Baby Paul: 1 year!

Baby Paul turned 1 today! Can I still call him Baby Paul? Since my dad's name is Paul, early on I started calling him Baby Paul.  Plus my co-worker's name is Paul so it's easier to refer to Paul as baby Paul at work. I know he's probably technically a toddler now but he still seems like a baby to me since he's so small and isn't walking so I might hang onto that nickname for a little longer!

Firsts:

- We took him sledding for the first time last weekend. He really enjoyed it, especially when I would run with the sled! We have SO MUCH SNOW so I think we'll be able to take him sledding for at least a few more weeks. The challenge is that it's been so darn cold. If it was more mild outside I would take him on short sled rides after work every night.

- He got his first 'owie' from falling. He was using his walker and fell backwards and pulled the walker into his face. He got an abrasion on his nose and chin and was not happy about it when it happened! He bounced back pretty quickly, though, and wanted to use the walker again that afternoon so I guess it didn't scare him off. He seems to fall multiple times a day in the process of pulling himself up along furniture or when he reaches for a toy when he's standing along furniture. Such is the life of a babe that doesn't have a great sense of balance yet!

- He figured out how to climb our stairs this week. The first step is pretty steep so it took him a good month of working at it to get his little leg high enough to climb. Once he tackled that first step, he had no problem crawling up more steps! We don't have a baby gate. When we had our main floor painted 2 falls ago, we had them patched the indentation in the wall from the gate the previous owner. I'd really like to avoid making marks in the wall again from a gate so we are holding off on installing one for now. (We are still hoping we find a house soon but this awful weather is pushing out the spring buying season!)

Growth:

- He was weighed at his 12-month appointment on Wednesday and weighed 17 lbs 11 oz and is 28 inches long. He's almost 5th percentile now. Woo hoo! He eats quite a bit these days so I guess he must have a super high metabolism.

- He's still wearing mostly 9-month clothes. He finally outgrew the 6-9 month snow suit we'd been using this winter. But he still fits his 6-9 month onesies. We get A LOT of use out of his clothes since he stays in the same size for such a long time!

Loves:

- He is such an active little guy.  He's always pulling himself up along furniture or crawling around the house with a toy in one hand.

- His new favorite game is knocking down block towers that Phil and I build.

Oscar is hissing at Paul in this photo. She does not like when he gets close and "talks" to her. Oh, Oscar. 

She growled shortly after this photo was taken. 

- He's still obsessed with Oscar. We don't think Oscar would ever hurt Paul but she definitely growls and hisses at him. He doesn't speak her language and thinks the hisses and growls are funny.

  

- He still loves being read to but it's hard to know what book he will enjoy. He will push and kick away a book if he's not interested in it! He really, really likes looking through the Chatbooks I've had made from my Instagram photos. He gets the biggest smile when looking through these books. He doesn't like the books from when he is a baby, though. I'm guessing he doesn't understand that the baby is him!

- He loves to shake his head no to things. He doesn't really understand what it means because he'll shake his head no when he's eating but opens his mouth for more food. But I guess saying no is just sooo fun for a baby/toddler!

Dislikes:

- Getting his diaper changed and putting on clothes. He cries initially when he lays down on the changing table. It's can be very challenging to change his diaper because he wants to flip over into crawling position!

- We've changed our technique for washing his hands and face. He would cry and protest when I wiped his hands with a cloth so now he dips his hands in a little bowl of water and then I dry them off. I also pat the water on this face and gently rub off whatever is on his face and he enjoys that much more than getting his face rubbed with a wash cloth!

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I'm very excited to celebrate his first birthday this weekend. I hope he likes the attention! He's a very social baby as long as he can see me. If I leave the room, he starts to cry...

I'll be back next week with pictures from his low-key first birthday party!