My Big One Year Old!

Okay, better late than never on the 1 year post, right? So much to catch up on! To begin, Neko is such a happy little guy:) He makes us all smile, Keller included (well, sometimes!) He smiles with his bottom two teeth and only one poking through the top for now. Cutie pie! His big brother cracks him up on a regular basis, but can also manage to induce an angry high-pitched scream. Of course when this scream was new and I was out of the room, I would run in, assuming Keller did something, but MOST of the time it was the littlest one either asserting himself or trying to get something from the bigger one. Now I know not to assume who is at fault. Poor Keller! Neko's just experimenting with the Little Brother card I guess!

Neko LOVES music. He bounces whenever he hears it. He rolls his chubby little arms around to sing Wheels on The Bus. He says, "Haaaaa" to sing Happy Birthday. He leans on the little CD player and bounces and sways to the music. He regularly practices turning the volume up. Luckily Keller is on top of things and tells him, "Too loud, Neko!" and turns it down. Thank goodness for big brothers! Haha!

What else. He's not walking independently yet but pushes his wagon, lawn-mower, little train thing, bikes, chairs, whatever he can to support those chubby little legs in their practice. He can crawl like it's no one's business to get where he wants to be though and he's definitely more of a climber than his brother was. No way is he going to be in his crib till 2 and a half like Keller was! Ugh!!

Neko loves water. He'll climb right into the little pool out back (whether there's water in there or not!) He tolerates his brother pouring water over his head quite well, crawls right into the water at the lake, splash-splashing all the while! Recently he has learned that if he puts his face in the water he can get a drink...bleh!

Neko still loves his bink and sleeps with it only at nap times. Still nursing a few times a day...Keller got 15 months so that's the goal for Neko, too. Though I'm thinking Neko is going to be a little harder to break of it...we'll see!

At his 1 year appointment, he was 20 lbs. 8 0z, which is 3 oz. LESS than what Keller was, thogh everyone thinks Neko is so much chubbier than K, although Keller measured 1/2 inch longer than Neko's 27 inches. Because of Neko's "short stature" and slow growth over the last three months, paired with the fact that his soft spot is not closed, the doc recommended that we have his thyroid checked, just to be sure. She said if there was a problem, we'd probably know it by now and his tongue would be hanging out of his mouth...Uh-oh! I told her that over the past week it HAD been hanging out and I just attributed it to teething. I looked up low thyroid online and saw the tongues of the "cretin" babies. Damn internet! Anyway, Neko's levels are just fine. I asked if he was on the higher or lower end of normal and the nurse said the exact middle. Phew! But, I'm glad to have had the test anyway, we were already at the lab for the lead and iron levels anyhow.

Oh, and Neko's favorite pastime, how could I forget...Eating! He is an absolute pro at signing "more" which is more like a clap so everyone thinks he's clapping cause he's happy when we're out in public. This mama knows however that that sweet chubby little slappy clap means "Give Me Food Now Or I'm Going To Be Very Unhappy!!" And he doesn't demonstrate that "I'm done eating" behavior regularly. Occasionally the cue will be that he's playing with his food or putting it onto the floor. But typically, if you keep feeding him, he'll keep eating!

And lastly, I must comment on Neko's hair. We can't go anywhere without someone commenting on it. "How do you get it like that"..."He has a mohawk like I do!" "That baby has a mohawk" "Look at that hair" "Is it ALWAYS like that?" So yes, it has been always like that, always sticking straight up on top and pin straight on the sides and back. Oh, "He's got Rod Stewart hair..." It seems to be taming now in the past week or two, might be getting too long to continue standing straight up, but still adorable, though he will require a haircut much sooner than Keller did since he doesn't have the curls going for him:)

I'm glad to be where I am now in terms of babies in the house compared to where I was a year ago! Little tiny babies are precious for sure but exhausting! While I continue to feel exhausted most days, it's not that lack of sleep exhausted, it's more busy, always on, always negotiating, always hoping for long naps, always thinking of what to feed children, cleaning children, cleaning dishes, picking up toys, that kind of thing. But I know this is all temporary and quicker than I know it, my babies will be all grown. So I'll savor my exhaustion and try for extra cuddles and kisses while I can still get them! My littlest baby is now a full-grown baby! Where does the time go?!

Happy Birthday to ME!