he entered kindergarten. What do you do with a 1 year old? LOL. With Munch, we went to the zoo, but it somehow felt wrong to go on such a fun outing without big brother. So, we just spent the day together and that was special enough.

We had not yet gotten Crab furniture for his bedroom. Crazy, I know. Multiple factors, not least of which is that we decided to follow the American Academy of Pediatrics' new recommendation of keeping the baby in our bedroom for the first 12 months. Some may say crazy, but it was nice. So there was no need for a crib yet!

So, we went to Buy Buy Baby and found a convertible crib and dresser for our boy. Soon he will have a room all his own! I'm not sure he'll be happy with that, since I'm sure it'll be a transition... After that, we grabbed subs and the baby took a nap, so I wrapped his presents and watched Law & Order: CI for an hour LOL.

Then, off to our default go-to, Barnes and Noble. We walked around the pond and then hung out a bit. I bought more books (oopsie) and a cool one for Munch for Christmas. We had Starbucks and the baby played takeaway with Hubs' hat.

Then, it was off to Gramma's for dinner, cake, and presents. Crab ate a ton of cake! He just kept eating it LOL. As he sat next to his brother with a piece untouched--a tale of two personalities! He actually opened his presents and really seemed excited! Especially about the remote and the rolly elephant filled with Duplo blocks. It was a great time!

It's crazy to think he's a whole year old. In some ways, this year has seemed so long--we've had a lot of goings-on and changes. We bought a new house, moved, got the townhouse ready for rent, finally found a renter, Munch switched schools, oh and lest we forget I broke my foot 2.5 weeks postpartum, Crab got a cold at the same time, and honestly I had a very hard time with the first couple months of mother-of-two-hood.

Hubs keeps saying "I wish we could go back and re-experience the birth." I'm like, don't you remember Dr. J running in to check the heart rate every 10 minutes? Don't you remember the stress and fear? He was like "Oh right, I forgot about that." Whereas, I was so relieved the baby was born healthy and safely, that he was out and I could touch him, that I in no way want to imagine him back in! The newborn phase was very difficult for me, I remember being on the brink of panic and thinking, "I can't do this!" It took a long time to adjust to being tied to breastfeeding again, having to haul diapers around again, losing so much independence again. And of course the broken foot really complicated things. All because I needed a Jimmy John's sub. *smh*

But yet I remember the later part of maternity leave, when I was able to get around better, those days of long naps as Crab laid on my lap and I binged "Game of Thrones" LOL. Hauling the stroller out at Munch's school to pick him up and then going for a Starbuck. Sitting with the sleeping baby at Barnes and Noble. Those days, I miss.

Crab is the sweetest baby. Headstrong and stubborn, oh yes. I want him to be--I am intensely aware of the "youngest child syndrome," especially since we have two kids of the same gender. Already people are like, what presents do we get him--because of course Munch has every toy under the sun. He wears hand-me-downs and plays with old toys. As a second child myself--and the MIDDLE at that--I want both my children to feel special in their own right, for Crab not to feel in any way overshadowed or that what he is going through is any less worthy an experience because Munch went through it first, and because we went through it WITH Munch first.

As an aside, the other day, Munch was upset about who-knows-what, something we found trivial, and he said to Hubs, "You don't know my life!" No truer statement. I also don't want Munch to feel any less special either, because now we have the baby to dote on. My life is a constant balancing act and I fear that no matter what we do, oldest kids and youngest kids perceive the world how they do and we cannot stop it.

But I digress. The baby has come through his first year with some illnesses--mostly head colds, some fevers, his fair share of ear infections. No tubes (yet). The poor thing has eczema that I wish would clear up sooner rather than later. He LOVES food, most especially pizza and bread. He weaned himself at 9.5 months and is not terribly enthused about the bottle at any rate. He says "keeey" for kitty and loves his brother. He crawls like a champ and I love when he looks down to watch his legs moves as he goes. He pulls himself up and falls forward into waiting arms, but no walking yet. A little cruising. He cut six teeth, the top four all at once. He has a sizeable space between his front teeth because of the lip tie (which didn't have to be cut when he was first born), but that will only add to his charm.

When he's angry or frustrated, which is becoming more often now that he knows what he wants, he throws himself backward regardless of how hard the floor is--this causes serious flares of my anxiety. He will sit and wiggle his head from side to side and squawk like a bird to show you just how displeased he is. He loves balls and dances to music, rocking his hips front to back. He tries to climb the stairs, but then sits down, so someone better be right behind him. He has come into our bed every night since he was about 5 months old--we never really got over the 4-month sleep regression. When he falls asleep, he clenches his hands on the backs of my arms and leaves bruises, but I am willing to sacrifice my body for his comfort. His eyes are hazel and his hair medium brown. Only curly when he's sweaty or has bedhead.

He has a wave worthy of royalty, his arm outstretched high above his head. He loves to drink water. He has been on an airplane and gone to Disney World in the billion degree heat. He has been to Maryland, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, and Washington, DC. He experienced the solar eclipse in the shadow of the Blue Ridge Mountains. He has taken probably a dozen baths LOL. He loves to be in the water with his brother.  He claps on command, but expects you to join in. 

I could not love this second boy of mine more.