Owen -
You are ONE! We survived the first year! That, in itself, calls for a party - ha! :) The past year has absolutely flown by & it seems like just yesterday that we were in the hospital about to meet you. On the other hand, I don't remember life without you in it & can't imagine it any other way.
Oh, the sleep. You have been such a good sleeper the past few months.. up until a week or so ago. A double ear infection + cutting your molars = not the best sleep. You are back to waking up multiple times nightly because you are in pain. Not only that, but you are even waking up at 4-5am sometimes for the day & absolutely refusing to go back to sleep. We have tried to move your bedtime back to try to prevent this, but it doesn't change anything. I, obviously, am not going to let you cry this out since you are crying for other reasons, so me & you have spent many-a-nights rocking in your room. Those long nights & middle-of-the-night snuggles take me back to your newborn days. We both doze on & off.. then momma chugs her coffee in the morning :-) You take 1-3 naps daily, but on average you take 2.. one in the morning & one in the afternoon. Both last anywhere from 30 minutes -1.5 hours. The third nap is sometimes thrown in there in the evening at around 4 just for 30 minutes. I'm hoping once you get over this sickness & cut those molars, you'll get back into the swing of sleeping 8-6. We can hope!
You seem to learn things at lightning pace! You are standing for 1-2 minutes at a time & have taken up to 4 steps, but you get so nervous & fall when you realize what you're doing. You will walk beside us holding 1 of our hands & love to push your toys around on the floor while walking. I know if you just let go of your toys, you'd walk no problem! Silly little boy! You clap & wave at us & love doing so. One of the funniest new things you have learned are "moooooo" & "ba-ba-ba" when referring to the cows & chickens at Maw-Maw's house. You adore looking at the animals at her house & will gladly tell us what noises those animals make! I wish I could get it on video because it cracks me up every single time!
Speaking of maw-maw's house, you have officially started daycare. We always said that we would start you in daycare at 1 year.. mostly for social interaction with other kids. Your first official day was on Friday, November 2nd. You went 1/2 day & drop off wasn't horrible. Your daddy & I both dropped you off to see how it would go then went & ran errands, then both came to pick you up. You went right to Ms Kimmy & ate lunch. They said you cried after we left.. but I'm glad I didn't see it! You started going full days the following Tuesday. Momma was working so daddy dropped you off. Drop off wasn't quite as smooth, to say the least. Your poor daddy text me saying that it was SO incredibly difficult to see you cry for him when he left. Ms Kimmy said that she had to rock you the entire day & you wouldn't eat or play. I know you're in excellent hands but it's so tough to hear that you aren't happy there. We're hoping we can put you in an extra day per week to help the transition go a little smoother. Fingers crossed!
(where did my baby go?!)
You eat 3 meals a day plus 1-2 snacks. You still eat pretty much anything we put in front of you, except since you've been sick. We are slowly transitioning you to all sippy cups, so right now you are down to 3 bottles. You get only 2 bottles of formula a day (afternoon & bedtime), otherwise, it's whole milk. You take 6-8 oz of formula/milk per feeding. You have to have your milk heated slightly (I'm guessing since your formula was always room temperature), but you have no problem with the taste of it. We are playing around with types of sippy cups, because you aren't always wanting to drink milk out of them. I'm hoping this transition is easy!
You had your first Halloween! You were the most adorable Batman, if I do say so myself. You weren't too sure what to think of everything & just wanted to get into all the wrappers. You got quite the array of bibs, sippy cups, suckers, & goldfish. Like I said earlier, you do have a double ear infection (boo!) & were diagnosed with that the day before Halloween. You aren't liking your antibiotic too much & spit it out pretty frequently. I'm hoping that it is enough though for you to get over it though!
(it's the best I could do with a constant moving 11 month old who just wanted to sleep)
You are in size 4 diapers, 12 month- 2T tops (depending on the brand), & 12-18 month pants/jeans. You still have 8 teeth but I'm hoping that changes over the next week or so.
(not a fan of "cake smashing")
Height: 32.5 inches (99%)
Weight: 24 pounds, 7 ounces (72%)
Head circumference: 49.7 centimeters (98%)
(to say that you didn't want to do the blanket shot would be a huge understatement!)
Owen, the past year has been the most rewarding, yet the most challenging year of my life. Through all the sleepless nights & worries that come with being a first-time parent, I wouldn't change one thing about it! You have taught me so much about myself & make me such a better person. You are the absolute best thing about me & I cannot imagine my life without you! You will always be my baby boy & I will always be on your side. I'm so blessed to be your momma & watch you grow. I'm excited about what the next days, months, & years bring! I love you to the moon & back!!
Love,
Momma
