one year old.

my sweet sweet baby.  it's now been a whole year since you were even due (!), and a little over a week since your first birthday.  i would apologize for the lack of fanfare surrounding your birthday, but you loved it anyway.  you're so good about going with the flow of whatever is happening, especially if it enables snacks or music.  we are really so blessed to have you as a part of our little family and we adore you.  

physical: at your 12-month appointment, your stats were about the same: 
- height: 29" (25%)
- weight: 23lbs, 12oz (60%)
- head: 48cm (95%)
you still have only five teeth, but i SWEAR a new one (or six new ones) will be out any minute.  your blonde hair is turning into a little bit of a mullet, but i will seriously never cut it because i just love it.  

likes: you're obsessed with music - playing it and dancing to it non-stop.  you love emme and are fascinated with trying to do anything she's doing.  bath time is fun time.  you got a nice pile of toys/work for christmas and your birthday, and you really love all of them - especially your workbench and your dog guitar.  

dislikes: being denied anything you want to do.  sleeping past 5:30 a.m.  

biggest achievement of the month: saying mama is my favorite of the things you've started doing.  you're also pointing non-stop, consistently responding with "so BIG", and waving bye-bye at the appropriate times.   

biggest challenge of the month: transitioning off bottles - we're doing cow's milk for you at school and it's been fine, except you really loved bottle time.  this has also meant a certain degree of weaning for me, and that's just been hard (more from an emotional standpoint than anything else).  we're still nursing morning and night, but i no longer pump, and i try to only offer you milk in a cup at home.  it just breaks my heart that you're this big already.  

nicknames: i can't believe i haven't mentioned: brosef, brochacho, na-bro-leon, anything with bro integrated.  

sleep: well, i think you're pretty consistently sleeping through the night now.  that is, you're down from 6:30/7-5:30 or so.  so, not quite as long (or as late) as i'd like, but we'll take it!  we will work on keeping you up a little later and hope to get you to sleep a little later in the morning, but so far you're having none of it.  you're trying to drop your second nap, but this is a tough transition for you my bug.  

temperament/personality: you are really a laid-back, independent, happy baby.  you escalate and de-escalate quickly.  you're non-stop fun.  

eating: i can't fully express how thankful i am for another good eater.  the other day i made cauliflower and broccoli with lemon zest and i am pretty sure you put down at least a full cup serving.  you're awesome.   

motor development: you're on the path to walking but not there yet.  you're really content at being a fast and dynamic crawler, so we'll see what happens over the course of this month...

happy birthday my darling boy.  please slow time down just a little bit so i can relish this incredible time.