Happy Birthday Mitchell!!!

Happy Birthday Bubs!

...the days are long, but the years are short. Oh how true. Where oh where has this year gone? Our bibiti is one year old already. A year ago at this time I was recuperating from the C-section, somewhat from the shock of having a boy (I was sure it was a girl for some reason), and that we had in fact had another baby and all was well. We named him Mitchell, which for the first few hours I was totally second guessing. Now? It is so him. And what a boy. My tears well up just thinking of this past year. Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for this precious gift. We all do. Marlee routinely "loves him" and tells him how cute he is. Matthew wants to carry him around and have him participate in just about everything he does (not technology but that is another story). Cierra loves to ask him "where's your mommy?" and gives him tickles or entertain him while I get ready for school. He is indeed a precious boy.

We gathered as a family on Sunday to celebrate the birth of our number one Chi Chee. He had his first taste of icing and a little bite of cake, received some great gifts and basked in the celebration of himself.

On his birthday we continued the balloon tradition and he awoke to an assortment of balloons and banners celebrating his birthday. He loved it!

On Friday (his birthday) I took his final [25] on the 25th. It was never really 25 but I goofed up in the beginning and forgot which animal I took pictures of so I started doing the three main ones he got as birth gifts. This is one of my faves this month.

Now for a trip down memory lane, starting with moments after he was born...

...to a wee young thing!

...changing to a cool dude! (We'll have to see if these glasses stay on better this summer!)

We moved then to the more "alert" stage - watching and waiting and taking EVERYTHING in...

Then we had the INTERACTIVE stage where he "chatted with everyone we meet...

And then a NOISY and continuous EXPLORATORY stage...

And even more Exploring... and some Moving...

And here we are at one year of age...

• He last weighed in at 21 lbs 10 oz (just about time to switch car seats!)


• Physically he is still doing the commando crawl with one leg underneath - hey why mess with what works? He pulls himself up to furniture easily and is walking around it. We haven't done much finger walking at this point. He loves couch and pillow diving but this is much better on the carpet then on the hardwood. He knows how to crawl up the stairs but not down and gets frustrated on the one step landing where he gets stuck.


• He has 8 teeth.


• He is just starting to wear his 12 month clothing.


• He is eating mostly what we eat (I avoid out and out sweets and junk food). His favourites are carrots (raw and cooked), muffins, bread, applesauce, some meats and some cereals. We are still nursing on demand. Lately he has taken to pulling though and I'm not sure what to do about that. We are working on giving him a little cup of water but he doesn't quite have the hang of it. I haven't tried a bottle since a month or so ago as there hasn't been a need. Baby led weaning is going well although I admit there is more waste then was let on. But lets just say that when he tastes it and immediately spits it out well....


• He is still one of the most easy-going kids around. He rarely cries - only for needing something and protesting but is easily distracted or persuaded. He has an amazing laugh and an infectious smile.


• He is on a similar sleep routine as last month. He is getting up (or woken up) between 6 and 7am and goes back down for a nap around 9am. He sleeps for a good 3-4 hours daily. When we go to school at 3pm he routinely falls asleep at some point and will have a 1-1/2 hour nap then too. He goes down to bed by 9 or 9:30pm and has another feeding around midnight and sometime during the night (in bed with me). I should be working on this but in all honesty don't really care until those nights when he is rolling around from 4-6 not really eating but not really sleeping. (I had a few this past week). I may be enlisting in Drew's help soon.


• Pottying as to be expected. He has a regular pee upon waking (wet) and then depending on our morning a few catches or misses before school. He has been waking up wet again but goes pee again for me on the potty. Until we go to school at 3 we will have a 3-4 pees and usually a BM - some caught some not. He usually wakes form school dry and has another pee and Drew will usually put a diaper on him for some carpet time until dinner. He is often dry until bath time and then again until bed. I try to change him at his midnight feeding and put a doubler on him for the remainder of the night. I rarely have a poopy diaper (we did on holidays and yuck - so glad how this is working out!). I am still using the diaper service but I admit that I am itching to try the whole cloth diapering completely on my own. I just hesitate as i really like to support small business. I still need to think about this.


• He is a good communicator. He is coming up to Drew a lot more now. It is so sweet to see him burying his head in his legs or shoulder. He is really enjoying dad. He is using a few signs interchangeably but we are just encouraged that he is using them. I'm sure more progress will follow. He is doing some exaggerated nodding of yes and no as well - too cute.


• He loves to watch the boys play hockey and if he is upstairs while they are doing it he will stand there shaking the gate - it's quite a sight! He loves to chase the hockey ball with his mini stick. He follows balls or plastic eggs or anything that moves around the house. He loves the phone and the ipods or pounding the computer whenever he gets a chance. He loves the pots and pans drawer as well as the plastic dishes drawers. Dishes are routinely all over the floor.

So Mitchell... We love you and are so thankful that we have had this year with you. You are a total blessing and you bring so much joy into our lives. We can't wait to see what this year brings but we are anticipating lots of movement, lots of sand play and lots of infectious giggles. Keep 'em coming bud! WE LOVE YOU!!! We are sooooo glad you are a part of our family!