Approaching 1…

I absolutely cannot believe that Blake is going to turn 1 in around three weeks. We’ve been planning his birthday party and it’s really starting to hit home how incredibly fast this time has gone. He’s officially a toddler now and is literally running around all over the place. He plays chasings, runs over with his wide-spread waddly legs and steals handfuls of food from our plates when we eat. He gets into all the cupboards and he’s in love with In The Night Garden and Roary the Racing Car. He’ll be sitting in his high chair having dinner and the chimes for In The Night Garden will start on TV and his head whips around to watch. He’s becoming so independent and he’s even started refusing his formula bottles, which are now down to just morning and night. He loves tipping his toys upside down, especially those with wheels, so that he can stand over them and examine them from a different view. He gets frustrated and cries with anger if he can’t do something by himself. I was drinking from a glass today and offered him his sippy cup, which he angrily shoved away with a loud yell, reaching towards my glass! He’s started mimicking us so much and it’s really made me aware of how he views me as a role model.

Sorry, I’ve gone off-track. The time with Blake, as a baby, has flown. I can’t believe it’s almost been six months since he was six months old. Almost a year since the day he was born. That tiny, fuzzy-faced, soft little helpless creature that I could put in any position whatsoever and be assured that he’d still be there ten minutes later, is now walking upright in front of me with those same beautiful big curious eyes. His skin is getting tougher, no longer delicate and furry like a peach. Now it’s bruised from those little (well, sometimes big) tumbles as he learns to use those feet, cheeks smeared with food as he becomes a real little grime-loving boy. We look at clothes that were too big for him as a newborn and wonder how he ever fit more than his left thumb in them! We look at his arm bands from hospital, photos, hell – we’ve even kept his umbilical cord stump. It’s all so amazing, all so fleeting. It’s gone too fast. How is it that this baby…this baby who was in my belly and totally dependent on me for nutrition and oxygen just 11 months ago is now so big and independent already? Oh, but he still only has 2 teeth. Well, 3, but he only has a whopping 1mm of that top canine that broke through about a week ago.

So we’ve been making preparations for his party! We have most of the stuff we need now, it’s just the food that’s left. It’s a small 2 hour party at home as it’s the middle of Winter and so cold and Blake is still in a strict routine with a two hour long nap at noon. I’ve made the invitations as you can see above, but we’re still mulling over who to actually invite! Like the wedding, there are several people we feel obligated to invite, but who don’t really need to be there. This is Blake’s party, I want it to be enjoyable for him. He has a bit of social anxiety and gets overwhelmed easily around people he doesn’t know very well, so we really only want to invite the people he knows and loves – but unfortunately that excludes people who “expect” to be invited. But let’s be fair – do they really expect an invite if the last time they saw Blake he was four months old? It goes both ways. Friendships and family relationships are two way streets.

In other news, Daniel has Shingles and my cat had his nose split in half and then stitched up at the vets. Daniel and I have been on work holidays and despite his sickness, I’ve loved having him around! I thank my stars every day for giving me a man who is so helpful, so aware and so selfless and generous with his time and efforts.

We have to shop for Blake’s 1st birthday presents soon! I’m stumped! I know I want to get him an activity table, but that’s all. Does anyone have any good ideas for toys for toddlers 12mo+?

Tagged as: Blake, Milestones