ONE (again!)

Today is Mister Finn’s “adjusted-age” first birthday! I feel a real sense of accomplishment (here is a healthy one-year-old boy!), and relief (having made it through the most tender fragile baby months) and excitement: now we get to play.

This boy is so fucking wonderful. He is this tender morsel, a nugget of heaven I get to smell and kiss and nibble on. He lets me do these things as he carries on with his work, “oh Mama, if you must. But I’ve got to focus here.” I’m fixated on his feet lately. These sweet stinky chubby baby feet are the best thing in the world, I think. He is loving “this little piggy went to market” and we do it with most diaper changes. When it’s time for the littlest toe – “and this little piggy ran wee wee wee wee wee all the way home” – he is ecstatic with giggles by the time I get to “this.”

He is a content little guy; happy to sit and turn the pages of his books; lecturing his stuffed monkey with theatrical intonations and various hand gestures; rapping dominoes against a colander and then a block, thrilled by the different sounds.

He says “Mama” when I point to myself and say “Mama.” He says “Ah-GAH!” when we play the sneezing game, “Ah-CHOO!”

He likes to hold my hand when he nurses.

Interestingly, he is hitting his developmental milestones the same way I did as a baby–  a little early with the language/cognitive skills and a little late with the gross motor skills. He’s just starting to crawl, with more success going backwards than forwards. We’ve been spoiled by these luxurious months with a baby that will likely stay in the same place we set him. Our baby-proofing is going to go into high gear this week…

His favorite food is roast beef. He always gets a little panicky with excitement for it, like he can’t eat it fast enough.

He can drink from a cup by himself, though he usually needs a new shirt afterward.

We’re going to go out for cupcakes to celebrate his Birthday Part 2.