12 Month Update

Cruz is now one year and one day old! 

We had a fun time celebrating as a family yesterday.  He will have a party on Saturday and we will celebrate again with our local friends and neighbors.  We are so thankful for his little life and the joy he brings to us and others.  He is a blessing to know!

WHAT HAS HE BEEN UP TO LATELY?

*   He weighs around 22-23 pounds.  He will have his one year check-up in June.

*   He wears size 3 diapers

*   He is wearing 12 month clothes

*   He wears size 4 shoe

*   His eyes are blue/ gray, and his hair is blonde/ light brown

*   He recently cut tooth number 7.  That makes four on top and three on bottom.

*   He is eating a mixture of homemade food, table food, and jar food.  He still eats well.  We use things like

     Cheerios, yogurt melts, and puffs to distract him and he eats much better when he has something to play

     with and hold.  He loves feeding himself.  He gets really messy and almost always rubs his hands in his

     hair. 

*   He is still nursing- early morning, bedtime, and usually once during the day.  We supplemented formula

     for his other feeding and recently started giving him whole milk.  He is drinking it well. 

*   He loves music!  When he hears music or singing he will start smiling, clapping, and recently started
     moving his body to the beat.  He is a hoot.
*   He almost always waves when he hears hola or adios (hello or goodbye).  Not every time, but the
     majority of the time.
*   He started walking just this week.  He had been taking steps and walking while holding our hand or our
     pants leg, but just took off one day and has been going ever since.  We are so excited for him to be
     walking!
*   He now points to things he wants.  Many times he will grunt at you if you don't get it fast enough.
*   He talks in his sleep and still smiles and chuckles in his sleep as well.  We love hearing him and
     watching him sleep.
*   He loves to make a roaring sound.  He opens his mouth wide and growls.  He is a funny boy.
*   He loves anything round.  He will chase his ball all over the house.  He also likes to play with balloons.

*   He is a climber!  He is on the couch, in the chairs, on the shelves, and on anything he can get onto.  He

     has learned to stack something and step on it to help him get higher.  He is smart and keeps us on our

     toes.

*   He loves being outdoors.  He would stay outside all day if we let him.  He usually cries when we come

     back in.

*   He likes to push things.  He has a couple push toys that he goes all over the house with.  He also likes to

     push chairs and makes it difficult when we are out, especially at church.  The locals always talk about

     how strong he is.

*   He does not like to wear shoes.  He will let us put them on him, but he spends the rest of the time

     trying to get them off.  For that reason, he goes barefoot a lot. 

*   He loves getting in to the garbage can.  We have the kind that you step on the bottom and the top pops

     up.  That amazes him.  He also likes playing with the broom, dustpan, and mop. 

*   For some reason he likes to pull on my eyelashes and usually does this when I am nursing or rocking
     him to sleep.
*   He goes through phases where he just wants his mama- nothing else will do.
*   He decided a few weeks ago that he no longer likes his walker.  He discovered that he can get around
     better and get in to more when he is out of it.  He went from crying when we took him out of it to crying
     when we put him in.
*   He loves for you to sing to him and read to him.  His favorite book is Brown Bear Brown Bear what do
     you see and his favorite song is Zacchaeus.  We have him a magazine rack in the living room with many
     of his books in it.  He likes to dump them all out in the floor and that is the book he most always grabs
     first.  He will flip through the pages and growl at all of the animals.
*   He has learned how to push the buttons on his toys and interact with them more. 
*   He loves animals
*   He has two Baby Einstein videos.  He doesn't really sit still and watch them but loves the music.  We like
     to let it play in the background while he plays.
*   He still takes a morning nap and afternoon nap.  He is sleeping better at night too, but still has some bad
     nights.
*   He is a happy, healthy, full of life little boy.  He loves to smile, laugh, and be around people.  That is a
     blessing.

It has been a blessing to be his parents and we look forward to many, many more years to love and watch him grow.

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, CRUZ!!!

You make our hearts happy.