twelve months.

My boy is a year old! And after many cloudy, rainy, poorly lit days, we finally got some sun, so I took my little one-year-old outside for some 8-days-late birthday photos.

This boy is such a character. He is so silly. He has developed a fake laugh, if he hears someone laughing he will most likely employ is fake chuckle. Like that one time in Sunday School when someone said something funny and we all laughed and, once we had stopped, S chimed in with his fake laugh. He's cute.

He has eight teeth now. He likes to use those sharp little piranha teeth to nibble on unsuspecting toes. And knees. He bites my knees and it tickles. Weird kid.

He is 18 lbs and 31 inches!

He loves his milks more than anything in the world. He eats solids, but not very much. Well, mostly he hates baby foods. If I'm eating something, though, he has to have some. He'll hover around me, shouting at me, until I give him a bite. And then he starts back up before he's swallowed the bite I just gave him.

He is a toddler. He walks all over the place now. I mean, he will always and forever be my baby, but you should see him go. Sometimes he'll be crawling around and I'll say to him, "Up! Stand up! Stand up!" while pointing up, and he will stand himself up and continue on with his business.

He is fascinated by garbage cans. Whenever he sees the opportunity, he'll sneak into the kitchen and start digging for treasures. It kind of drives me nuts.

We recently started working on teaching him "ball", by bringing out a ball and playing together while saying and signing the word "ball" to death. But, it seems to have paid off, because now, when he sees a ball, he quickly toddles to it while excitedly repeating "Boh! Boh! Boh!" He uses the same sound when referring to one of his sister's dolls.

Speaking of dolls, he has really taken to baby dolls, and will frequently hug them close as he wanders about the house.

He's sleeping in his own bed at night. He usually falls asleep (in my arms, with his milk) between 9:30-10 pm, and stays in bed until, I don't know 4 or 5 am, I think. (I usually only have enough strength to stumble my way to his bed and back to mine, checking the clock is the furthest from my mind at that point.)

He really loves his mom. He is always with me or near me. It has been interesting to watch him when there are other people around. He's pretty content to go explore and check new things out, but he always comes right back to me. To check in, I guess. Make sure I'm still there. It's cute. Sometimes, though, when I could really use 5 minutes of peace, he likes to stand and my feet and sob like his life will end if I don't pick him up. Character.

He also really likes my phone, and will sometimes allow that to distract him from his desire to be with me. (Making that occasional 5 minutes of peace a little bit more possible. Although, it still doesn't happen because I have 3 other children and, naturally, at least one of them wants my attention at any given moment. Ah, motherhood.)

I really love this little baby of mine. Sure, he's wiggly, and he drives me nuts when he's nursing because he won't hold still and likes to stand on my lap while he's supposed to be cuddly... But he is just too sweet. When he's asleep in my arms, with his weight on my chest, and his cheeks fluffed up to double their normal size...(how is it that babies cheeks get bigger when they sleep?) ...When I get to cuddle him like that, it kills me. It is such a beautiful time, cuddling his sleepy self, but also sad, because I can see how much he's grown, and I know he'll just keep growing, because that's what these rascals do.

Mr. Boss thinks I'm crazy, because when I try to explain how I'm feeling with my sleepy boy peacefully resting on me, I usually say things like "I just want to eat him!" or "If I could just absorb him into my skin and keep him with me forever..." Yes, I'm weird.

Anyway, enough of this. All these cute pictures are reminding me that I have a really cute baby that I need to go and cuddle, or possibly tickle.

And here's a little compilation of Cupcake's first year:

his birthday is next month

*Still hanging out at 17 lbs, but taller still at 30 inches.

*Loves baths. If he sees that the bathroom door was left open he will race in there just as fast as he can, pull up to the edge of the tub, and lift his leg like he's trying to climb in.

*Loves mama. I continue to be his most favorite person in the world, and the only other person who he lets hold him is his papa. Others are allowed to talk to him but try to pick him up or take him from me and he gets upset.

*Cruises along everything. To get across the room he'll crawl, but as soon as he can he'll pull up. He does a lot of standing, and sometimes he'll let go.

*Is dabbling with walking, but only when we "make" him. We'll stand him up, and step away a bit. Sometimes he takes 2-3 steps, the most he's done is 5-7 steps. Sometimes he will just stand where we set him for a while, or he'll drop as soon as we let him go. He has to be in the right mood, I guess.

*Says "mama" and "dada" pretty frequently, and is starting to imitate sounds. I'll get a little stuffed puppy and make it bark at him, and he'll respond with "ufffff...ufffff...". He also makes a noise, it's a growl-coo and sounds like a baby wookie or a pigeon.

*He was really slow to become interested in eating solids, but now? If I'm eating anything, he wants it. He's always reaching for my food, my spoon, my fork, and he'll shout at me if I take to long to give him another bite. He'll eat baby food, but he's most interested in what mom has. (Isn't that how it always goes?)

*I've sort of retrained him to sleep in his bed at night. Some nights are great, and he'll be in bed until anywhere between 5:30-7:00 am. Other nights he'll go down alright, but be up at 2 and spend the rest of the night in bed with me, happily suckling. But the nights of him absolutely refusing to be in his bed seem to be past us, mostly.

*He is happiest when he is in physical contact with me. This can be pretty stressful for me, especially if I'm trying to get something done. So, he is frequently attached to my back, freeing up my hands to cook and clean. He's also strapped to my back when we go on walks, or when we're running errands. He even naps on my back. Everybody wins when S is in the ergo. Except for that day when he puked on me, or the day that he got a bloody nose on me... But let's not talk about those.

*He has 7 teeth, four on top, three on bottom. He likes to use them, but (thankfully) avoids using them while nursing, for the most part.

