Dan Baby is ONE!

Technically, Dan's birthday is tomorrow, but I never post on the weekends, so I thought that I would do Dan's update today.

My beautiful baby boy turns one tomorrow and I'm not ready. This little one has grown up so fast! I feel like the last year has just flown by and I don't know where my little baby went.

My Dan Man is super playful. He wants to play all the time. He doesn't sit still for anything. This is very different than Nicole who will turn into a zombie when Blue's Clues turns on. Even at 1, Nicole loved tv, but Dan is just not interested. He would rather attack my face than watch tv.

Dan loves balls. I got him a new outside ball because he and Nicole kept fighting over the one ball we had. Dan throws the ball and then chases it. He likes to play catch with himself. Or, maybe he is playing fetch with himself. Either way, he loves balls (but not as much as his cousin Damon who is obsessed with balls).

Dan loves to climb. Everything is a mountain and it must be conquered! He loves to climb up the stairs, the couches, the love sac, Daddy, Mommy, chairs, anything he can reach. And it is driving me bonkers! I have to keep a better eye on him than I did Nicole because Nicole was never this adventurous. That is what it is to have a boy I suppose.

Dan has also started trying going down the stairs forward. He can't walk yet, but he wants to walk down the stairs. So, we have a lot of stair tumbles as he tries new feats.

Movement:

• Dan crawls out of control fast. I can leave the room and he is right on my heels, crawling like a roadrunner.
• Dan can take a few steps, but has not yet mastered walking. He is fairly daring in taking steps, but he knows crawling is fast, so why change?

Eating:

• Dan wants to eat whatever Nicole is eating. Not what Matt and I are eating, but what Nicole is eating. If I give Nicole a snack and not Dan, Dan will start shouting until he gets the same snack too.
• Dan has moved to cows milk. Yay! Formula is expensive, so we are glad to move to cow's milk. But, we buy organic because of Nicole's allergies, so it is not that much of a money saver. Dan has transitioned to cows milk a lot easier than Nicole did. With Nicole, we had to add ovaltine to even get her to drink it.
• Dan still eats some baby food so that we can get him his fruits and veggies, but for the most part, he eats what we eat, only cut up into teeny tiny pieces.
• Dan's favorite food: Macaroni and Cheese. Is there any kid who doesn't like this stuff?

Growth:

• Weight: 23 pounds
• I don't have Dan's other stats because we haven't been to his check up yet.

Motor Skills:

• Dan can now wave bye bye and he loves to do it. He gets a big grin on his face and bends his litttle wrist to wave. He is so stinkin cute when he waves bye bye.
• Dan can clap! He may have been able to clap in my last update, but it is so cute, I have to mention it again. Dan mostly claps for himself. He will take a bite of food and then clap for himself. Or, he climbs one of his "mountains" and then claps for himself. Such a cutey.
• Dan loves to shake his head, "no no." Matt will say to Dan, "Dan, yes yes yes yes," and nod his head and Dan responds by shaking his head "no no." Dan thinks it is hilarious to contradict us.

Words: Dan is no where as advanced as Nicole was with words at this age and I'm started to realize that Nicole was just above average with language (she still is).

• Bye bye Dada (his favorite thing to say)
• Mama
• Baby
• Baba(bottle)
• Ball
• Duck
• No
• Dun (down)
• Bah Bah Bah Bah BAH! (This is what he calls Lambakins, our giant stuffed lamb)

I think that Nicole had more than twice as many at this age. She could say her own name and how old she was and she was just really advanced. But, she was not as mobile as Dan is at this age.

Teeth:

• Dan got his two, front, bottom teeth back in January and we haven't seen any teeth since.
• The two front, top teeth have been threatening to come through for a while now, but haven't broken through. His gums are white like we can see the teeth under there, but they haven't cut.
• One back molar on the upper, left side has cut through on one corner. I noticed this last night when Dan chomped on my finger and I felt a sharp point. Weird that the molar is cutting before the front teeth.

I love my little Dan the Man. He is such a joy and every time I come home from work and Dan races into the kitchen and cries for me to hold him, I fall in love with him all over again. Dan is precious and playful and wonderful. I am so grateful for our little boy.