Tyson - December 2012 - 1 Year!

I'm writing this a few days late (I gave myself the excuse that you didn't have your doctor's appointment until today so I couldn't get your stats up until today anyway), and it is actually New Year's Eve 2012 as I type.  This time a year ago we had just gotten released from the hospital and were home trying to adjust to a new life with 3.  It's hard to imagine life before 3 anymore.

You've grown SO much.  It is always amazing to me to see the difference between newborns and 1-year-olds.  I laid you down next to your cousin Tinsley the other day at Christmas and was amazed.  She just turned 2 months and you looked like a giant next to her.  Today at the doctor's office you weighed in at 22 pounds (50th percentile) and 32 inches (95th percentile!)!  What a difference 15 pounds and 11 inches (and 2 teeth!) makes from what you were a year ago.  I remember snuggling you in those first few days and trying my best to breathe it all in knowing that it was most likely my last few weeks with a newborn of my own.  It's such a hard stage, but one I am sad to see go.  On the other hand, I'm enjoying one of my very favorite times as you start to learn how to say a few fun words and how exciting it is every time you catch on to something new.  Just this month you mastered the art of waving hi and bye.  It's the cute little wave where you actually are waving to yourself most of the time, but everyone loves it.  You wave to everyone you see at church or at the store.  Most of the time you are a pretty happy little bug.

This is a picture I took of you a day or 2 before I left for my bison hunt.  It's also the one I kept looking at while I was gone.  Your dad would see me looking at my phone and laugh knowing exactly what I was doing - looking at pictures of my cute kids.  You did a good job not walking while I was gone, and you are starting to get a little more balance.  Dad says he thinks you'll be walking by his birthday in January.  I'm not so sure, but now that there are no more hunts in the future you're free to start whenever you want.

You're in a fun stage, but you're also in a "get-into-everything" stage.  Right now the house is completely torn apart.  There are empty formula cans scattered all over (your favorite toys, which is why I haven't thrown them out), a few pieces of trash next to the trash can, pots and pans out of the warming drawer, and utensils scattered around their drawer.  I feel like I'm constantly following you around and putting all this stuff back where it goes only to turn around and have it be back out again.  Some days I just give in and let it hang out on the floor.  You've also found that the warming drawer is one of your favorite places to hang out after you've cleared all the pots and pans out of your way.

You crawl about 100 mph these days.  I tried to get a picture of you being cute the other day, but you were crawling so fast the dang pictures were all blurry!

You finally had your first Christmas!  We had a good time hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa H. and Joe and Lisa the Saturday before Christmas where you got spoiled with a stocking and a fun plane from Grandma and Grandpa.  Then the next day we had the Pollock Christmas party where you met Santa for the first time.  You weren't scared, but you definitely were trying to figure out why dad had put you on this guy's lap.

I didn't have a great angle for this picture, so your face is covered up, but here you're giving Santa a high five.  He gave you a monster truck...

...which you proceeded to drive around the room making your truck noises for the rest of the night.

On Christmas Eve you got your second haircut of your life.  You kind of had a bit of a mullet going on in the back, and afterward you looked much better.

We had our annual Christmas Eve movie-watching party, and you actually behaved for most of it.

I actually didn't get any pictures of opening presents Christmas morning because your dad set up my camera to video everyone.  We had a good time opening up presents here and then headed up to Grandma and Grandpa Veater's for the Veater Christmas breakfast.  You got some more presents there from Grandma and Grandpa plus one from cousin Tinsley.  All in all you made a pretty good haul for your first Christmas.

This is one of the funnest faces you make lately.  You open your mouth as wide as you can and make the silliest noises.  You also love to do a little prancing crawl around the house, which makes everybody laugh.  You've definitely got a fun personality.

Here's my little trash digger.  I have to keep a close watch on what I throw in the trash.  One day you found the leftover piece of sugar cookie dough I had thrown on the top of the trash when it got too small to roll out, and then a day or 2 later you had found some muddy buddies that had gotten tossed.  You thought you'd hit the motherload both times!

I feel bad that your birthday is so close to Christmas, really bad actually.  There isn't anything I can do to change it now, buddy, so I hope you don't hate us for it.  This year you obviously didn't care and just seemed confused at how much attention everyone gave you when you woke up that morning.  Later we had dinner and opened presents and then on to the cake...

You weren't quite sure what to think as we sang to you and I held out the cupcake with the candle...er....match lit on top (I almost bought candles that day at the store but convinced myself we had some, then that night I remembered your dear brother and sister had broken them all in half a few months ago and we had to throw them away.  Sorry bud!)

You did what most 1-year-olds seem to do and poked the cake a little while looking around like you weren't sure what you dared do...

Before finally smooshing as much as you could into your mouth.

Your dad didn't think you were getting dirty enough, so he got some in his hands and rubbed it all over your face.

I think you enjoyed it, and we sent you right off to the tub.  As we were getting you ready for bed that night I decided I needed a picture with my baby on his first birthday.  Notice your hand trying to push me away?

And finally having enough of the pictures and trying to scratch my eyes out...

You are definitely not a cuddler.  I wish you were, but at least now we can coax a kiss out of you from time to time (one of the sweet open mouthed, occasional tongue baby kisses).

This first birthday has seemed a little different to me than the others.  I spent a lot of time thinking about that day a year ago when things started out normally and took a bit of an unexpected turn.  I have the same feelings then as I did now - that I'm glad that if there were complications that they were with me and not with you.  I'm glad that it wasn't very serious, and I'm glad everything turned out just fine.  We are so happy to have you in our family, Ty, and I plan to enjoy every minute of the next year as you continue to grow and learn and develop your personality.

Love you Tiger,
Mom