One Year

Dear Otto,

Today you are 1 year old. That mere fact completely blows my mind. I know its cliche to say things like "It seems like just yesterday...." and "time flies" but REALLY! It does and it does.


We had a small celebration for your birthday last Saturday- just family and a few friends who happened to be in town. You are still very suspicious of strangers or people you don't see often, but we had a fabulous time. You have received some really neat gifts (mostly books- SCORE!) and I am touched that people are remembering that a year ago today, I went through HELL to get you here. Heh.

I say this every month but you are SO much fun right now. Every day leads to new discoveries and our sides practically ache from how much you make us laugh.

Here's a list of things you can do:

-WALK!! Granted, you only go a few steps (maybe 7 or 8) before plopping down or grabbing on to something but we are impressed. And the distance you can walk increases every day. Won't be long before I'm chasing you in supermarkets and cursing under my breath.

-Say stuff. So far, you can say the following: Dad, shoes, cheese, teeth, this, there he is (sounds more like he-is), yes, and I SWEAR I heard Mama this morning. Oh, and you can meow like a kitty and tweet like a bird.

-Sign. You are great at "milk" and are practicing "all done," "yes," "eat," and "water". I need to be better about signing please and thank you because I think you will pick those up soon. You are also nodding your head "yes" and shaking your head "no." (Um...the "no" thing? HILARIOUS. And sometimes frustrating. )

-Get jokes: You are starting to make your own jokes and laugh at them. Just last night, you were smacking my leg and laughing uproariously. You love it when I crawl around the room, chasing you, and think its incredibly funny when we use the coffee grinder. (Now that I think about it, you're probably just laughing at the fact that its decaf and we still seem so desperate.)

Your 12 month doctor's appointment is on Friday, so I guess we'll find out at that point what all your measurements are. I also plan on asking the Dr. for input on pump weaning and giving you cow or some other milk while at daycare. I'm ready to be done with the pumping already!! But I am incredibly proud that we got through the first year and never ONCE has formula touched your lips. Go us!!


Speaking of food, you are turning into a great little eater. Your number one, super-duper Favorite food is frozen blueberries:

You are also wild about mandarin oranges, banana, chicken, frozen peas, carrots, crackers, rice, pancakes, and I'm pretty sure you were in 7th heaven with the piece of birthday cake you had the other day.


Things you DO NOT like so far include stir-fry that your dad makes, salsa (mild), and broccoli.

Also, cat food is apparently quite delicious. Who knew?


You are still not a great sleeper, a fact that I have just decided to accept. I don't have the time or energy right now to 'sleep train' and I question a lot of those methods anyway. You still wake up 2-3 times a night and sometimes we can get you back down without nursing, but a little milk remains the quickest way to put you back in dreamland. You are still spending half the night in bed with me and as long as you actually sleep, and I can function at work the next day, its really not that bad. We are works in progress, no?

Oh, and your hair gets redder by the minute:



All in all, you are a fantastic little person and I'm so pround to be your Mama. You amaze me every day with your intelligence, perseverance, affection, learning and your overall adorable-ness.

Happy first birthday, my love!

Mama