12 Months - Happy Birthday!

(A little late)

Coda’s birthday was so much fun. We had a party in Idaho, and a party in Vegas to celebrate. Coda loved his smash cake. I had to interrupt his eating after a while, since he was going to town, and I didn’t think he should eat the whole thing. He got lots of cars for his birthday, which he was excited about. He’s loved mimicking his cousins driving their cars around and making motor noises. Chris loved that he got his first pair of goggles, which are still a little too big (thank goodness). He got a really fun basketball hoop and walker/car that are a lot of fun. He got lots of blocks, balls, stackables, and an elephant shape sorter. We’ve been busy having a blast with all the new toys.

One of the most exciting changes this month was Coda started walking. It happened the night before his birthday at his birthday party. He had taken steps before, unprovoked a few times, but it was not very often. After his birthday celebrations, we were all sitting around talking at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. The babies were playing in the center of the room. Coda stood up and started yelling and clapping. We all looked at him and he proceeded to yell and clap while he walked across the room to Chris. We all clapped and cheered and he loved it. He did it for the rest of the night, always announcing himself and waiting for us to start cheering.  It was amazing how sturdy he was, walking clear across the room without falling.

He doesn’t say a whole lot of words, although I’m pretty sure he tries to say banana. He sticks with Dada and his Chewbacca noises. But he does understand a lot of words. He knows up, grape, banana, cracker, splash, clap, and nap (his least favorite).

His sleeping habits have greatly improved (mostly since I implemented strategies from a book that was recommended to me). He goes to bed around 7:00pm, and sleeps until 6:45am or 7:00am. He takes a one hour morning nap, and a one hour afternoon nap.

His favorite foods currently are grapes, bread, banana, and anything crunchy. He has 8 teeth, with 3 or 4 molars trying to come in. We ditched the bottle on his birthday which he is not a fan of. He had been drinking 7oz of milk right before bedtime, contently lying on Chris’s lap. Now it’s a battle to get him to drink 1oz out of the sippy cup.

Coda loves his Daddy. When he hears the door open and shut, he’ll freeze, look at me all excited, throw whatever he’s holding, and book it for the stairs. He usually goes so fast he falls down and finishes crawling as fast as he can. He stands at the top of the stairs (holding onto the blockade) making excited noises until Chris appears.  He yells and Chris swoops him up and they play for 30 minutes or so. Chris throws, tickles, and chases Coda all around the house.

This has been an amazing year that Chris and I will always treasure. Coda is such a wonderful part of our lives, and has shown us how much our love can increase with every passing month. It is so exciting to watch him grow and learn new things, but I still get teary eyed looking back at his pictures over his first year. What a perfect little friend he is.