Happy Birthday Caleb!

Caleb,

My sweet baby boy, you're officially considered a toddler now that you're 1 year old. This year has gone by extremely fast and I am amazed at how much you've grown and developed. You no longer look like a baby, but a little boy. You are quite opinionated and know exactly what you want and don't want. You are still pointing at everything you see and we do our best to describe everything you point at. You love to point at lights, fans, your books and airplanes in the sky. When you point at something, you do it with such determination and force. 

You love to sit on our laps while we read you books.... Just another sign that you're growing up. You love to push your cars around the house and get into everything. We finally safety proofed the kitchen cabinets because you were pulling everything out of them. You love to go into the pantry and shut the door behind you. When I try to open it, you shut it again and think it's the greatest thing ever. You know exactly where your snacks are in the pantry and like to pull them off the shelf. Your appetite is still never ending and you absolutely love to eat. I'm a bit worried about our grocery bill when you become a teenager! 

Even though you love to eat and eat nearly any and everything we give you, you've turned into a little string bean! Your rolls are nearly gone and you've thinned out so much. At your 1 year check up, you were in the 20th percentile for weight! You were such a chunky baby and always above the 50th percentile in weight. We shouldn't be too surprised though because your dad and I were the tall lanky kids in school! You're in the 50th percentile for height and we'll be shocked if you're not tall like we are. Your dad and I hit our growth spurts in middle school and the first year of high school, so just wait if you're the short one in elementary school. You'll shoot up like a weed and I'm sure get plenty of growing pains like we did. 

You're saying "Mom", "Momma", "Dad", "Dada", "Meow" and "Oof" (Woof for dog). When we ask you what a cat or dog says, you're quick to say "Meow" or "Oof Oof". It's the cutest thing ever. You also say "Mmmm" while eating or see something you like to eat. We're working on teaching you different body parts and so far every time we ask you where your nose is, you point to your head. Close enough! Your comprehension is amazing and you are so smart. When we tell you to drink some milk or water, you grab your sippy and take a drink. When we ask you to put it back where it goes on your tray, you know exactly where to put it. If we ask you to give us something, you do.... For the most part. You find any and everything on the floor and pick it up with your hands. If I don't catch you soon enough, you put whatever it is in your mouth. You love to give kisses and they're wide open mouth kisses. We're still working on giving kisses with your mouth closed ; ) 

Your birthday party was great. It was Dr. Seuss theme and I made snacks/treats that were related to various Dr. Seuss books. We had a taco man serve tacos, a bouncer for the bigger kids and a kiddie pool because it was hot! We had about 60 adults and 20 kids come to your party! You are loved my sweet boy. You received plenty of toys and cute outfits. You sat on our laps or on the floor the whole time we opened presents and you did your best to help. You absolutely LOVED your birthday cake and would have eaten the whole thing if we didn't take it away from you. I was a little worried you would get a tummy ache from all the sugar. Your love for sweets runs deep and you are definitely your father's son! 

I started weaning you from breastfeeding a few days after your first birthday party. We started with your typical afternoon nursing session and replaced it with a sippy of whole milk. You had no problem drinking whole milk and did so well without nursing. You amazed us at how well you adjusted, so a week after we cut out your afternoon nursing, we cut out your morning one and are doing even better with that. You love to eat, so it makes it really easy to distract you from nursing. We'll cut out your bedtime nursing next and then the nighttime ones. We think weaning you at nighttime will be the hardest because it's all about comfort for you. Half the time you're not hungry, but will comfort nurse and go back to sleep. 

It makes me sad to know our breastfeeding journey is coming to an end, but I am so proud of us for making it to a year. We pushed through some hard times in the beginning and long days and nights of nursing, but it was all worth it. I know I gave you the absolute best your first year of life and would do it all over again. 

Caleb, I hope you always know how much I love you and how special you are to me. For so many years I dreamt of you and imagined what it would be like to feel you move in my belly, hold you for the first time and watch you grow. You have made my dream come true and I am so incredibly proud to be your mommy. I will always support you, encourage you and be there to listen to you. Never be afraid to come to me when times get rough or you just need someone to talk to. I will ALWAYS be there for you my sweet boy. You will always hold a special place in my heart 💙 

I love you,

Momma