Wednesday, 16 May 2018

And then he was ... ONE

 "When I was one, I had just begun." A.A. Milne

How true this is and yet how much life and growing has been packed into 12 months.
How did this happen? How is it that our squishy newborn is now a chubby, mischievous one year old? (also how is it that he is now thirteen months old an I am only just getting around to writing this?)

 

One year old and what a character he has become. We always thought he would be a busy, mischief maker and he certainly is that, and so much more. Our little (not so little) outdoor loving, tomato munching, chicken loving, chubby, chatterbox got to celebrate his birthday on two days (not that he really cared less). 

 

He received gifts and a cake made by his uncle on his birthday and then all the good stuff (mummy and granny's food making) came out on Saturday for a relaxed morning tea with his mates, mothers group, and the people who have been our village over the last twelve months. 



He loved playing, wouldn't sit still for a photo and didn't like the cake. A pretty successful 1st birthday, if I do say so myself. 


Our little munchkin has certainly grown and changed over the last few months and I can see the final vestiges of babyhood slipping away and a little boy emerging, and a little boy he certainly is. Some things haven't changed like his love for chasing the chooks around, although these days he is fast enough to lay a hand on them quite regularly. The poor dears tolerate it quite well and haven't lost feathers too him, yet.

...

So my little possum ...
We've certainly learned and grown together over the last twelve months. You may have "just begun" but you certainly entered this world with a bang and embraced it, exploring everything around you. There have been sleepless nights and sleepy cuddles, worries and joyful giggles. You have fit so much into your first year from camping trips to a beach holiday, from flying to driving, from farm to city and the middle of nowhere.


You are definitely more vocal in your likes and dislikes theses days and they are wide a varied too. It is now a guessing game for mummy and daddy as to what it is you want or are complaining about. You surprise us all the time with new things you can do. 
Here are some of the infinite (sometimes quirky) things we know (and love) about you:
You love so many things like cars and trucks and all things wheels. You'll always eat the cherry tomatoes on your plate, a food that has definitely superseded cheese, and it is hit and miss whether you will eat sandwiches and toast. You will pretty much eat anything we give you, especially if it involves pasta. You like your cows milk "bot bot" when mummy goes to work at night and only have boobie morning, noon and night now. Unpegging washing from the clothes horse and just play with pegs in general keeps you entertained for ages. You also love collecting random things from cupboards and draws to play with, particularly from the kitchen. You still love power points, remotes, keys and anything else we don't want you to play with and disagree strongly when we have other ideas about you playing with them.You have a variety of music you like to listen to from 'The Duck Song' to 'Lay It All On Me', 'Cats In The Cradle', 'Take Me Home, County Roads' and 'Shut Up And Dance'. Your happy place is outside and so understandably you absolutely love going camping. You've been quite a few times in your young life, the latest being to Emu Creek just before your birthday. 


You have picked up on daddy's game of "duck. duck, goose" and love bopping people on the head, loudly proclaiming "duck, duck, duck". You can do a good monkey impersonation like daddy too. You also like to put your finger in your mouth then pull it out and say "ahhh". No idea how that one started. You also know the pattern to eating then hand washing, sticking your hands out to be washed when we go for the washer and you request to get out of the bath and know that the plug has to come out and the we need your towel. Actually that is something you don't seem to like so much these days but maybe you are just too busy to waste time in a bath. You still love swimming lessons and going under the water but the dots haven't connected yet when it comes to kicking. You like waving "bye, bye" or "later", not just to people you know but to complete strangers in the shops.


You like building towers with the mega blocks and can do it yourself with the single ones. You also love putting toys in things, throwing balls, putting balls in the ball run and playing with kitchen things. You are often content to play alone but you prefer it if someone sits down on the floor with you.



You are able to stand up while not holding on and have started to occasionally try taking a step or two. You have twelve, yes 12!!!, teeth. You try using forks and spoons but they usually get abandoned for fingers. You can say a fair few words like Mum, Dad, Granny, Grandad, Great Grandad, cow, star, dog, fish, see you "later", bye bye, truck, car, this and duck. You mostly sleep through the night and if you wake up it is only once in the middle of the night, looking for your dummy.


You can be so serious and give the best stare when seeing new people or ones you aren't sure of but you can also be so open and happy to cuddle and play. You are often unsure of the unfamiliar but sometimes surprise us by just going for it. 


You are our ratbag, our possum, our mischief maker.
We can't imagine life without you.



4 comments:

  1. He is a cute little guy. I kinda wish we had another "new" one in our family. We have a lot of kids and grandkids, and I think around 6 months is my favorite time. I always feel so much joy seeing them starting to become more aware of everything.
    I'm glad you posted this, it made me realize that I really miss those days.

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    1. Thank you! There is something about seeing other "babies" that makes you want another around, seeming to temporarily forget all that comes with it. I love watching babies become more aware of their surrounding to and start to really interact with them. I already miss those days and we are only up to having a 1 year old. Enjoy your grandbabies.

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  2. What a doll baby! This will be a treasured journal of his first year. You'll be so glad you wrote down this post and included all these photos. That first year is one of my favorites!

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    1. I am glad I have so many photos and bits of writing from his first year. You forget so fast when things happened and what they were like at a certain age as you move onto the next age.There is so much growing and changing over the first year. Thank you for coming by.

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