UGH!!!!! Can't time just stop and our little boy stay just like he is for a few more years, months, even days? He is changing each and every day and I don't want my little man to grow up. Daddy on the other hand, well he wants him big enough to wear a tool belt to help him out around the house. He brings such joy to our lives, we can't remember what life was even like without him and we wonder what we did with all of our spare time. There is so much to tell and so little time...we have decided that after this post we are going to get the blog bound into a book for Blaze to have when he is older. It is one way to explain those difficult 'how he came about' questions. We will continue to blog to keep our friends and family updated as Blaze grows, but as he grows he is getting into more and more, leaving less and less time on the computer, so the days of weekly blog posts are LONG gone.
Anyhoo...back to the post. We traveled north to Canada for Blaze's 1st birthday. We did a red-eye on the way there so we could sleep through it, which worked out great for Blaze who slept most of the flight. Mommy and Daddy on other hand not so much. Turns out our little fella (who has always slept independently from his travel bed in India, to his pack-n-play in our bedroom to his crib very soon after arriving home) is a real mover and a shaker. Every little kick or twitch, Mommy was awake checking to see he was still safely asleep on her lap. It was SO worth it.
Blaze had a little bit of jet-lag for a day or so, but quickly adjusted. Keeping nap schedules and meal times was not so successful, but he was a real trooper and adjusted perfectly. After all, he was a world traveler and all at the young age of 3 weeks old. Grandma and Papa met us at the Buffalo airport with big smiles and lots of hugs and kisses. It had been almost 5 months since they had seen Blaze (minus Skype) and boy what a big difference that can make.
We all had a fabulous fun-filled week in Niagara Falls. Spent lots of time with family and caught up with old friends who now have kids of their own. Even got to see my old college roommate Angela and meet her 2 kids. Blaze got to meet his Uncle Keith (my brother), Aunt Cheryl and 2 cousins Lauren (9yrs) and Jesse (7yrs). What fun he had with his cousins and them with him. The house was filled with giggles and laughter.
Fun at the Park
Daily walks with Papa and Grandma
Fun with Lauren and Jesse
Uncle Keith is so silly...
Spoiled little boy Blaze who turned 1 on Thursday, had a cake and small celebration with Mommy, Daddy, Grandma and Papa at home and then had more cake and fun up in Kitchener at Uncle Keith's.
Who are these crazy people and what are we wearing on their heads???
No explanation necessary...
For me???
What is with all this singing???
The biggest and most special surprise of the day was a phone call from our dear Doctors in India (aka Blaze's Godparents). It brought tears of joy to my eyes to hear their voices and think back to one year ago this day how they made all of our dreams come true.
Then Saturday was the planned celebration at my Uncle Buck's (yes I actually have an Uncle Buck- long before John Candy was Uncle Buck). We had neighbors, friends, and family for an afternoon filled with barbecued food, swimming and yes another cake. I still think Blaze is a little confused with all that singing to him and stuff?!?
That would be #3!!
He learned so many new and exciting things in Canada. The most comical, being that Blaze is not a fan of grass! Yes that's right, I suppose the lack of it here in Arizona meant he didn't really get to experience it until he hit the great white north. We all had a great laugh about it, well...minus Blaze. Not sure if he was scared or uncertain or uncomfortable, but it definitely is not on his 'likes' list.
HMMMMM??!!
Nope...Don't like it, can I get up now Daddy?
Blaze is learning every day. He now will give things to us, rather then throwing them from his highchair to the floor, but we have to say 'Thank you' and give it back. Its a game for him, but less clean up and mess for us. He is fine tuning his motor skills with using his finger tips to touch and grasp and feel things. Has learned to clean up his toys and put them in his basket and put the rings on the stack-able ring toy. His favorite game is Peek-a-boo and it never gets old. Whether it is with the shower curtain in his tub, or with his bib or the toddler tent Mommy picked up the other day (best $5.00 of fun I have ever spent!) it always gets the biggest belly laughs.
He has also learned to take everything in his crib and throw it on the floor.
He has now added, "Hi!"routinely to his vocabulary and will repeat words occasionally, making us oh so proud. He is still trying to add in the hand wave with it, but can't get it just yet. Like a typical boy he is full of noises. He loves to hear himself talk and make lots of crazy vocal noises.
