12 Months

The little guy is 1 year old!!!! As my sister said, if we made it through the first year with our sanity and marriage intact, then we're doing pretty well. ;-) Actually, Bradley is very easy to take care of right now. He is full of joy, he can entertain himself, he is a good snuggler, he sleeps well, and he eats well. He can find something interesting anywhere, so I don't necessarily have to bring toys along. He just explores. What more could I ask for? I am extremely blessed.

We had his latest checkup at the Dr. today. She said he is extremely healthy and well beyond where he needs to be verbally. He is his Dada's son, after all. ;-) He can do these signs: dog, nurse, sleep, creek, and up. He says these words: mama, dada, no, not, hot, moo, meow, nana (banana), the monkey sound, and the horse sound. He also says "ta ta" when I ask how the clock goes (tick tock). Sometimes he will say hi. Tonight Xon asked him if we should put him in his nighttime diaper, and he said, "Noooooo." :-) He knows where his ear is, hair, his belly, hand, foot, and he knows some things on me like my nose and cheeks. He is starting to get a little whiny when he doesn't get what he wants, but his pediatrician says she is thrilled to hear it. That's exactly what he's supposed to be doing right now.

He walks really well now. I haven't seen him crawl in a while. He waves and kisses. He really likes the plug outlets, so I have to watch out for that. He loves to pick out books to read and hand them to me. We probably read 15 books a day, because we read some before both of his naps and then at bedtime. Sometimes it will be really quiet in the house, and I will look at him, and he's just flipping through a book. He especially likes books that make him do something, like touch, or make sounds, etc. He knows what certain books are by their covers. He can follow commands.

Alex called me on the phone other day and said, "Where Baby Bradley, Aunt Katie?" I gave Bradley the phone, and Bradley said, "Hah" (his southern version of hi). Bradley also LOVES to play with the phone. He puts it up to his ear and talks. He also does that if he hears a phone ring or if he sees a phone on tv, etc. Mom says this is because I talk to Dawn on the phone too much!

We try to sing a few songs with the piano every day. I'm hoping to take him to a Kindermusik class in June. They have a new Sign and Sing class, which I think Bradley would LOVE.

Pics to be posted soon.