Miles had his first birthday last Saturday, April 25th. In some ways it felt like it took a long time to get there and in others it felt like it flew by. We made him a cake the weekend before so I could get some pictures before his actual birthday, then the whole week leading up to the 25th I found myself emotional and randomly crying about my baby becoming a toddler. I would sit and watch him playing or looking out the window (which he can now do on his own by pulling himself up) and be filled with so much love for such a little thing.

I’ll go over some highlights from his last year in this post, but let me tell you how hard it was to pick a reasonable, non-obsessive number of pictures to include. One of my favorite hobbies during this last year has been taking pictures of him, so there are hundreds to choose from. It doesn’t hurt that he’s so photogenic as well. 🙂

Having Miles was life-changing. It unlocked emotions I didn’t know I had and it felt like a natural fit. It doesn’t mean that there weren’t (and aren’t) tough times, but I was blessed with a really wonderful baby and for that I am so grateful.

Because of the issues they found with his heart while I was still pregnant, I needed to bring him in to get an ECG a month or two after he was born so that they could assess how his heart was developing. He behaved so well during the procedure and we got the good news that the issues they had previously seen were going away on their own as he grew.

Since he was born right as summer appeared in Chicago, I spent as much time outside with him as I could. We went on long walks in the stroller and I took him to the lake regularly. He mainly slept on our walks and I enjoyed the weather, but I liked being able to get him outside and experiencing new things.

These were some of my favorite pictures I took as he got older and more interactive.

• 

• 

• 

He’s SUCH a happy baby and I continuously ask myself how I got so lucky. Even when I have tough days, his smile is everything.

Milestones

• First tooth: 6 months (he now has eight!)
• Sitting up: right after his 6 month appointment
• Crawling: 9.5 months
• Sleeping through the night: 10 months

He’s working on standing, cruising, and walking. These pictures are from when I set him up to stand at the window, but before he was able to sit down on his own. He realized he was standing and then lost it when he realized he couldn’t get back down. Now he’s all over the place, pulling himself up on furniture and walking from place to place. He’s standing independently more often, but we still haven’t gotten to independent walking. Soon!

• 

• 

Miles & Donut

Miles and Donut have had a great relationship since we brought him home from the hospital. She was more than excited to smell the car seat and even sit down like when we give her a treat. There was some initial policing for the first few months because Donut didn’t seem to realize how small he was, but as he’s gotten older and more stable, he’s better able to tolerate her licks and accidental crashes when she’s not looking where she’s going.

Once he was able to start moving his arms with intent, he would often reach out for her and as he got better at doing so, learned to pet her and pat/smack her face. She’s amazingly tolerant of it and very patient with him even as he takes the bone right out of her mouth.

For a brief period, there did seem to be some jealousy, mainly because Donut didn’t understand why his toys weren’t also hers to destroy. I had to keep a close eye on Donut and also have some treats handy for when she just sat nearby and didn’t rip apart the toys he was playing with. The problem is by no means solved and I still need to watch out when she’s around but there’s been slightly less destruction over time which is nice. 🙂

• 

• 

Likes

Miles likes a lot of things, but he REALLY likes showing off his foot to everyone he can. It’s been something he’s been doing since he was a couple months old and has quickly become one of my favorite things. I love it so much.

• 

• 

He loves bananas and the water. He goes straight for Donut’s water bowl when it’s full and can be entertained there forever. He loves the bath and even though I’ve only taken him once, loves the pool as well. When we are less quarantined, I want to sign him up for swim classes because I know he’ll have a blast.

• 

• 

One thing I’ve noticed with him is that he’s very independent. He is great at independent play and I’ve never had any clingy-baby issues with him. He’s not a snuggler unless he’s sick and I often try and hug/kiss attack him with him squealing and trying to get away from me. Obviously, I don’t want him to be sick, but I secretly like it because then he lets me just hold him and breathe him in.

I discovered these hats from Native Fable and went a little overboard in my collection (ok, so maybe this is MY like). LOOK AT HIM THOUGH. The picture on the far right is actually the first time he crawled and one of my favorite pictures. I had just gotten a new hat and as I started taking pictures, I noticed he was getting closer. I love it so much I had it framed.

• 

• 

• 

Eating

Miles has always been small and in the lower percentiles for weight. He’s been holding steady at the third percentile now for his 9th and 12th month checkup and doesn’t seem to have any issues.

Now that he’s one, it’s time to start weaning him off formula, which is something that gives me a little anxiety, but something I know we will figure out. I’ve already started giving him whole milk 50/50 in his bottles and he drinks it fine, my only big concern is that he eats enough actual food.

He was good about trying new foods, but lately will chew foods he doesn’t like and then stare at me as he spits them out. HA. He will eat, but only if it’s bananas, muffins, or snack foods. That’s about all he will eat for sure, but we are working on still offering him different foods as we also eat them. Fingers crossed his appetite gets a little more versatile over the next couple months.

---

As I said in the beginning, this year has both flown and crept by. I’m constantly in awe of this perfect human we created and love watching him grow.

Before I had Miles, I could objectively hear when people said similar things. It wasn’t until he was here that everything made sense on a deeper level. It wasn’t until I held him in my arms and soothed his cries that I realized I would do anything for this child. What the mothers who raised us went through. What unconditional love truly was.

Happy first year, little monkey.

To read previous updates and all baby-related content, head to the baby section of the blog. Thanks for being here friends.