Our 1 Year Old

Our 1 year old is still very happy and active. Andrew is always on the go. His walking is much better, but he still falls. As for his vocabulary, he says "dada" lots more than "mama". Drew will also sometimes says "mo" for "more." If he sees a dog (live or in a book), he will say "ro ro" as in the sound a dog makes. As for his signing, he can sign for milk, more, and eat. We are trying to teach him please, but he really isn't catching on to that one. Andrew does altered (meaning our own skewed versions) signs for water and all done.

Andrew understands what we are saying sometimes. I think he understands "let's go." I will tell him to get pick out a book and sometimes, he will do just that. He definitely does know the word book. He loves for us to read to him. The little rascal will sometimes pick the same book over and over again. He loves the touch and feel books. Andrew also really likes the Curious George Halloween book that Aunt Janine picked out for him as well as other character books with Sesame Street and Thomas the Tank Engine. Some of his other faves include Dr. Seuss, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Goodnight Moon, and Barnyard Dance.

He definitely cries and fusses when he doesn't get his way or wants something. But there are days where he hardly cries or doesn't cry at all. However, we do worry though about when he sometimes bangs himself (which is quite a bit and at times, rather hard), he doesn't cry.

Andrew is much better in the car seat now. Sometimes, he only cries when he is tired. We hypothesize that it's because he can see out the window or he has figured out that being in the car seat means we are going somewhere.

Drew has moved away from baby food and eats table food with us. He loves fruits and vegetables, such as grapes and carrots. He does have a sweet tooth like his mother too! Andrew does pretty good with meat as long as it's not too dry. He's pretty good about eating a variety of stuff. The problem lies more with how much he eats. Sometimes, he eats like a champ, but others, he would rather go play than eat.

As for sleeping, we have begun sleep training him, but only a small bit. We have started with working on him falling asleep by himself in the crib. So, he nurses or gets a bottle; then, we put him in the crib and wait for him to fall asleep. Sometimes, this can take 5 minutes, but other times, we aren't so lucky. Our next step will be for him to stay in the crib all night and put himself back to sleep.

Daddy and Mommy know we have a very good little boy; and we feel fortunate to be his parents. We love his disposition; his smile and laugh makes it all worth while. We are grateful for his health and happiness. It's been one fun year; and we can't wait for more.

Some pictures from his 1 year old photo shoot taken by our friend, Andrew, at Discovery Green, a very cool somewhat new environment-friendly park in Downtown Houston.