10 Things You're Good At:
- Eating. Pretty much anything, but specifically yogurt, bananas, Cheerios, tomatoes, blueberries, cheese, spaghetti, pears, peas, and avocados.
- Drooling
- Making people smile. You're quite the charming little rascal.
- Saying 'Dadadadadadadadadadada'
- Crawling
- Cruising.
- Playing with Natalie. You are still so fascinated by her (and frankly, so am I) and can think of nothing better than playing with her.
- Dancing. You appear to have inherited Daddy's wicked dance skillz.
- Drinking from a straw. Not to compare you to your sister, but you're way better at drinking from a straw than she was at this age.
- Laughing. Your laugh is infectious and could quite possibly be the solution to the whole lack-of-world-peace problem.
10 Things You're NOT Good At:
- Sleeping in. (But trust me: when you're 13 and want to sleep in 'til 10am on Saturday morning, I will so be waking you up at 5:30am. I'm not above playing dirty.)
- Eating quietly. You and your sister are both so ridiculously noisy when you eat. I've finally gotten Natalie to tone the noise down, so I'm not expecting you to do it any time soon.
- Putting your laundry away. You have opposable thumbs, you're reasonably strong, I see know reason why you can't pitch in.
- Standing without assistance. I know, I know - you have a gigantic head and it throws off your center of balance ...
- Being patient. I know this is not a skill that most one-year-olds possess, but I'm not the mother of most one-year-olds. I'm the mother of you. And as your mother, you simply have to learn to be patient. I'm old and slow. And I blame my old-ness and slow-ness on you and your sister, so the least you could do is be patient with my defects that you two caused.
- Growing teeth. Two? After 12 months of life? Really? That's all you got?
- Eating apples. I think this is directly related to #6. Granted, this does not stop you from shoving in handfuls of apple pieces in your mouth. So what we end up with is a mouthful of slobbery, partially-chewed apple pieces. Yuck.
- Saying 'Momma'. You say 'Dada' all the time. But no 'Momma'. No 'loveliest lady in the world'. No 'Mother Dearest'. No 'maMA' (said it a cool British accent). None of those. Nada. Zip. Superpunk.
- Varying from your routine. This has its good points, but it's also difficult. I'm a creature of habit, so I'm sure it's my doing that made you and Natalie both creatures of habit.
- Remembering my grocery list for me. Sometimes I forget things at the grocery store. And when I look to you for help in remembering, you just laugh at me. And drool. And dance.
10 Things You Love:
- Frozen food. Perhaps if you'd grow some more teeth, I wouldn't need to feed you food that numbs your gums ...
- Natalie. Everything she does, everything she says, everywhere she goes is fascinating to you. You follow her around like a groupie.
- Tackling us. If someone is lying on the ground, you take it as your personal mission to body slam that person.
- Drooling. If it weren't for your pudgy belly and chubby thighs, I'd be worried you didn't know how to swallow, with how much spit flows from your mouth on a constant basis.
- Puzzles. You obviously don't put puzzles together, but you do like picking up each piece, examining it, tasting it, and then putting it back (incorrectly, much to Natalie's delight - because she gets to fix it for you)
- People. You smile at anyone and everyone. With Natalie, I don't think I'll ever have to worry about her willingly going off with a stranger. She's so wary of people and always sticks close by me. With you though? I think I'm going to have to put a leash on you.
- Avocados. I think you'd be fine with a milk-and-avocado diet for the rest of your life.
- Going with me to pick up Natalie from preschool. Some of your favorite things are wrapped up into one trip: seeing Natalie; being hugged by Natalie; seeing lots of other little kids; being tickled by those little kids (they love tickling your feet!); being outside (Natalie likes to play outside for a few minutes before we load up and head home)
- Greeting Daddy when he comes home. Natalie beats you to him, of course, but you're close on her heels, squealing and giggling. I feel very confident that I can speak for Daddy and say this is one of his most favorite things ever.
- Hugging toys. I don't remember if Natalie did it as much as you do, but if we put something soft in your hands, you immediately bring it to your face, lean your cheek on it, and rock from side to side. PRECIOUS.
10 Things You Don't Love:
- Baths. While it's not a biggie, it's certainly a bummer to have you pitch a fit in a room with such excellent acoustics. Ouch.
- Lunch meat. I think it's a texture thing.
- Broccoli.
I guess that's what happens with good-natured kids ... I can't come up with any more than three things that you don't like.
My sweet bear, this has been quite a big year for you. You got born-ed, kid, and that's a huge accomplishment (and since you came in record time, not being born in the back of Mommy's van is also an accomplishment). You've gone from someone who loves baths to someone who, in keeping with the Smithkid tradition, hates baths. (Though in the grand scheme of things, hating baths is really a non-issue. They only last five minutes, and as soon as we're done, you're happy again.) You've gone from someone who is completely immobile to someone who crawls so fast that you often fall on your face because your hands and knees can't keep up with your desire for forward motion. You've gone from someone who just drinks milk to someone who eats just about anything and everything. You went from having zero teeth to having two teeth (okay, so that's not THAT impressive). You went from waking every two or three hours to sleeping a solid 10+ hours (may I be so bold as to put in a formal request that that number get bumped up to 11?). You went from someone who had no idea what it meant to be a pesky younger brother to someone who is quite adept at the peskiness (and between you and me, Natalie needed some peskiness in her life. Keep it up.) You went from a boring, little lump (is it obvious that the infant stage is NOT my favorite?) to an easy-going, endlessly-amused-by-yourself, dimpled-cheeked, square-jawed, jabbering little Bear who has completely stolen the hearts of the other members of Team Smith.
I don't know if it's a Mom-of-a-Boy thing, or if it's a Mom-of-a-Girl-and-Then-a-Mom-of-a-Boy thing, or if it's a Suze-is-Weird-And-It's-Just-a-My-Thing thing, but having a boy - having YOU - has forever changed me. I so wish I could adequately put it into words, but I'm afraid I can't. So you'll have to settle for my inadequate version. Practically the second you were born, I immediately started praying for your future wife. Praying for the girl who will someday hold your heart, whose heart you'll also hold. I pray that I can be the kind of mom who will model the kind of Godly characteristics that you'll eventually look for in a spouse. (I don't mean for that to be creepy - I don't want you to marry someone who's just like me, because 1) that's weird, and 2) I'm a special breed of crazy that only Daddy is equipped to wrangle. I just mean I hope I can adequately demonstrate to you and Natalie the qualities of a Godly wife). My job as a mom is something I take quite seriously. And my desire to model Godly characteristics for you and Natalie is one of the top things on my Mom To-Do List. My desire to demonstrate my never-ending need for God's love, forgiveness, and mercy is also on the list. As is 'Take Lots of Naps'.
Congratulations, my darling boy. You made me the happiest, most fulfilled Mommy on the planet. Just when I thought my heart was filled to the brim with love for your sister, you go and bust down all my heart-barriers and show me there is plenty of room and an endless supply of love in my heart for a drooly little heart-melter. I love you, my sweet boy.
Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy
Here's Natalie singing Happy Birthday to you the day after you were born. Melts my little heart ever single time.
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