Our Beautiful Three: Countdown to Macario's 1st Birthday: 11.5 Months

There are only 14 days left until Macario's 1st birthday! 14!? That's only two weeks. What is happening right now?

I've already cried once over this, but I'm not sure what my emotions will be like on the day of. I just know it's going to be so surreal to think about exactly what we were doing on that exact day last year in comparison to what we will be doing this year.

Since I may be too distracted to come up with an update for 12 months (at least not right away), I thought I'd do a half-month update. My little guy changes so much by the day that this is probably a good idea anyway.

So, first off Mac is sick AGAIN. I just hope this means he's building up lots of immunities and will fend off all illnesses during the coming year. It's so nice to wish. Anyhow, onto his development.

Speech:

Macario definitely has mastered his vocal inflections. Though most of what he says is still just gibberish, I believe one could sort of figure out what he means to say just by listening to the tone of his voice. He really does seem to know exactly what he is saying and meaning, but it's not all in English just yet. *smile* He does have some words, however. He says Mamma, Mom, Daddy, Dad, Baba (Bottle), Boom (my favorite--besides Mamma), Dow (Down), No, and as of yesterday Bah-buh (Basket). Last night he was trying to say apple and was focusing very closely on the way my mouth moved when I said it. It was adorable. All that kept coming out was Bah-pah. He was so proud of himself for saying it! He can also repeat the sounds for lion and elephant.

Social Development:

My little guy is still as friendly as ever. He loves to play with other kids and is not overly shy around other adults. Sometimes he needs a minute to get comfortable in a new place or around new people, but in general he's very friendly and quite independent.

Macario and his cousins (he kept wanting to hug them)

Sleep:

Thankfully, Macario is sleeping very soundly these days. We had some struggles with sleep regression around 7 months(?) I think, but I successfully got that resolved and we have been on a good track ever since. I'm currently working on weaning him off of his dream feed. I thought he had weaned himself, but he took a step back on that. For selfish reasons, I'm not rushing this. I just love snuggling my little guy before bed and during the dream feed. He's so active now that he rarely slows down to let me hold him anymore.

His naps are (and always have been) a totally different story. I feel bad that he's never gotten on a consistent napping schedule. Most days he does nap at least twice a day. Sometimes those naps are long and sometimes they're very short. Other days he doesn't nap at all. I feel bad for this, but that is why I focus so much energy on making sure he gets really good sleep at night.

Physical Development:

Macario is a growing and ever changing boy. He now runs (really just a fast walk), can get to standing position without support from anything/anybody, climbs up stairs, tries to climb up his jumper and get in it himself, shares his food (by feeding it to people), mimics behaviors like talking on the phone, combing his hair and patting his hands on his lap like the kids on Little Einsteins! He can also pull the covers off of the outlets! I'm sure there are several other things he is doing that I haven't mentioned, but this is a good enough example of how grown up my little guy is at just 11.5 months!

Mimicking daddy playing video games!

Other fun developments:

Yesterday, Macario surprised himself by turning on the projection light on his sound machine. For the first time ever he made a surprised look, you know like when your eyes get big and you mouth gapes open? That is what he looked like! He was so happily surprised when he saw that light. He can also take his diaper off (fun times). He still has only two teeth, but he is cutting the top right tooth (it looks like a big one too, just like Mom and Dad--poor kid).

We are having so much fun with our little guy these days. He's always been the light of our lives, but he's so much more interactive and responsive now which makes for a lot of fun!

I love seeing the world through his curious eyes.