Colton, hours after he was born.
6 months later, Colton was a sweet little boy who was rolling around the floors, learning to army crawl, and eating his first real baby food.
He also took his first "big boy baths" at 6 months.
It's been a couple of weeks since Colton turned 1 and I've spent a little bit of time reflecting over how much he has grown and changed this past year. When I think of how fast this year has gone I am reminded of how truly miraculous the growth and development of a child is. I'm amazed at what Colton has learned in so short a time, and I am loving to see how he is becoming his own little person with a big personality!
We moved to Italy when Colton was 8 months old. The three and a half months between that and his 1-year birthday flew by, yet he has become a different child! When we arrived in Italy Colton was just army crawling, as he had been for a couple months. The apartment hadn't been cleaned before we arrived and, since Colton was sliding around on his belly on the filthy floors, his clothes were caked with dirt! Since then, he has moved from army crawling to crawling on his hands and knees to cruising the furniture to all out walking! This big accomplishments are certainly not the only ways he's changed, either. He has gotten 4 teeth since our move, making his face look more boyish than babyish. He is beginning to master concepts that were lost on him before, like putting toys in their correct places or pressing specific buttons to get the results he wants (from his toys, not from us!).
Colton is also showing more of his personality. He is content to play alone most of the time, ever entertained by anything that rolls around the ground or makes noise and blinks brightly, but he loves to get our attention and grin at us as he plays. He also loves to be chased, jumped out at, and tickled. It is such a joy to hear him laughing. He is truly one of that happiest children I have ever seen. In addition to this, though, he has a little mischievous streak. He likes to begin doing things he knows he's not supposed to, but stops just before he actually does that "bad" thing just to be sure you're watching. He then gives you a sly little grin and continues doing the wrong thing. When you fuss at him for it, or any other reason, he's learned to screw up his face so that he looks like he's going to cry. After a few seconds he slowly opens his eyes to see how you're reacting. It's hard not to giggle at him when he does it - he's just so cute!
Finally - well, the last thing I'll post here....there are just too many changes to list them all - Colton is starting to talk! Now, he's not really using real words yet - don't get too excited - but he's starting to string sounds into what sound like sentences! He reminds us of Avery Downs, the daughter of some dear friends in Orlando. He does seem to be learning a few new words here and there, though. For example, when we feed him his food we'll say, "Mmmmm, that's good!" And he'll reply, "Mmmmmm, gooo!" We'd swear to you that he's saying good. :) He also is using sounds more to convey his emotions. When he sees us with food or really likes what he's eating he loudly says, "Mmmmmmmmmmm!" If we're eating a snack while he's awake he literally follows us around saying, "Mmmmmmmmmm!" until we give him a bite. Also, he has started saying, "Ooooooooooooooo!" When he's looking at something he's really excited about. Truly, it's adorable. :)
I know for most of you this won't be very interesting. Heck, if you made it this far I'm surprised! But to me, these are some of the most miraculous, beautiful, exciting, and fun things I've ever seen and I want to remember them all. We are so blessed with a happy, healthy baby boy. Already it feels like he's growing up so fast, but I'll continue to soak up every bit of time I have to know him. I'm thankful.
1 comment:
So precious. These are fun days. Rmember the days may be long sometimes, but the years are always short. I can't wait to get to witness all his growth in a few weeks!
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