Moving On

Since the ten- and eleven-month posts never happened, I posted the month-old pictures here along with his one-year picture. It looks like he grew into a toddler between ten and eleven months, although he's always been a big boy. The bear didn't tower over him for long!

At Micah's one year doctor's appointment, he weighed 24 pounds, one ounce and measured 30 1/2 inches. So that means he gained exactly 15 pounds and grew exactly 9 inches in one year. The appointment didn't end so well: shots and a blood test. He cried for exactly 0.02 seconds each time and then went about playing with whatever was in reach. I like that he's tough like that, I don't like crying/wimpy kids. I shouldn't say don't like, I guess I should say I wouldn't prefer to handle them. Dates back to kindergarten days when kids used to cry and whine for attention. Then we had to launch into the whole there-are-other-more-acceptable-ways-to-get-attention speech. Anyway, Uncle RyRy and Auntie Yana picked up Micah so I could rest for a bit (still being sick and all) and all was long-forgotten.

Micah's been up to a lot these past few months. Talking and walking and running and climbing and reading. He even tries to go certain down stairs without holding on to anything. Little daring, but that's nothing new. His favorite places are the car and the back cellar where there are whole new worlds to explore. Grandpa installing the new boiler in the cellar makes it all the more interesting!

He's sleeping really well still. A few blimps on the screen here and there, but nothing that ever turns into a bad habit. He's still taking two 1 1/2 to 2 hour naps everyday and going to bed at 8pm. He's so much fun to play with, especially with his personality and his quirks. Nothing gets by him, he's always watching and now he's trying to imitate. His newest thing is when you ask him where something is, such as, "Micah, where is your drink?" His response will be, "Hmmm??" in a questioning voice. It's really funny. And then he's off to look for said object or person.

What else? I turned the Bumbo seat into his booster seat a few months ago. He's at the table with us, which I like better than the highchair. I bought him a wooden bowl (I'm ridding myself of as much plastic as possible!) and he fed himself with a spoon the other day. I didn't really expect him to, I just set the bowl in front of him and gave him a spoon and showed him how to use it. Then I went off to load the dishwasher and when I got back, half the food was gone! And it wasn't on the floor, either! On the subject of ingesting, yesterday was the first day in Micah's life that he didn't nurse at all! :( I remember the days when I couldn't wait to be done with having him attached to me all.the.time. At his one year appointment, I asked the doctor if he could simply get his dairy from yogurt and cheese and kefir, but she said he'd need more calcium than they could provide. I'm not impressed with cow's milk because by the time they're done homogenizing and pasteurizing it, there's not a lot of nourishing stuff left. I debated goat's milk, and still might alternate it with the organic cow's milk (still not great) we bought at Whole Foods. I know I was really blessed to be able to successfully nurse as long as I did, so I will be grateful for that and do the best I can with my current options. The verdict? Micah LOVES the stuff! He drinks it without a problem and when he's done, he'll ask for more. The dr said to give him 20 ounces, but I think I'll do 16 because he gets calcium from other foods he eats (and eats and eats...).

Besides eating, Micah likes to talk. He talks to himself and makes himself laugh, too, which makes anyone around him start laughing, too! He says thank you more than please and is always quick to point out any "dog!" we see. Obviously, he understands a lot more than he can say, and he listens for the most part. Sometimes he'll have an attitude about it, but he'll still listen. And he's still great about putting things back, which always amazes me for some reason. If he doesn't remember to put something back, we'll remind him, "Micah, that book doesn't belong there, can you please pick it up?" So he will and he won't hand it to us, anymore, he'll put it back. The other day, we were coming in from outside and I hadn't closed the door behind us yet, so M toddles on over to it and shuts it and then goes about his business of playing. Hopefully I'm not witnessing the beginnings of some OCD tendencies like his daddy!

I'm sure I'm missing a few things (like his ability to point to his eyes, nose, and belly!), but I recently joined PaperBackSwap.com and am swapping books like crazy (I shipped 10 out in the first few days and am shipping another 4 out today!), so I have to go wrap them while Little Man is sleeping. Otherwise I'd have some unwanted "help."