Ezzy's 1 Year Update

Ezzy - A year gone in the blink of an eye! Your daddy and I keep marveling that last week you were a baby, and now you're officially a toddler. You're taking three to four steps at a time (although we have to trick you into it, you haven't decided to branch off on your own just yet!) Even though we get a little sad that you'll never be our tiny baby again, we love your 1 year old self so much. So far it's our favorite age. You love to interact with us, playing games, making jokes (you have your daddy's sense of humor!), chattering away, getting into screaming contests, and giggling constantly. You're more cuddly and loving than ever before, giving us hugs and kisses on demand, which your dad and I take full advantage of - we can't get enough! We are both so proud of the little boy you're turning into. We love you more than you'll ever know.

Some 1 year stats: According to my scale Ezzy weighs 21 lbs, up 1 pound from last month. I'll get more accurate stats when we go to the doctor in a few weeks. 

Our 1 year daily routine: Right now we're still waking up once or twice a night (usually twice) - around 2 - 3 am, and around 5 - 6 am. I was really hoping the sleep thing would sort itself out on its own, but since that hasn't been the case, I'm reading up on how to establish a sleep routine because I'm ready for us both to start sleeping through the night. We get up between 7:00 and 8:30, eat breakfast together, and then Ezzy usually crawls around playing with his toys while I write a blog post and get ready for the day. If we have any errands to run, we do that in the morning before nap time. If it's not too hot we've been doing morning walks too. Lunch is around noon, then nap time (although sometimes Ezzy decides he wants a morning nap at 10 am, which I'm not opposed to.) Naptime is when I workout and do household chores. Ezzy usually eats again when he wakes up from his nap. Then dad gets home and we all have dinner, usually followed by an evening walk. Then more playtime at home, bath time around 8 pm, then I start trying to put Ezzy to sleep, but lately he's been pushing his bedtime back later and later. The latest he's gone to sleep is 11, but it's usually in the 9:30 to 10 range. I'm not super happy with this routine, so we'll be working on changing it this month, even if there are tears involved (which there have been so far).

1 year eats: I've still just been feeding Ezzy on demand, but I've also been giving him more fluids to drink out of a sippy cup, so he hasn't wanted to nurse quite as much. Last month he was still nursing 6 - 7 times a day, lately it's been 4 - 5. We're ready to start weaning though, but I anticipate it being a slow process, so I'm just planning on cutting down one feeding every two weeks or so. Ezzy is picky about what solid foods he'll eat. He loves muffins which I've been making for him (some combo of fruit and/or veggies + greek yogurt + flax + whole wheat flour), he loves pretty much all kinds of fruit, but he won't eat solid veggies. He does like bread dipped into veggies soup, and he'll eat veggie purees. I try to make sure he's eating beans or lentils and yogurt daily. 

Right now his meals look something like this:

Breakfast: muffin with butter

Snack: banana + water (or recently, milk)

Lunch: puree consisting of veggies + beans + baby oatmeal & cut up fruit

Dinner: puree with yogurt + fruit and veggies + baby oatmeal & cut up fruit

Some notable changes from last month:

• As I've already mentioned, Ezzy has taken his first steps. Yay!   
• Last month Ezzy was really good at pulling himself up to standing using the furniture (or our legs), but in the past week or so he figured out how to get back down on the floor (basically by just falling on his butt). 
• Ezzy loves giving hugs now (in addition to the open-mouth kisses he's already mastered). 
• Ezzy can clap now! It's the cutest thing.
• Still no teeth! I think his gummy smile is the cutest thing ever, but I really thought he'd have teeth by now...

Ezzy likes (in addition to his 10 month favorites):

• Cake. And pineapple whip from Disneyland. Jello (he got a birthday freebie at a bakery we love, and he devoured it!) Now that he's tasted sugar, there's no going back.
• Wrapping paper. 
• The water ball statue at Disneyland.
• Climbing Mt. Daddy.
• Running in the air when we pick him up.
• Grabbing anything and everything he can get his hands on. He's becoming quite the handful as the radius of stuff he can reach keeps expanding.
• Standing up using our legs, then grabbing our hands and trying to pull us in whatever direction he wants to go. 
• Pulling all of daddy's socks out of their drawer and flinging them around the bedroom.
• Crawling through chairs and tight spaces. Doing laps around the ottoman. He loves obstacle courses.
• His Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle ball! It's still his favorite toy, so it's worth mentioning again. Although his ball collection has grown since his birthday. He also likes his toy cars, although he tends to throw them like they're balls.
• Ezzy is a huge fan of ice water. Maybe because it's been so hot lately, but he can't get enough. He either drinks out of a sippy cup, or we'll use a straw to drop the water in his mouth (like he's a baby bird). 
• He's still all about moving cars. (This has been a favorite for awhile, but it's worth mentioning again.)
• Straws. (Again, an old favorite.)
• Balloons. Our house is full of leftover birthday balloons right now, it's kind of like living in a ball pit.

Ezzy dislikes:

• He still lets us know if we aren't paying him enough attention.
• Sleeping in his crib.
• Doors closing. He hates being shut out. He'll come sit in front of the door crying (which makes going to the bathroom pretty stressful).
• Overall, Ezzy is still a very good-natured baby. His bad moods don't last that long, and Joe and I know we are very lucky.