Bodhi First Birthday! 3-18-2013

I can't even begin to comprehend how quickly the last year flew by! 

Our sweet little peanut turned one today. 

I wrote the following 18 days ago. So without further ado, and before diving into photos, let's review what this kiddo is up to these days:

3-1-13: As I write, Bodhi is nearly a year old. Eighteen days away...I cannot believe that time has flown the way it has. Over the year, I have written emails to him to read when he is older. I record my thoughts of motherhood often. But it is driving me absolutely crazy that this blog is so behind as far as chronological order goes. There's nothing I can do about it, but try to catch up. And so I try. And I kept thinking that I'd write some of what may follow "when I was finally up to date." But by then, it'll be something different, and I just want the thoughts of where he is now and what he's doing to be recorded in present time. It is truly so magical.

The moments that are so magical are the everyday moments, the signs of his development, physically, mentally and emotionally, as well as his blossoming, and often hilarious personality!

Let's start with food: his palette is awesome! I think there was only one thing to which he's turned up his nose. It was peas, which he had eaten before, and he ate them again the next day. I love cooking for him and love that he enjoys it. His breakfast favorites are eggs, sometimes with cheese scrambled in, whole wheat french toast, plain yogurt with fruit mixed in with cinnamon and nutmeg. He likes frozen waffles and whole wheat toast as well. For lunch and dinner, we put together a plate from any of the following: chicken sauteed with curry, sweet potatoes with garam masala, veggies (cucumber, spinach, peas, squash, carrots), fish (he had tilapia for the first time tonight and inhaled it!), or our leftovers. He had shepherd pie this afternoon. He is a pro at holding his sippy cup and is learning to handle his utensils, and often gets food to his mouth.

He started crawling right around Christmas, and hasn't stopped moving! It is amazing how fast he gets around the house. He pulls himself up with ease and has started to stand for several seconds at a time. We half suspect we'll see walking by his Birthday.  Just today I turned around for a few seconds and he was climbing on a stepstool to sit atop his little music table and look out the window. I'm not sure when the last time was I moved that quickly; I was certain he was going to topple over onto his head. It just reinforces that we cannot take our eyes off of him!

Activities he loves include reading his books. He'll sit with a pile and just flip through the pages, pointing to pictures and looking to us for answers and explanations. His current favorite is Corduroy and he just squeals with delight as he turns the pages. In conjunction with books, he likes to spread out his animal flash cards and together we find matches. It's pretty awesome to see his gears turning. The other night the three of us sat on the floor and Tina and I rolled a ball back and forth, sometimes sending it to Bodhi. He immediately picked up the game and he rolled it to Tina, who rolled it to me and I rolled it to him and so on. If we reversed the passing order, he was right there with us. 

And this newly learned skill is just hilarious and ridiculous: last night he figured out how to make Zerberts on Tina's belly. It cracked all of us up! I lied down on the floor too, exposing my belly, and he attacked me too, going back and forth between us, laughing so hard the entire time. It. Was. Awesome!

He has just the sweetest disposition, and is a happy, smiley guy the majority of the time.  Recently he has started the semi-defiant arching of the back as resistance technique, and while I'm not a fan, I know it comes with the nest stage. We're so excited to watch him continue to grow and change and develop. xo to our sweet Bodhi boy!

Bodhi's Birthday went something like this:

Today was Tina's usual work day, and I had to be at the store for several hours this morning, so Grandma and Papa came over to babysit and spend time with Bodhioh.

Story Time with Grandma

They all enjoyed stories and playtime. After his nap and lunch, Bodhi needed an afternoon bath since we had friends coming over to celebrate his Birthday this evening.

It's amazing any water stays in his tub after all the splashing he does;
Bodhi loves bath time!

After tubby time and an unsuccessful attempt at a nap, the family made dinner and prepared for our dear friends, Rachael and Jean, to join us for a celebration.

The Birthday Boy with Mommy H

So Happy with Grandma and Papa!

B with honorary Aunt Rachael, aka "Auntie Panda"

Bodhi was a little mesmerized by the hubbub and attention, as well as the huge cake 

Our little family of three on Bodhi's first Birthday

With our dear friend, Jean...

 ...who apparently traumatized Bodhi! 

However he continued to enjoy his cake just fine,  

and was most content on Mama's lap with a wedge of cake in his face!

We wrapped up the evening by Skyping with Auntie Ashley and Ashton 

I told myself that I'd have his blog up to date for his first birthday, but alas, tis not the case. I hope my plan of posting many "saved spaces" will allow me to catch up and at least keep things sequential. However, my goal from here on out is as close to real-ish time posting as possible.