Kaleb Turns One

I meant to go back and edit this one day but since Kaleb has recently turned three and even has a not so brand new one year old brother, I figured I'd better gitty up! I am publishing this even thought it's ridiculously outdated because the pictures are cute!

Kaleb is one.

365 days of inching his way to take a bigger portion of space in this world and in our hearts.

That is crazy. When they say it happens fast, they don't lie. He's practicing a new word: no. He's been shaking his head no since one night when we were taking a bath, maybe 2 months ago (the baby book didn't have a line for 'when he first said no' so I can't remember exactly when) and I asked if he was ready to get out. He shook his head no and that began the first instance of him communicating with me in a comprehensive fashion.

Since then, he's started pointing at things he wants or where he wants us to take him or wants to know what they are. He'll sometimes make sounds that resemble a drunk's slurred "What's that?" I try to encourage enunciation but he ignores me. Or just laughs.

Here are a few highlights since I haven't had a chance to post since NOVEMBER.

He's crawling now but it took a while:

Daddy tried to help:

Now crawling's a snap. His favorite place to crawl is on the changing table - while I'm trying to change him with a big poop still stuck to his tushy.

He started expressing himself facially before he ever started saying any words. Here is how he began to express his displeasure with us.


























He's still not really napping and my mom is a godsend, she comes once a week (sometimes we'll kidnap her for a few days, yay!) so I can at least wash my hair and get some stuff done. No, he's still not napping more than 1/2 an hour if that. Unless I'm in the car, of course....



For some insane reason I thought it would get easier as he got older. Well, I know what I'm doing now (at least that I won't drop or break him) but the problem is (and by problem I mean gift)....that he is growing at light speed.

Superheros

Sometimes I think if I could skip eating and going to the bathroom - I'd have more time to do other stuff. Stuff that's gotten neglected because Kaleb's average nap time these days is about half an hour......

I thought, I hoped and secretly prayed the day we introduced solid foods to him at 6 months, THINGS would be different: I would get more than 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep - I would have a chance to finally finish my thank you cards from my baby shower - I could maintain order in the house - I could call some friends - I could squeeze a yoga workout in - I could WRITE and submit stuff to be published like I was doing while I was pregnant - I could wash my hair.....oh the dreams kept piling and my expectations of the moment solids first hit the lining of his bottomless pit kept growing...until the moment came and.....

...nothing happened....

Well, not immediately anyway. You may have noticed that I am indeed writing right now (dishes undone and, uhm, some other stuff). I've even gotten the chance to make some pressing phone calls and still he sleeps. It's been over an hour. I have to pinch myself.

Every once in a while I do get the gift of time. It didn't happen right away but sometimes now I get an hour or (gulp) two! to spend any way i wish.

(definitely when I'm not teething that is: LOOK-my first two teeth!)

Don't get me wrong, please, I love being Kaleb's mother. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT. I always dreamed that no matter how high-powered my career would be (which ended up more on the caring side instead of the high-powered one), I would spend the earliest, most formative years of my kids' lives molding their silly-putty little brains into the musical, mathematical, analytical, eloquent and charming geniuses they would become. The world needs some heroes and I was determined to produce them.

Now, though - I'm thinking - maybe....that's a little too much pressure to put on a 7-month old child. Maybe we could just just start by going to our developmental playgroup and making some art.



We could do experiments in crazy outfits.

We could wear beads and philosophize about life.

We could even make beautiful music together.

Maybe it'll be enough that my son is a good, happy person that cares about others. Maybe that'll be enough to make him a hero to somebody and it doesn't have to be to everybody. I mean - if a person like Obama can't be a hero to everybody - an open-minded, intellectual risen from the depths of food stamps and a racist society - it just shows there are too many everybodys to satisfy them all.

And speaking of Obama - during the Democratic Convention they aired a documentary that talked about Obama's mama - an outside the home worker - and how she used to get up at 4 in the morning with him to go over his studies.

4 in the morning.

I guess she wasn't breastfeeding every two hours but still! I had to dig myself out from under this particular inferiority complex by realizing that I'm doing the best I can - Kaleb and I go to school three days a week. He has his little backpack with all his "learning tools" - maracas, bells, streamers, spiders on a stick - you know, the usual.

Sometimes, we'll even do homework.














We read, we sing songs, we do tummy time but now it looks more like table time since he is preparing to crawl.


I do more stuff for him than anyone else in my life and I was gratified to hear, from actually my mother - who loves him like crazy and has plenty of baby experience - that he wasn't an easy baby. Really? How could I know? I don't have anyone to compare him to.

I was going to throw in another slideshow of "firsts" but I don't want to overwhelm anyone with cuteness so be on the lookout for another blog soon (nap willing, that is!)