Davis Family: ONE YEAR UPDATE

Its official, the fastest year of my life has come to a close. My baby is one. I am done nursing!!!!!!!!!!!!! (There are no words sanctioned by the FCC that allow me to express how glad I am to be done nursing, and especially to be done pumping) I am in less shock than I thought I'd be at this point. I feel like for the past 6 months I've been saying, "wow, Waylon is X months old. In just X months he'll be one!" Thus, when he actually turned one it didn't exactly sneak up on me. That said, I still find myself staring at him, wondering if it will ever sink in that together, Aaron and I created this little person. Totally amazing stuff!

TODDLING?
Things are going really well these days (which means by writing that I have just jinxed myself completely). Waylon is crawling at warp speed and "cruising" all around the house while holding on to furniture, walls, the dogs, or his parents. He can stand on his own for several seconds at a time, depending on how distracted he is. Once he realizes that he is standing unassisted, he sits down. If he gets really distracted, he'll actually take steps. Until today (3/14) he had taken independent steps 3 times, but today when I got home from work he was attempting to walk like crazy. At one point he saw me with cheese in my hands and took about 3 or 4 independent steps to get to me. The power of cheese! I guess he is going to be walking soon, which I think means he is officially a toddler, and no longer my baby--very sad. However, it also means that my arms get a break from carrying his rather dense little form around all the time--very happy!

PARTY TRICKS
I think they should have awards for neurotic parents called the "neuries." Aaron and I would be a shoe in for this award. I thought the pediatrician was going to drop kick us out of the office if I asked one more time, "so is that OK? He isn't delayed is he?" Say it with me, "every kid is different." I know this, but its just so hard when its your own child, and at playgroup I see much younger babies clapping, waving, pointing, repeating words, and other "party tricks" as Aaron calls them. Waylon's only trick is holding up his fake cell phone to his ear. Of course when he did this we thought he was a genius until he started holding spoons, shoes, and water bottles to his ear as well. Lets just say that we aren't preparing his early registration to Harvard just yet.

PEDIATRICIAN APPOINTMENT
On March 2, 2007 we had Waylon's one year appointment. Here are the stats:
weight: 22.8 lbs (50th percentile)
height: 30" (50th percentile)
head: 46 cm (45th percentile)

According to the doctor, Waylon is doing great and despite Aaron and I pointing out every single thing "wrong" with Waylon, he was deemed to be a normal, healthy child. He babbles a lot, but doesn't say "mama" or "dada" in context. We also cant get him to do sign language, but that hasn't prevented him from getting us to bow to his every wish. Aaron hypothezizes that Waylon is not mimicking what we do (i.e. sign language, clapping, waving) because he is fiercely independent. We get the feeling that he thinks that clapping like a monkey is beneath him, and is choosing not to do it. At least, that is what we are telling ourselves. Waylon is a GREAT eater, and has added spinach, kidney beans, blueberries, cantaloupe, and dried mango to his diet. He is still a good sleeper at night and his naps are getting longer--although he still naps much longer for the nanny than for mommy. Overall, he is a happy kid and Aaron and I feel so lucky every day to have him in our lives!

Here is a preview of some of Doug's pictures from Waylon's one year photo session: