Happy 1-Year Birthday, Ethan!

You know what they say, Better late than never. It's the official one-year birthday post. I can't believe I'm actually the mother of a one-year-old. Sometimes I tell myself that I'm the mother of a 12-month old, just to make him seem smaller...but the facts are the facts. My baby is ONE. 
Stats: At the doctor, Ethan weighed 20 pounds, 12 ounces. They say that kids are supposed to triple their birth weight by their first birthday, and we've definitely done that. His weight puts him in the 25th percentile for weight. His height, well, that's another story. He is 32 inches long (or tall? at what point do you convert from calling it length to height?). He is in the 95th percentile for that! Ethan got three shots this time, since we opted to get the flu shot. He handled it as well as any baby who gets stabbed with three different needles. He cried. But, he did calm down quickly, and had no reaction to any of the shots. Yay! Ethan now has four top teeth and two bottom teeth. We think he may be cutting some more teeth, since all the signs are there, but we're still waiting for it to make an appearance.

Likes: Ethan loves playing with his shoes and socks. We put him in the car with both shoes and socks on, and usually by the time we arrive at our destination, he has taken at least one shoe, if not both shoes and socks, off his feet. This, I must say, is slightly annoying, as he fusses and cries when he has trouble removing them. Ethan loves anything with buttons, or things he can push around. His favorite toys are the ones he can make "work". His new favorite meal is quesadillas with cheese and sweet potatoes. He'll even eat that in leftover form! 

Dislikes: Ethan hates being told "no". He wants to get into things and make them "work", so it bugs him when we say "no", or our new favorite, "hands off". We oftentimes have to remove his hand from things he shouldn't touch (like the dog's water bowl), and he gets pretty annoyed at that.

Tricks: This list continues to grow and grow. Ethan is quite the little comedian. He likes to flirt and make silly faces so that we will laugh at him. He cracks himself up when he sees that he's gotten a reaction out of us. Ethan also bounces up and down and shakes his booty when you sing, "Dance, dance, dance". Very cute to watch. We've noticed that Ethan is standing on his own. I can tell that he is toying with the idea of taking a step or two, but he just isn't quite there yet. We think he'll be walking by the time I write his 13-month post! Finally, Ethan likes to feed himself his big boy Gerber Grabbers (and other puree pouches). He's getting so independent with his eating, which is so neat to see.

Mom: Things are still going well for me. Now that his birthday party is over, I feel like I've got some more free time on my hands on the home front. I feel very content with where I am right now in my life, as a working mommy. I am very much looking forward to the holiday season this year, and spending it with all of our loved ones.