I cannot believe that baby C is a year old today!!!!  He had a camp themed birthday party and it was so fun.  He has changed so much – he takes one nap now, drinks milk, walks EVERYWHERE, points, says a handful of words, and is the most playful joyful little guy there is.

Around 11.5 months he dropped his morning nap (if we are driving sometimes he will fall asleep for a short bit, but otherwise he doesn’t really take a morning nap anymore), so I put him and A down around noon instead.  He takes a solid 2 hour nap and wakes recharged for afternoon play.

I ran out of formula at around 11.5 months as well, so we didn’t really transition to milk – we just gave him milk and thankfully he liked it and it all worked out.

This is what I wrote on Facebook today about my sweet, sweet 1 year old:

I cannot believe my baby is 1!!!! Oh Curren…..after an easy labor the nurse put him on my chest and I kid you not, he lifted his head and looked right up at me. I almost dropped him I was so startled, and he has been keeping me on my toes ever since.

Curren liked to sleep in 2 hour increments the first 2 months of his life. I have never been so tired, but during the day when Austin was at pre-school, Curren would fall asleep on my chest and there was no place I’d rather be than snuggling him. Baby sleep bootcamp at 3 months got our sleep back on track, but you know how they say you just forget how tired you were when you have a newborn? I WILL NEVER FORGET LOL.

Curren didn’t seem like a little baby for very long….he was sitting up and crawling and trying to stand by 6 months, probably because he has major FOMO. Whatever Austin is doing, he is right next to him doing it too. They have played together every day since that age and I’m so grateful for their special bond. He wakes up every morning asking for Austin, and vice versa.

Part of him seeming to have always been a toddler baby was my fault. The days I go to work are a mad dash trying to get everyone dressed, fed, and out the door so John and I somehow stopped spoon feeding Curren food around 6 months as well and sort of left him to it. The poor kid has 2 teeth but we hand him grown up food like it’s no big deal. He complies, and I truly don’t know what I did to deserve such a special son. He has just always fit right in with our family. Whenever we go somewhere, Austin says “Come on Curren!!!” and Curren just scampers along to catch up with us.

Curren started cruising around 9 months, around the time he got his helmet to correct a flat spot on his head. His daycare teachers were actually grateful for this since they nicknamed him Evel Knievel. He is pretty much a stunt baby and is non-stop physical lol. They also call him Leonardo Dicaprio because he is the cutest dreamboat ever. Most of Curren’s pacifiers are pink (Target never has boy colors) so one of my fave questions someone asked me about him (while wearing him helmet) was if “she has seizures”. John often gives the boys baths or showers and I can’t even be around because it is the most aggressive thing I’ve ever seen!

Curren lights up when he sees me or John and says Mama and Dada all day long. He can also say outside, hi, bye, he can wave, he says Austin, he likes to point at things, and he signs for all done. I love when he says Austin’s name and Austin lights up and tells me, “He said Austin!!!!” He loves to play independently, he loves to wrestle and laugh with his brother (they totally do that sibling thing where you just look at each other and laugh for no reason), he loves to eat, sleep, and nap like a champ, and when I tell him not to do something, he likes to do it anyway, look me directly in the eyes, and laugh.

No matter where I take Curren (the zoo, Target, out to eat, the mall, Sea World) he is always stoked and loves to look around and flirt with everyone. (Except pretty sure he ruined a bunch of people’s dinners at Paradise Point on Christmas – that was one dinner he despised).

Since Curren is my second, I had the experience to know how fleeting the first year is and I’ve soaked in every single part of it. I have wanted everything to slow down and this will always have been one of the most magical years of my life. Curren has such a fun, spirited, and unique personality, the kind that is clearly a gift from God. I love everything about him – Happy 1st birthday Cur Cur.

I forgot to post a 9 month update because our schedule is still the same, and it is the same at 10 months as well.  I imagine it will stay this way until 1 year, when he will switch to 1 nap.  I’ll have some figuring out to do then because at daycare his nap will be at 11:30, but I still like to have both kids nap at the same time so I might try to get them both as close to 12 as I can – we will see!

The last 2 months have been awesome.  C’s personality is growing each day, and I love watching him play with A, play with toys, say “mama” all day, and be the cutest!  We are happy with 2 kids and feel our family is complete, but it is definitely this age when I’m like, “I want all the babies!!”

At 10 months I threw away C’s bottles and he now uses sippy cups.  I find the transition earlier helps because they aren’t super attached to the bottle like they are later on.  Not that there is a problem with bottles, I just find drinking out of a cup is easier, especially at restaurants and on the go 🙂  Here is our schedule for 9 and 10 months….copied and pasted from 8 months with the only difference being a slightly later morning nap.

C broke out of his swaddle at 4 and it kept happening until 6.  A is a little sick and contagious and we needed to cancel a few of our weekend plans involving other kids, including a holiday get together. The house cleaning service called to raise their rates, and our air conditioner isn’t working.  Since these things all were going on before 9am, I started to feel upset and then I stopped and asked myself, “Are any of these issues big things, or are they all just little things?”  I immediately felt better, even though nothing was resolved at that moment.  These are like the tiniest non-issues in the world!  I was at the zoo with the boys when I had this moment, and I actually turned the stroller around to go back to the exhibits that I was not present for because my mind was elsewhere and this time I was THERE and took the time to talk to A about the animals like we usually do, and to soak in the awe in his eyes and his sweet little smile.

It is amazing how easy it can be to let things get to us, especially if annoying stuff all seems to happen at once.  Taking a step back however and really thinking about a “problem” helps me to see it in a new light.  Yes, C broke out of his swaddle at 4 – but hello! He slept until 4!!!!  Yes, A is a little sick, but he is in good spirits and going to recover quickly.  Yes, we need to re-arrange some plans this weekend but I would hope others would give me the same courtesy if their child was sick, and someone actually came over and fixed the air conditioner so we are going to be nice and cool tonight 🙂