Dear Chris,
What a wonderful year this has been! I can't believe it was just a year ago that my blood pressure skyrocketed and I was sent to the hospital, and you were born! And now, you've gone through hundreds of diapers, nursed and gone through hundreds of bottles, tried every food imaginable, rolled, sat up, crawled, and walked. It's amazing how much has happened and how different our lives are.
So, here is where you are as a one year old:
- You are SO SMART! We have reached an age where you learn new things every day. When I change your diaper, I give you your brush to keep you occupied, and you will brush your hair (so adorable!). You discovered how to open the diaper pail and that if you put toys in, they will disappear..... yeah not so happy about that one. You love to play games and if we start a game (like peek-a-boo or passing toys back and forth), you never want to stop.
- Speaking of peek-a-boo, you love that, but most especially with your dad. He continues to be the one who makes you laugh the most. He will yell peek-a-boo as loud as he can, and you just love it! So while daddy makes you laugh, you still are a momma's boy. You prefer to be held by me always, will cuddle with me the most, and like me to put you to sleep. You do, however, love your Grandma Berrett a lot and will cuddle with her and reach out to her (which she absolutely loves).
- Your favorite toys: remotes, measuring cups and spoons, keys, pretty much anything you can put in your mouth so your hands are free to crawl, and your birthday present. It's a car that you put balls in, and then when you pull the gear shift the balls pop out. Yeah you love that because you love balls! You also love it when the TV is on. You will stand in front of the coffee table and slap your hands in excitement. You slap your hands in a funny way, one of them going up and down, the other doing this weird circle thing. So, it makes a strange rhythm. But it's adorable. You will point the remote at the TV, too, thinking it will just do something (another reason you are so smart!)
- You love to climb stairs. We do it every Sunday at church. You love to be cozy. You used to (and sometimes still do) know that it's bedtime when I put a blanket over you. When I do that, you will cuddle your little head onto my shoulder and I love it! You also show your love for all things cozy whenever we go in the car. I will strap you in, then lay a blanket over you and tuck it in, and every time the blanket goes on you, you let out this little fluttery giggle (your dad calls it the dove noise) because you love being cozy! It's so adorable. Your dad does the exact same thing when he climbs in his warm bed to go to sleep. Like father, like sone.
- Favorite foods: Cookie Crisp cereal, green smoothies, goldfish, applesauce.
-You are a good sleeper. You sleep really well at night, from about 7-7. Your naps are pretty good.... half the days you don't want/need a morning nap where the other half.... you NEED one. So you still take two naps, usually.
- You are still a generally happy baby. You love anyone who talks to you. You've started pretending to be shy, so when someone says hi you will smile and put your head on my shoulder (adorable!). But you still will be held by anyone and are happy to be so. You used to fall all the time as you walked, and still do pretty often, but you rarely cry. It's awesome! You're a brave, happy boy.
- You definitely let us know when you want something. You've started pointing sometimes, which is awesome. And other times, when you feel that you aren't getting what you want, you will cry and arch your back. And you have been getting loud.... We've tried baby proofing this house, but you just get into so many things. You pull things out of drawers, you rip paper out of books, you take things out of the garbage (how did you figure out how to get past that lid???), but man you can't baby proof everything. But you are slowly learning... I think.
- When you want something, but walking is too slow, you will crawl super fast. It's really cute: you will put your head down so you can crawl faster, and I often am afraid you will run into something because you aren't looking where you are going!
- You will walk across our whole kitchen now! Here's the timeline of your walking: End of October, you were taking steps holding onto a couch. January, you would finally take a couple steps to something that was close by. February 9th, you finally walked! And ever since then, you've been getting braver and braver. You like to hold my hand sometimes, but generally you walk by yourself. You've begun carrying toys around, too. It's been so fun seeing the change!
Well, my baby Chris, you're not really a baby anymore! You've graduated to a toddler. You are so fun, so cute, so happy, so cuddly, so perfect. We love you!
Love,
Mom and Dad
