Happy First Birthday, Booger!

My son turned one last Wednesday, and we spent most of last week celebrating. I'll post about his party separately. I am so happy to be the mother of a one-year-old almost toddler! He is getting more and more independent every day.

Alan could walk if he had the confidence. His motor skills are developed enough that if he would just let go of the one finger he's still holding onto, he would be able to run across the room. But he is still too scared to let go. It won't be much longer before he takes off. We get two or three steps at a time quite frequently now, but he still looks for a hand or grasps onto the nearest surface once he realizes that he's doing it on his own.

Alan's language skills still need a lot of work. He's been chatting for a long time, but the only real words he can say are "Dada" and "Uh-oh." And he calls almost everything and everyone "Dada." He knows a lot of words if we say them though. He can point to my nose, eyes, mouth, hair, teeth, and necklace. He can show me his foot if I ask. He can point to the light, fan, window, table, and picture if we ask where they are. But he can't form any of those into actual words. He knows the signs for milk, all done, and more, and uses them fairly regularly.

Physically, Alan is a tall, thin kid. He weighs 20lbs 7oz, which is the 35th percentile. He is 30.5 inches tall, which is the 75th percentile. And his head is a huge 19 inches, which is the 95th percentile. He has six teeth so far - two on bottom and four on top. He's got plenty of hair, which we had to cut at eleven months to keep it from looking like a mullet. He has pretty big feet and wears a size 5. He can still fit into some 9 month clothing, but is mostly wearing 12 month or bigger now because of his height.

Personally, I have stopped pumping completely, and am so happy about that!! I am still nursing in the morning and at night with no end in sight. I figure I'll let Alan tell me when he no longer wants those sessions, and he seems to be pretty interested in keeping them as of right now.

I'm in the process of training for the Outer Banks Marathon in November. I'm officially starting my "get rid of the baby fat" diet today and increasing my exercise routine to include more ab work and strength training. I am determined to get my body back!