Luke: 1 Year

Height: 31 in. (87%)

Weight: 19.2 lbs. (16%)

Head Circ: 18.8 in. (88%)

At 1 year, Luke has 8 teeth (with a couple canines and at least one molar coming in). He wears size 3 diapers and 12 month clothing. His first word was "bye". One morning before Kory left for work, Luke just walked up to him and said "bye" while waving to him. 

He also regularly says: Mama, Daddy, Bye, and Hi. "Daddy" is by far the clearest word he says and it's pretty cute to see his face light up when Daddy walks in the door. He babbles a lot and it feels like he's picking up new words almost every day.

I remember describing Peter as a great napper and a crummy night time sleeper and I'd say the same is true for Luke right now. He got a cold recently and now has molars coming in so he's up 2-5 times most nights. I can nurse him back to sleep quickly, which I'm thankful for, but I need to bite the bullet soon and night wean him again. I'm not quite ready to wean completely, but I'd be happy with just nursing him in the morning and right before bedtime.

An "average" day looks something like this:

• 8:00 a.m. wake up and nurse/eat breakfast
• Play with Peter & Mommy
• 11:00-1:00 nurse and nap
• Eat lunch/nurse, run errands or play while Mommy works around the house
• 4:00-6:00 nurse and nap
• Dinner, play until bath time 
• 8:00-8:30 nurse and then go to bed 

Luke is a really good eater. His favorite things are bananas, Cheerios, raisins, and Veggie Straws. He loves to eat anything from a pouch and will eat as much meat as we will give him. So far, he hasn't really liked tomatoes or avocados, but has eaten everything else he's tried. He doesn't want to be spoon fed at all now and prefers to do it all himself. 

Luke started walking shortly after he turned 11 months. I LOVE this toddling stage where they look a bit drunk while they stumble around into everything. He still crawls occasionally but much prefers walking now. As I hoped, he's become much more independent since he started walking. He was in a stage where he'd hold onto my legs and fuss for me to hold him and it was not my favorite. Now that he can walk on his own, he spends a good portion of his day chasing Peter from room to room. 

As you can see, he LOVED his birthday cake. He started smashing his pacifier into the icing and then sucking the icing off. It was a slow, but effective (and funny) way to eat it. He has his typical baby/toddler moments, but he really is a happy guy most of the time. He often fights being buckled into his car seat or having his diaper changed, but he's getting better at both situations, thankfully.  

I honestly think going from 0-1 kid was harder for me than going from 1-2 kids, but 1-2 was more exhausting. I often longed for the days of napping when the baby napped and not having anyone else to depend on me. I think I've finally reached the point where 2 kids is easier than 1 most of the time, though. Peter LOVES to share food with Luke or get him a toy/pacifier/drink or tickle him to cheer him up. In fact, if Luke is crying in the bedroom, Peter often yells to me, "I'll check on Lukey...don't check on him too! You stay here. I got him!"  

It feels like such an accomplishment to reach 1 year! The baby stage is HARD for me. It's fun and sweet and I love so many parts of it, but it's also just stinking hard. I feel such a relief that Luke is able to do more on his own (walking, playing with Peter, feeding himself) and I can have a small bit of my freedom back. It's truly a joy to watch Luke's personality develop more every day. It feels silly to think back to the time when I was so nervous to add another kid to our family. Luke Rainier, we are SO happy you're ours! Happy 1st Birthday!!