Blaze continues to crawl all over the place, but still not on his hands and knees, he prefers to walk up on his hands and feet (the 'crab crawl') and boy can he make a lot of ground this way. He just boogies around the house getting into everything he can. He is SO close to walking, but just won't take that next step to let go long enough to go on his own. He will stand on his own, only when he is not aware of it and can do it for minutes at a time till he either realizes he isn't hanging on to anything OR loses his balance and falls back on his bum.
We transitioned him to whole milk at about 11 months and it went off without a hitch, you would never know we changed except for the big savings in cash from not having to buy any more formula. He will drink the milk warm or cold. He loves fruit juices and really thinks he is a 'big boy' when we let him drink out of our big person cups. He gets this beautiful grin and makes this evil little laugh. The more he laughs, we laugh and it becomes quite the scene when we are out at restaurants. Sour drinks are his favorite and he makes the funniest sour faces but keeps coming back for more.
Even with just 7 little teeth, Blaze is eating a lot more table food, Grandma's mashed potatoes and mandarin oranges are on his favorites list and we still have yet (knock on wood) to find any foods he doesn't like or that don't like him. Hopefully this will mean he won't be a picky eater in years to come. He has outgrown his frequent gagging with eating, just like his Doctor said.
His 1 year check-up with Dr.Gentile went great! Two shots in one leg, a couple of tears and then all smiles and laughter like his usual self. He is not quite 20 lbs yet (19.7 lbs to be exact), and 30 inches tall. Still remaining our tall and lean little fella. We see such a big difference in size with other kids his age and got a little worried he may be too thin (even though Daddy feeds him like he is about to have his last meal with every meal). But Doc assured us Blaze is perfectly healthy in every way. He sure has saved me on buying clothes with still fitting in some of his 3-6 mths shorts. Daddy likes to buy him 12 months, but I say he looks like a homeless kid, with his clothes hanging off of him. He is still cute as a button though, big clothes and all.
Swimming continues to be one of his favorite activities. Unfortunately with my new work schedule (I changed jobs to a specialty hospital 7 minutes from home doing 12 hour day shifts 3 days/ week), I miss some classes. He kicks and paddles under water and even swims up to the stairs and pushes himself up and holds on all by himself. He has no fear of the water and learns every day. He is now sitting and standing on the edge and jumping into our arms.
Bath time continues to be a favorite of Blazes. Now when we turn the bath water on he squeals and crawls as fast as he can to the bathroom and gets up on the little stool and screams some more just waiting for us to put him in the tub.
August was a month of many firsts for Blaze!
We had Blaze's first professional photos done (
Jeph DeLorme Studio) in early August so we could bring them home to Canada with us. We finally got to put on his traditional Indian outfit we bought when he was born. Blaze was the perfect little model, minus the constant crawling toward the man with the bright flash, which in the end left us with lots of action photos, but just a few poses to pick from.
Blaze had his first haircut. My beautician and good friend Amanda was kind enough to fit him in with Mommy's appointment and he had a little trim. We managed to keep a few pieces of hair although there wasn't much for a keepsake.
Blaze's first train ride (for little people) at the local McCormick railroad park.
His first 'feed the giraffe' experience (with a little help from Mommy) at the Tucson Zoo.
He had his first taste of dog food out of Neyla's toy that challenges her to keep her busy. Not such a challenge for Blaze who got the kibbles out and proceeded to go directly into his mouth. That toy has now been part of the house proofing plan. Not to mention he found Neyla's waterer which caused one of his first few bruises.
He has learned how to dance. Not just with Mommy holding him, but now while he stands and holds on to things he bounces up and down to the music and moves his head back and forth.
Blaze is now cleaning up his own toys. He will put them into the basket and look at us for approval where we have to follow with a, "YAY!" or "Good boy!"
He just gets cuter and cuter by the day, not just in looks, but he has such a beautiful personality. Everywhere we go he gets lots of "He is so cute!" comments. Probably because he wants EVERYONE to hold him, from the ladies at the airport counter to the store clerks, to pretty much anyone who will take him when he leans in for them too.
I sometimes wonder how it is possible to love someone as much as I love Blaze. My heart bursts with joy every time I see him and hold him and hear him giggle. He is truly my world and I cherish every single moment I have with him. I can't understand people wanting time away from their children. I wish I had more time with my little man. Can you blame me??? Look at that adorable face.
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