One Year Old

*Sigh* Mister Mister is one year old. Sometimes I think back on this year and feel like it went so fast, and then other times I felt there were certain times that felt slow....like the many, MANY sleepless nights this child has had since the day he was born. Aside from being a not-so-great sleeper, which tends to be the story of our children's lives, he is such a goofy little guy. He makes us smile and giggle all the time.

Right after I posted his 11 month pic and info, he started nodding his head YES whenever we asked him certain questions, like, "Are you hungry?" or "Do you want more?" or "Do you want a bottle?" or "Do you want a drink?" It is soooo cute to see him nod his head up and down and he is starting to understand more and more as the days pass by. I always love this time after they turn one because it just seems like they learn a TON of stuff every single day. It's fun to watch and witness. He also shakes his head "NO" when he doesn't want something.

He is starting to say a few more words and sounds. He can moo when I ask him what a cow says and he says "baa" when I ask him what a sheep says. We're working on kitty cat, dog and duck next. He can say "Mo" for more, and mama, dada, papa, Me (which stands for Mi-mi/his pacifier) and nah-nah which most of the time means food. He still signs for milk, all done, more and drink. The way he signs "all done" is so cute and he's so serious when he's done. Once he makes that sign clear, we have about 10 seconds to get that washcloth wet and wipe him off. He's very impatient. :0)

Since he's had his tubes surgery, he has been much happier. This has been so nice. When he's happy, he is just this ball of energy and all smiles. He giggles and laughs quite often, sporting that big old mouth of growing teeth. Speaking of teeth, he has 4 on top and now 4 on the bottom. His two bottom teeth (next to the middle 2) came in within the last 2 weeks. Finally. He looks so goofy with teeth but I always think that about babies until I get used to them having a full mouth of white.

He weighs 24 lbs and has been pretty steady at this weight for about 1-2 months. Baylen has slimmed down a so much since he started walking. He really started walking a few short days after I posed his 11 month info on here, and hasn't looked back since. He loves being upright and walking all over this house. He gets into everything and then some and now is trying to climb on everything, using toys like a stepping stool, or trying his hardest to climb up on the footstool (which he can't possibly do), the table, the couch, whatever. He is fearless. He thinks he is tall enough and big enough to scale any piece of furniture. He even tries to climb into the bathtub himself. He has definitely slimmed down, but pick him up and you'll feel like he weighs 50 pounds. He is toned but solid. This must be a boy thing. :)

Mister can also eat like a champ. He refused baby food around 10.5 months or so and it was a hard month to figure out what to feed the guy. He did eat some table food at the time, but there were several nights around the 11.5 month mark that he barely ate a thing that was put in front of him. But right around the 12 month mark, he just started eating any table food we put in front of him. Ever since then, he eats pretty much whatever we're eating. And he eats it ALL. Everyday when I pick him up from daycare, they'll have lentil soup or tuna boats for lunch and each time it's marked on his little sheet that he eats it ALL. He even ate corn-beef cabbage on St. Patty's Day. I couldn't believe it!!! He loves Pirate's Booty and those low-fat Cheetos from Trader Joe's. One of his most favorite foods is french fries. He also loves strawberries and freaks out if everyone else is eating them and he's not. He continues to love bananas, most any fruit and all veggies. Dj often jokes that he is going to be a vegetarian. Tonight he put down 1 1/2 grilled cheese sandwiches. He kept telling me he wanted more. Additionally, he continues to be the messiest little eater, but it's often hilarious to see how he'll look after each meal. He will find a way to get food on his face, in his hair, and on his clothes even when wearing a bib.

Bay doesn't have a favorite toy right now, but does enjoy carrying around the Swiffer when we're cleaning and likes to dust. He also loves messing with Dj's DVD's and now, walking around with that darn Popper toy. He enjoys riding the Zebra/Horse and bouncing on that, and also likes stacking bowls, plates and pans from Brynn's kitchen. He also likes carrying around her mop and broom. Perhaps he will be a cleaner like his dad. :)

Sizes: still in a lot of 12-18 month clothes and 18-24 depending on the brand. I did put a pair of 24 month pj's on him tonight. That kid goes through pajamas faster than most children, I swear. I feel like we're always buying him pajamas. He's wearing a size 6 shoe and wears the Stride Rite XXW b/c his feet are still really wide. Thanks to Tami and Cade, we have some shoes for his little chubby feet to last us awhile! :) I still cannot BELIEVE he wears a size 6 as a one-year-old. Brynn wears the same size he does. She was barely in a size 3 at age one. Yikes!!!!

To match his ginormous feet, Mister also has huge hands. This kid HAS to be a football player--seriously. At least we hope he's tall because to be short with big feet and big hands--now that's just not something you see everyday.

He still has this thing for checking out his boy parts and does it every single time he is naked. I hear this occurs for many years. I guess I should not be surprised about that. But I had no idea until it started happening.every.day. haha

He still has a pacifier and often uses it at night. He has been using it more since we have taken most of his bottles away.

He has grown to like whole milk. That took awhile, but he's doing much better with it now. He also is down to just one bottle a day: the dreaded night bottle. This will be the hardest one to break for him, I'm afraid. This kid is totally attached to his bottle. He is so much more attached than Brynn was. We are going to work on trying to take it away this next month. Baby steps...baby steps. He did so much better than I thought he would when we stopped giving his a.m. bottle. So hopefully he'll adjust the same for the ridding of the p.m. one when the time comes.

He likes to hit. He hits Brynn. He hits me. He hits his dad. This doesn't happen all the time and he mostly saves his hits for his sister. She is not a fan at all. Even though we explain to her that he's a baby and doesn't understand that hitting hurts people, she becomes so upset and gets angry at him, and often times, retaliates. We have had to work really hard with her and make her realize that he's not doing it on purpose. She gets it sometimes but other times, the temptation to fight back is just too hard to resist.

Despite his tough exterior, Baylen is still a sensitive little guy. If I raise my voice at Brynn or at him, he gets upset and he'll cry. He doesn't like to be told NO at all. Telling him NO brings instant tears. He has a quick temper but gets over whatever he was upset about quickly.

He loves to watch the vacuum when it's on. It's one of his most favorite things in the world.

He loves to open and shut doors/cupboards/drawers, etc.

He loves to wrestle and rough-house. He will run over and just tackle Brynn sometimes if she's in the middle of the floor. She is usually not a fan of this. Dj and I find it quite hilarious and so does he.

He has just started learning how to run. I was wondering how long it would take him to figure that one out. But, because of his new discovery, he has many bumps and bruises on his face, head and legs.

He loves to ride in the car.

He loves his new classroom at daycare. He's pooped by the time he gets home. Those waddlers sure wear him out.

There are nights he'll sleep through the night and others where he wakes up and refuses to go back to sleep in his crib. This is frustrating. Some nights he ends up in our room. After his surgery, he was with us the first couple of nights b/c he was waking up a little more than normal and we didn't want him waking Brynn so she could get a little sleep too.

He loves to cuddle and gives really good kisses and hugs. He has been giving open-mouth kisses for like 3 months now and loves loves loves to kiss whoever wants one. He also knows how to give a kiss when you ask him to do it in Spanish. We can thank his baby room teacher for that one. :) He also blows kisses, waves bye-bye and "hi" and, of course, enters any and all situations loud and in your face. Thus, the nickname "Bull" is still in full force.