June 17, 2009: One year!
You know it gets dangerous when you think it went by fast. Nikola weighed 21 lbs and 6 oz and 30.5" tall at his 12-month-appt. My biggest kid yet. He has 5 teeth, three up, two down. He loves to eat and he's not very picky. Except leftovers. Most of the time he'll pass if he's had it the night before. (Really? Son? Get used to it.)
Looking from the amount of entries you'd think his boy is neglected. But hey, if he is neglected, so am I. (Check my site. There.) His is the childhood though that I'm probably a bit more familiar with, although my siblings were a lot older. Just like him I was never the first to do anything and so lots of the first-child-excitement isn't there, but you can see it doesn't touch his behavior or personality at all. In fact he is probably more self-assured than any other child in this household. This is what happens when you have older siblings. Partly it's also simply because if his age. One-year-olds are bold... and dumb, but still so bold! Climbing the stairs, swishing the toilet water, eating kleenex, screeching with complete abandon, slamming the doors, investigating dangerous chemicals... it's the epitomy of "I want it all". So exhausting. He is my third child, so more than ever I am aware how short this stage is, on the other hand that also gives me less patience. Grow out of it, already!
He detests diaper changes, he immediately turns over and attempts to crawl away. I have had to use my whole upper body weight to pin him down in order to attach the diaper. And, like I said, he is the heaviest so far...
Last weekend we went to Washington, D.C. for a two-day-trip and even though we had a great time, Lincoln and I were ready to come home. This is a horrible age to accompany oneself while travelling. Naps could not be kept as normal and sitting in highchairs was required more than usual as well as sitting in strollers and by the afternoon of the second day the conditions were set for the perfect storm: take overtired and frustrated toddler across the National Mall and attempt to take him up to the Lincoln Memorial at the end (this failed). He screamed and screeched and screamed some more and twisted his little body in all directions trying to escape someone's arms or the stroller. (Check out the updated movie page for documentation) It prompted people to point fingers. It was a new sight to behold, right there along all the dignified presidents. He was relentless. Only hours later on the way home did he give up in Lincoln's (not Abraham's) arms, in some totally sweaty and uncomfortable position and slept like that for half an hour.
This was extreme behavior, for sure, but one-year-olds generally are not prone to compromise. Nikola delights and frustrates us in equal measure. There is no cure against our enthusiasm for his laughs and antics and nose-wrinkling, down to the chubby neck and thighs... or so it seems, until he decides to be cranky for a while and we seriously think it might be time for boarding school.
Nikola doesn't talk. He communicates, but not with words yet. Occasionally he says something that resembles "wooow" - an expression we have to use a lot because of the other two ("mama, mama, look! look at me!"). He does some type of nodding and a casual "uh" noise, but usually he reaches for things and screams and kicks if he doesn't want something. I had done signs with him from about 9 months on, but he didn't sign anything back. The only "sign" he will use is waving his hand when he's done eating. He loves to clap and to dance. He knows when to do those things at the appropriate times. He simply has no need to speak and I can see why. Almost at all times he is surrounded by noise and voices and communication and some type of toddler activity. All the talk necessary is being done. He just goes with the flow. I have no doubt once he is ready, it will be a matter of weeks to form sentences.
I love how Nikola has joined our family and his place in it with such ease. His brother and sister adore him and he takes it for granted. He is number three with all the advantages that come with that (who needs playdates?). Whatever he is supposed to learn is being modeled right in front of him on a daily basis. I know he can't wait to join the other two and their craziness.
Posted by mama at 04:04 PM