*It is out of control ridiculous that this boy will be one in less than a month!

He kneels down a lot. Soon, he will be standing himself up...
He's taking a few steps right here!
And....we're done.

10 months

Baby Pudge is 10 months old (as of yesterday). 10 months! Two months from his birthday! What?! Seriously, this is going way too fast.

--As of today, S has four teeth. The third popped out on Sunday (7.7), the fourth broke through yesterday. These two are on the top right, first the lateral, then the central incisor (for anyone who cares....or just for me.)

--This kid does not hold still. So, he figured out mobility last month and quickly went from army/caterpillar crawl, to hands and knees crawl, to pulling up on furniture, to cruising around along the furniture, to taking three steps in front of everyone in my sunday school class. I died a little, sitting in my seat and watching him along with everyone else. And head bonks are a regular thing now. Why do they have to grow up so fast?

--His favorite thing, in the whole wide world, aside from never holding still is eating. He will open his mouth for a spoon, but food on a spoon is not as appealing to him as a cuddle and some mama milk. Which can cause problems, because he wants his milk, but he wants to move. (Thus making for a very frustrating situation for me.) If it is nap-time or night-time, he will fall right to sleep while he eats, but if I try to set him down he wakes right up. Sometimes I'll get as much as 5 minutes (at nap time) or even an hour (at night), but he knows he's been left alone and he doesn't stand for that. Actually, he does stand for that, stands right up in his bed and hollers at me until I collect him. I had actually gotten quite used to him sleeping in his own bed through the night, and it's been a bit difficult for me as he has insisted on staying with me all night. Amazingly, last night he did sleep in his bed all night, but we have yet to see if he'll go back to that, or if he'll be needing me for a while longer.

--His weight hasn't changed, except for a few ounces, since last month, so still 'round 17 lbs. He got a little bit taller, though, 29.75 inches.

--He got his first taste of watermelon a few days ago, he liked it, but mostly he liked squishing the melon between his fingers.

--He loves the bathroom. We have to be vigilant about keeping the door shut or he will get in there. He goes strait for the tub, pulls himself up and just stands there banging on the edge of the tub. --He's been getting baths more frequently and he loves baths now, which explains his fascination with the tub.

--He's been saying mama and dada for a couple of months now, and I think he tried to say "gun" the other day. Probably sounds bad that one of his first words could be "gun", but when you consider that Mr. Boss is a student gunsmith, and that, because of this, guns are frequently spoken of in my home, it makes a little bit more sense.

--He is much more apprehensive of strangers these days, but he still grins at anyone talking to him, just don't get to close or try to hold him. He just might start to holler at you.

--S is such a mellow chap for the most part, though. If he's stuck in a stroller he will sit there quietly and observe the world around him. If he's off exploring, he'll frequently stop and look for me, grinning his impossibly cute grin at me as soon as we've made eye-contact.

--Oh, and he's super ticklish! I love his soft giggle when I nibble on his arms, or pinch at his thighs, or rub the bottom of his feet. Oh, he is delicious!

Oh, and just now, as I was typing all of this, he was standing up next to me. He was holding onto the leg of my desk and was trying to transfer his hands to the shelf right next to it. To do so he let go of the leg entirely. He almost lost his balance, but kept standing for another few seconds before finally grabbing onto the shelf. Honestly, all he wants is to be a big kid, and it is so cute and so heart-breaking all at the same time. The joys of motherhood...

trying to escape and....
"mom, can we be done with these pictures already?"

9 months...a month late...

9 month stats
- 17 lbs, 29.25 inches
- still just two teeth, but the top ones are close
- discovered mobility, refuses to hold still
- when I say he discovered mobility, I mean crawling and pulling up
- finally interested in food besides mama milk
- cute as can be

I took his pictures much later than usual, normally I manage the day of or day after his month-day. I was 10 days late for his 9 month pictures. Oh well. This is one that I did take on the day he turned 9 months. All I can say is: Stud. Muffin.

I love this kid.

8 months

On Wednesday, I was thinking that it felt like the last month went by pretty slowly, to the point where I almost thought I'd forgotten to do 7 month pictures. But I did, so I guess that means the last month was just slow. That was nice. But now my baby boy is eight months old. No kidding.
At eight months, S still weighs and measures the same as last month.
Also, mobility has begun. Although, at this point it still seems to be mostly unintentional. When on his tummy, he reaches for things, but usually ends up scooting backwards and away from what he wants. He's also been rolling a bit, but he doesn't seem to have caught on to how this can get him anywhere.
He still has just the two little bottom teeth, but his top gums are swollen and I'm keeping a daily look out, and trying to guess which one is going to pop out first. I'm thinking he'll end up being a vampire baby for a little bit, like all the others were, because that's where his gums seem most swollen.
He has been pretty clingy for the past week or two. He doesn't like to be set down, he'll fall asleep in my arms while nursing, but when I try to lay him down he wakes right up and yells at me. It's been a bit stressful, but I'm trying not to let it bother me too much, because how much longer will he be so insistent on cuddling?
I'm still the favorite, but he sure does love being with his daddy, too.
I tried feeding him some rice cereal a few times, but he doesn't seem to understand the concept. He eyes the spoon, but seals his lips. The best is when I finally get a bite into his mouth and he spits it right out, because he thinks the best time to blow raspberries is when his mouth is full of mush.
He's still charming as ever, but has begun to be a bit more wary of unfamiliar faces. His admirers from church have had to work just a little harder to get him to smile at them.
He's been sleeping in his bed most nights, but has been waking up around 3 and 4 am lately. My guess is it has something to do with swollen gums, but I could be wrong.
This little monkey has my heart. Even when he gives me a hard time, he is a dream. But seriously, eight months? That came fast.