On Byron's one-year mark

Our little man is ONE!

It's been a good year.  I am worn out by the end of every day, but life is good with this fourth little member.

A few things about Little Man--

*  He loves to suck his right index finger.  He also only sucks it when he has Doggie with him, which is normally at nap and bedtime.  I was really nervous at first when he decided he didn't like the paci and preferred the finger, but I have now grown to love his finger-sucking. 

*  As of today, he has two bottom teeth and his top left front tooth.  His top right front tooth is about to break out.

*  He is not a big eater.  We normally only offer him whatever food we are eating, but he usually just throws it on the ground.  We have just recently started disciplining him about throwing food on the floor, and it has gotten better, but still a work in progress.  The only things that he will gladly eat are chips, crackers, and cookies (which of course he doesn't get very often).  On and off, he will eat blueberries, grapes, pear slices, apple slices, pieces of bread, cheese, and apple sauce pouches.

*  He is a talker.  For about a month now, we notice he says words such as papu (Spanish for chip.... *sigh*), dacias (Spanish for thank you), bah (ball), da (for Doggie), ama (I think this one is for mama, Emma and Memma), nigh nigh, bye bye, da da (for daddy).

*  He just started signing for milk.

*  He has just recently started showing more interest in walking.  He can now hold on to one of our hands and walk a few steps before going back down to the ground.  He still cannot stand up alone without holding onto something.

* He loves balls.  He'll spot balls, or even circles, and call out: bah bah. 

*  He is only taking one nap a day.  Funny thing is that Emma will still take a longer nap than him on most days.

*  He loooooves his mobile.  Babies should outgrow mobiles by the time they are six months-old.  But our boy is a music man.  He loves going to sleep listening and watching his mobile sing and go around for him.  We will sometimes hear the mobile go off during the night (yes, he turns it on and off on his own).  Most mornings I'll know he is up, not because he is calling out for us, but because the mobile is on and we hear him "talking" happily in his crib.  

*  He is now exclusively drinking cows milk, though he hasn't successfully transferred to a sippy cup yet.  We still give most of his milk warmed up and in his bottle.  

*  He suffers from separation anxiety :(  This one is no fun for this mama.  Thankfully, he normally only cries for a few minutes when we drop him off.

*  He loves Big Sister.  They are good friends.  It'll be fun watching that friendship develop through the years.  It is not perfect, of course.  It seems like most often than not Emma is yelling at him for taking her crayons, and he is scratching her face.  But all in all, they are good friends.  They keep an eye out for each other.  Emma especially makes sure he is behaving well and doing what he's supposed to.  They'll play ball together, and chase each other around the house a lot.  Lots of giggles are often involved in this :)

*  He loves the toilet.  If we are not good about putting the lid down or shutting the bathroom door, we will inevitably hear happy splashes, courtesy of our little man.  Emma is now terrified of having Byron in the bathroom with her because of it (odd, I know).  She is actually unable to go potty unless he is shut out of the bathroom, or I am holding him.