playing
Christian's first birthday! As expected, LOVED cake.
Family reunion hike -- too much for him.
Liked to sit there and spin the lamp shade -- also unplug vital cords.
Kate's tormenting him here. Look at those LONG lashes!
Cute! (He always has kind of crazy hair because I'm the one cutting it, and I have no idea how to cut hair! Especially on a kid that is constantly moving. I think my second try was better than the first, though. Hopefully I will keep improving.)
Emptying the cupboards and sitting in a 9x13 pan.
Wow -- what a crazy, crazy summer. Things are finally settling down, and maybe I'll get to posting about this summer at some point, but I wanted to get a Christian update going-- because this little guy deserves one.
So much to say about this little man -- he is such a sweetheart.
First off, this guy will eat anything you put in front of him...or behind him....or under him...he loves food! And non-food items alike (rocks, dirt, pine cones, dried up chewed gum, etc.). In sacrament meeting we often sit by the same family because we are usually late and sit way in the back so that others can still enjoy sacrament meeting. We end up sharing snacks and books. Last week, she had brought Wasabi peas. Christian has never had them (I only had them for the first time a few years ago), and so she gave him one to see if he would like it -- as they are HOT/spicy. He put it to his lips and instantly looked confused as he pulled it away from his mouth -- like, "What? I don't like this? That can't be right." He tried again to put in his mouth, and quickly spit it out, again looking bewildered. He tried a third time with no success. I finally took it from him and was going to put the slobbery mess away. But he got angry and wanted to keep trying it. Finally, he got it in and ate it up! He gave me a big grin -- and was clearly pleased that he had mastered Wasabi peas. I mean, come on, this kid eats thorns for breakfast -- he won't let actual food go to waste! :)
As you can see from the picture above, he LOVES to get into things -- everything. Like food, he is not particular. He likes to open and disassemble, empty, or otherwise destroy any semblance of organization.
The Fourth of July was interesting -- deserves its own post -- but we were shocked to find that Christian loves fireworks! I've never heard of a 1 year old who enjoys being right below bombs, but whatever. It made the 4th much more enjoyable than I was expecting! He actually started laughing when they went off -- a little disturbing for my Mommy senses...
He can climb like nobody's business! Climbs on everything he can. Andrew has told me how he, as a young child, could scale door frames -- to the top! I see that in the future.
Christian started walking like crazy around 14 months, I think. After he saw Lindsay's daughter (near his age and size) walking -- he just watched her intently while she was over . Then that night he started walking tons! It's like he thought, "Well, if she can do it, I can do it, too!" He was VERY pleased with himself.
Christian has a 99th percentile head! Runs in the family...he is not as tall as Kate was at his age, but still in the 70th percentile or something. At the doctor's visit, he was running circles around the room. The doctor was like, "Wow, he's a busy guy!" That he is.
He's generally a good-natured guy, though sometimes likes to scream at the top of his lungs -- out of frustration. If he is always moving, then he is usually happy. Try to keep him confined in a grocery cart or stroller -- look out! He much prefers to be out pushing those things than resting in them.
He is crazy if he is let out of carts at stores -- and will RUN everywhere as fast as he can go, with Kate screaming at me the whole time, "He's getting LOST!!" When he sees me coming, he giggles and turns the other way and runs. Small comparison -- when I took Kate to stores as a kid his age, she would sit happily in the cart and dance to the music playing and wave at all the strangers. Now I have a little Houdini getting out of his strap and trying to jump to his death. Oh the stress.
I've let Christian develop a bad sleeping habit -- he sleeps with me! It's bad now, and I haven't yet found the will to break it cause I'm usually dead tired by the time I get to go to sleep. But it is time. As much as I dislike having him sleep in my bed, there are things I do enjoy about it, too. He is so cuddly and curls up on me -- I love it. He's usually too busy during the day to spend too much time cuddling, so I do love that time with him. But I know I need to put him in his crib! Argh. One thing that really drives me crazy is that he likes to lay across my neck! I have woken up in the night struggling to breathe because he's laying on my neck. That's scary. There have been times when he goes to sleep like that, and I have to tell myself not to fall asleep until I move him -- for fear of not waking up...This probably sounds crazy to most people who would never let things like this happen -- but I get so desperate for him to fall asleep sometimes that I will put up with almost anything. He just goes and goes and goes until he finally passes out!
The only thing he really says at this point is "Uh oh" and "Oh wow!" Both are very cute. He is starting to make animal sounds, but can mostly just do "Mooo." Lately, he really likes monkeys (I think he can relate).
He is very opposite of Kate in so many ways, but he sure does adore her. She is generally very sweet and helpful with him. They are best little buddies sometimes, and seeing them play and laugh together warms my heart every time and sometimes chokes me up.
He cracks all of us up with his antics and the cute noises he makes (especially when reading), and he really enjoys driving Kate crazy sometimes -- doing things she tells him not to just to get under her skin. For example, she got a pillow out for him and one for her and told him NOT to lay on hers. Well, as soon as she sat up from her pillow -- he jumped on her pillow, laid flat, and rubbed himself all over it, giggling wildly. It was great.
Tonight at 5 Guys Burgers and Fries he learned how to dip his fries in fry sauce. He was good at just dipping a little and then eating, so I was surprised when I glanced over at him and he had the fry sauce cup tipped back and was chugging it! That gave us all a good laugh. He's definitely a character!!
PS Did I mention how I can't wait til he can go to nursery??
