Alex’s First Year

Knowing that I’ll eventually forget everything Alex would’ve done in the first year, I’ve decided to compile a somewhat brief but hopefully telling list of things so that my son can brag to his friends about his developmental advancement when he’s got friends. This is in no order whatsoever because it would imply mental clarity on my part.

10. Alex is taking awkward steps that last short distances. He is definitely wanting to walk now, sometimes opting to stay on his feet without being prompted. He still has some problems with speed and turning, but he’s making some good progress.

9. He can dance, but most often only when there’s some kind of music. Some of it are pelvic thrusts, some of it’s bending down and springing back up with a hearty laugh. A lot of it is shaking his upper torso from side to side until he’s dizzy.

8. He can say Da-Da, Ah-Bah, Bah, Da, and different pitches of squeals. He can sometimes imitate a sound - the other day I was fencing with him with potatoe masher and he said, “Hi-Ya”, repeating after me. He also sometimes says, “This.” I doubt he has any comprehension to what any of it means.

7. He thinks farts, burps, people getting hurt, surprises, Mommy crying, kitty meowing for its dear life, and little sleeping sister is funny. He does a lot of things for approval, often doing a smirk after an action or seeing if people are enjoying him. He’s pretty cheerful, laughing hysterically often and to himself just as much. He’ll sit in his car seat with no one looking and laugh to himself. He’ll also join into laughter, when I’m laughing about something else, he’ll join in the joke.

6. He likes to bonk his head against the wall, smash things with his hands, and hit little sister on the head while she’s sleeping. He also goes for glasses, eyeballs, mouths and tounges, as well as his own reflection.

5. He can feed himself, though he’ll often shove everything in his mouth with little room to chew. This, of course results in constant choking on things. This also pisses Mom and Dad off a great deal. Take the time to enjoy your food, man.

4. He doesn’t like being changed. You have to distract him with a toy or a bottle or he’ll cry and wiggle like a worm, or just squirm away crying at the top of his lungs. For those reasons, I try not to change him unless I’ve got a clown or some form of pyrotechnics handy.

3. He has a set schedule. Wakes up at around 8:30 to 9am, and goes for his first nap at 12:30pm. He sleeps till 2:30 to 3:30, then gets up to have lunch, and rule more of the world. He has dinner at around six, and bedtime’s at 8:30pm. You sleep through the night, and your parents thank you for that.

2. My favorite memories of you are too many to list, but here’s some. We were at the zoo and an elephant was shaking his head, and I pointed to it and told you about it, and you shook your head. That make me happy. When we were at Mt. Rainier’s Visitor Center, I sat you on my lap and swayed side to side, going, “Whoa...” and then stopped. You swayed side to side on your own, making a similar tone, and you just about broke my heart and made me cry. When you took your first steps, we were all very proud of you and cheered you on. That encouraged you some more and you took more steps. When you were born, you made me weep because it was one of the happiest days of my life. When I kiss you goodbye and you smack your lips back, it makes me happy. When I came into your room and you stuck your lips between the bars, and I kissed them, making you laugh. And when I stuck my lips between the bars and you wanted to kiss them, but kept laughing before you kissed me, that made me happy. Sigh. Like I said, too many to list.

1. You get stranger anxiety, which is actually not that bad. Makes Mommy and Daddy feel like your most important people in the world, and that’s how we like it!