One year old

Happy Birthday Brady!

WOW! Where has the time gone and how is it that Hippo and the rocking chair keep shrinking? :) It is completely wild to think that one year ago we were in the hospital all day waiting for Brady to make his grand entrance. That happened at 11:05 PM and was the most incredible moment of our lives. It is even more unbelievable to us to realize that we love this amazing little person more and more every day.



Brady now walks completely on his own and has been doing so for about a month now. Just after his 11 month birthday, he just took off. Lately he's even gotten better at getting up in the middle of the floor without pulling up on something. His "down-dog" yoga position get up is so cute and I've always loved how toddlers squat to pick things up...I could watch him all day long! There are a few times we've seen him walk so fast and determined that it appears to be a run. He thoroughly enjoys being able to get around quickly and explore the world around him.

He has 8 teeth- four upper and four lower. For now they are seem pretty straight and make an adorable smile (obviously he got Daddy's dentals. Whoohoo! I hope they stay like Daddy's- straight, strong, and healthy!) When he was first getting teeth, I thought I'd miss his gummy grin. I did love that goober face, but his little boy smile melts my heart too.

He still says "da" for just about everything, but he definitely has inflection and tone. He adds a squeal that communicates his excitement very well. He increases his volume and uses a deeper tone when he's insisting. (We often tell him he can be quite bossy when this is accompanied by his funny little point...more on that in another post.) Lately he's also an excellent parrot and attempts to imitate what we say, but uses the "da da" of course. We think he really believes he's saying what he hears. Honestly when you couple his tone and inflection with just a little imagination, it kind of does sound like it...or at least it's suffice to say that we are thoroughly entertained (*sigh* parents!). For example we will say, "thank you!" in a sing-song voice and he will consistently reply "daa doo" in the same sing-song voice. We think he's signing "milk" and "more" consistently...but we're still in the process of testing that hypothesis. :)

He's eating everything we eat, with the exception of some citrus, sweets (poor kid...but I eat enough for both of us!), and of course nuts. Cheerios are still his favorite. He also seems to love tomato sauce. When all else fails, we give him pasta and vegetables with tomato sauce and cheese and he's content. He drinks whole milk and water and starting tomorrow will do this from sippy cups 100% of the time...no more bottles. Such a big boy!

Weight: 24 lbs. 4 oz. (70th percentile)
Height: 30.5 inches (75th percentile)