O, how he's growing: 11-12 Months

                 

One

And I swear, the day he turned 1 he became so much less a baby and so much more a little boy.  That very day he started making car noises while rolling them around the house. He looked older.  He acted older. All of a sudden he seems like such a little person, with comprehension of so much of what I say, and a drive to live his life of his own accord (he's been bossing me around a lot lately!).

My monthly entries about Oscar are something I've done in effort to have a compilation at the year's end of photos and milestones throughout Oscar's first year.  When Finn turned 1, I spent hours and hours transcribing from a spiral notebook I'd jotted in, and finding my favorite pictures out of thousands, to create a First Year album for him.  This time around I knew I'd never be able to devote such a large chunk of time, having 2 little ones, one of which no longer naps. One of my great hopes and concerns as a parent is that my boys come out of childhood with a sense that they are equally loved.  Long before even starting a family, I'd noted that children often base their sense of being loved by parents (a key ingredient for self-esteem) on parental actions and fairness, comparing their treatment to that of siblings.  Not creating a similar book to Finn's is out of the question.  Throughout Oscar's first year, the idea has been that if I have done a lot of the work along the way, it will be much easier to compile it into a book than start from scratch.  It's hard to believe that this will be the final chapter of his book.

Oscar at 1 year:
--20 lbs 12 oz (16%ile CDC, 40%ile WHO), 29.5 inches (30% WHO and CDC)*.
  *The height may not be accurate since I measured at home without an assist, and he's quite the wiggle worm!

--Has verbalized the following in context:

• Mama 
• Baba (papa),
• Ah dah (all done)
• Dye dye (bye bye)
• Hi!
•  Nana (banana)
•  Ah-ma (grandma)
•  Uh! (uh-oh!)
•  El-lo (hello)

--Signs for "mama's milk" with an open and close of the palm
--Blows kisses, complete with kissy noise,
--Raises arm up in greeting when he sees people, often saying "aye" or "hi."
--Started standing without holding onto something and taking independent steps within a week of his birthday. Took six steps on the first day.  This boy loves new physical challenges.
--Loves talking on the phone and skyping with grandparents.  Tries to touch them and get to them through the screen, tilting this head this way and that to find a way in.
--Likes to grab my phone from me, put it up to his ear/head and say,"Hi-i!" in a sing-songy voice, or "El-lo!"
--Likes blowing in/making sounds through tubes (TP, paper towel, stacking cup)
--Responded to me saying "I love you." by putting his head down on my shoulder for a little hug. I really felt like he was saying it back to me.
--Is so affectionate still. Aside from his head hugs he gives open-mouthed kisses on the lips.  Some days if he comes into our bed to cuddle in the morning he will just lay his head down on me and stay.  It's truly the best. Sometimes when he hugs or cuddles us he will say, "Awww," like he hears us say.
                                 
--Is scared of the jack-in the box. Retreats into my arms when the music starts, startles when it pops out, turns his face into me and whimpers a bit.  But also fascinated by the thing...
--Has been stacking things, placing things into a container, or into the spot he thinks it should be
--Relishes one on one time, and the limelight, which is scarce.

--As busy as this boy is, he also loves to be held and carried around. Jeremy and I laugh when he's super whiny and sad, then instantaneously happy and content being toted around in our arms.
--Trys to brush his own hair with a comb or brush
--Trys to use a pen
--Likes to play the game, "find the ball under the cup," invented by grandma during their time together in the hotel.
--Places trains on the track and correctly positions little cars to send them down their multi-level ramp

--Is a suuuper fast crawler when he wants to be somewhere

--Has 8 teeth, and has seemed to have more on the way

-- Has taken to yelling at us and turning red in the face when he wants something or is frustrated with us (most noteably exemplified when we were taking too long with his bites of shave ice).

--Loves to throw balls, drawing them back by his ear first. 

--Can push himself around on little riding toys

--Makes car noises on said riding toys, and also while pushing most things around (trucks, cars, boxes, trains)

--Likes to take off one cup at a time from a tower of stacking cups vs knocking the whole thing over.

We've got another kids who's really comfortable in the water.  I suppose if getting into it with waves is all you've ever known...

                              
Oscar is very driven to achieve new physical feats.  He's likes to experiment with ways to move his body and he just does a lot of funny things. He's just so much fun to watch in action.
                                          

Oscar is very eager to be everywhere and get into everything.  And he gets where he wants to be fast.

   

The other day he was happily playing with his activity table on the other side of our counter, and the next thing I knew,  I saw his little face peeking over the counter at me.  He had climbed up onto the table, using it as a stool.  Oh, was he pleased.
Recently when I was using the bathroom, he crawled in, pulled up to the tub, brought his leg up to the tub's edge, pulled up to tummy, swiveled around and then backed down into the tub.  Fully clothed.  Just to have a go at it and play with the toys in there.  Again, so pleased with himself.
                          
                                       

He's always trying to climb up, under, in and through things.  And he's finding success more often than not these days, winding up in some precarious positions.

He very quickly caught on when I showed him, one time at the playground, the principle of backing down things like stairs. Immediately thereafter he was implementing this technique every chance he got.  Now he backs down hills, our bed, the slide, stairs and furniture he has climbed onto.
                                       
In this last month of his first year, Oscar spent time both bundled in the cooold wintery midwest and scampering around in his skivvies in the warm tropics. He prefers the uniform of the latter, however he greatly expanded his palate dining out every night in Chicago.
   
Oscar's favorite thing about our trip to Hawaii was the throwing games we would play in the water.  He also enjoyed floating about the waves of a mellow bay using Finn's tube like a little raft/lounger.
When Jeremy and I threw him to each other in the water he would laugh out loud, and upon landing he would swivel himself around and lunge out immediately, rearing to fly back the other direction.  "Again! Again!" shouted his body language.
                                        
He also got to plant a big smooch on a dolphin.  The thought of a baby encountering a strange new thing like this cracks me up.  They must be thinking, "well, alight then. I guess this is a part of life too!"  Oscar usually shows no anxiety about new things. He really goes with the flow.

Oscar very much prefers to feed himself these days vs be spoon fed. This is a horribly messy process.  It takes me a good chunk of time post-meal to clean him and the circumference that surrounds his seat. He insists so much on self-feeding, that if being spoon fed is all that is being offered, he will likely not eat at all!  He yells at us in frustration and swats at the spoon. It's gotta be something he really likes in order to accept an offering. 

His favorite foods are cheese, plain full-fat Greek yogurt, and papa's homemade beans. He will gobble those things up in whatever quantity they are offered.  He prefers taking bites out of whole fruit vs fruit that has been chopped up into pieces for him.  He still likes to sink his teeth into an unpeeled mandarin and drain it.  He likes the latter especially when he's teething, and if the mandarin is taken away he will break down into full tears.

He is imitating us in a lot of what he sees us do, using things the way he sees us use them.  When we were playing in the yard in Hawaii I watched him climb the stairs of the porch, turn around to check in with me, then open the screen door and go back inside.    

He apparently observes and registers far more than I notice.  But on this occasion, I watched him trying to figure out this shadow business, and it was pretty great.

Oscar is developing such a personality.  I find it hilarious to watch him and see the ways he uses his little baby body.  He trys to communicate with his changing facial expressions and body language.  I guess the primary reason I take so many photos of my kids is that I'm always trying to capture who they are right now, not only for them, but so I can relive being with them again at each stage.  I feel like I'm going to miss their little selves, although I realize I will always appreciate their new selves at the same time.  Here are some more of the photos from such attempts.
Take 1:

Take 2:

Take 3:

It's safe to say that Oscar and Finn's relationship keeps getting better and better. Finn still amuses and entertains his little brother.  And Finn is deliberately playing with him more, and rarely hurts him.  Finn does say on occasion, "I don't wanna see Oscar!" when he's in the mood to have extra attention.

Oscar still loves going on adventures, seeing new places and doing new things.

 

I'm enjoying Oscar so much at this age and I feel like we have a wonderful bond.  Happy Birthday, sweet Oscar, my funny little friend. You are loved. Deeply.