One!

Our Damon is one year old! He’s a delight. Full of smiles and energy. For the longest time he was a totally chill baby, but not anymore. He still has a pretty chill disposition, but he’s found his voice and likes to jabber away, sometimes at the top of his lungs, and he’s always on the move. He does sit still sometimes, to investigate a toy for example, but mostly he wants to keep on moving. At this point, he can keep himself amused for a long time if there are toys around. He does like to take hug breaks pretty frequently though, where he’ll crawl into your lap and give a quick hug, then just as quickly he’s off playing again. It’s kind of like a little check-in. I like it. One of the nicest things about Damon though is how excited he gets when you pick him up. He literally trembles all over. Or if you’re holding him and Riley runs up (for example), he’ll scream and tremble and shake his hands in the air. He definitely knows how to get excited.

Anyone who has visited our house knows there is no shortage of toys, yet somehow Damon’s favorite things to crawl around with are spatulas and toothbrushes. One particular favorite is a blue and purple Dora the explorer toothbrush he got as a hand-me-down from Riley. If he sees us brushing our teeth he will literally go crazy until he gets a toothbrush to chew on as well. I would say it bodes well for his dental hygiene, but given his habit of chewing on the toothbrush, then crawling around with it in his hand, dragging on the floor, I’m not sure there’s really any “hygiene” to speak of.

[Still loves to swing]

A few weeks ago I had a classic working mom episode (or maybe this happens to all moms?). I had a tough week with Damon. We had traveled a bit and I was having trouble getting him to eat and nurse and nap, and I felt like I was always making him cry. When we came home I had a couple busy days at work, and by the end of the week I had convinced myself that Damon didn’t like me. We have a wonderful nanny, Yolly, and I told myself, how could I possibly compete with her? She’s been taking care of babies for 20 years, she’s a professional for god’s sake! My dad was visiting at the time. I came home from work early one day, and in response to a simple, “How was your day?” i burst into tears about being a bad mother and Damon not liking me. He just laughed. Then apologized for laughing. Then laughed again. After a while he managed to convince me I was being ridiculous, and he reminded me that we had almost the same conversation long ago about Riley when she was this age. That night I ended up being home alone with the kids and had a great night with them, a perfect night really. Nights like that make me feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

[Dinner with Dad]

I do have to admit that I am pretty clearly not number one in Damon’s world though… that position is definitely Sage’s. But I’m a pretty close #2, and I have to say, being second best after an awesome Dad is not so bad.

What else to report about our little guy… Well he’s definitely a good eater (and actually not really a ‘little guy’ as a result). Last summer we traveled with friends of ours, Michael and Jewelin, and we were really impressed by how they could just feed their daughter (who was maybe 15 months at the time) from their plates, whatever they happened to be eating. So when Damon started taking solid food, we let him sample whatever we happened to be eating… which of course meant he quickly lost interest in the little bottles of baby food. He’ll eat anything… hummus, chicken tikka masala, spinach lasagna, spicy almond noodles… there’s almost nothing he’ll refuse. Except cold straight-from-the-refrigerator food, he doesn’t like that.

A few months ago, when Damon started consistently sleeping though the night, we moved him into Riley’s room. So far it’s worked out really well. Sometimes he’ll wake up and cry for a little bit at night, but most of the time Riley sleeps right through it. We taught her to just come in to our room if he wakes her up. Mostly they both sleep really well though. Damon wakes up some time between 6-6:30, then typically Riley comes to sleep in our room while I nurse Damon in their room. Sage and I switch off days sleeping in…

I went back to read the blog from when Riley turned one, and am kind of amazed at how different the kids seem already. Damon gave up the pacifier months ago. He also started drinking cow milk just recently with no problem, and doesn’t seem to notice the sudden lack of bottles. With Riley this all seemed like a BIG DEAL. The weaning process still feels like a big deal though. I’m down to twice a day (morning and night of course). My pump parts have been slowly falling apart, and a few days ago my last breast shield sprung a leak… so I decided it was time to retire medela. God I hate pumping. But nursing is nice. In the morning, Damon nurses and somehow simultaneously smiles at me and it’s just amazingly cute. In the evening he snuggles in and nurses to sleep. This week I’m planning to stop… I’m sure it will be no big deal… but I am a little sad to lose that connection. It’s a very familiar feeling from 4 years ago with Riley. I’ve learned from watching my friends though that the longer you wait, the harder it is to wean, so this is the week to do it.

[Gardening… Damon loves to play with dirt… and sometimes eat it]

[Damon drives the Tesla]

[Finger painting]

Tomorrow is Damon’s birthday and we have some big festivities planned… We took Riley to a toy store to pick out some presents for Damon, and baked him blueberry muffins. We have a birthday table all planned out for him even. Good times… I hope he enjoys it!