Year of The Bug

Marty is one year old today! To say that his first year has gone by quickly is an incredible understatement. It's a little mind-boggling, actually. I feel as though it's been a bit foggy, with my two little ones needing so much care and attention, and giving me so little sleep. I must say that this year has been made so much easier by the incredible Daddy in this house. He cares for me and our boys in so many ways, as much as he is able. He often gives me the gift of a sleep-in, and spends the early mornings with the boys. I'm enjoying every one of these treasured sleep-ins before he starts his new job in September. He'll likely be out the door before they even wake up. Sigh.

Somewhere along the way, in his first few weeks, he got the nic-name "Marty-bug". It's taken a few different forms since then but it's a name that will stick with him for a long time, for sure. Doesn't he look like a little bug?


Marty is such a funny kid. People have asked me if I notice differences or similarities in my boys' personalities. For a long time it was hard to say, and I would lean more toward saying that Marty is more mellow than Max. That's all changed now. He's getting much more vocal and is determined to communicate things, particularly his dislike of a food, activity, situation, or 3 year old in his personal space.


He happily cruises around furniture, often pushing chairs or toys across the floor. I love it when he tries to stand up but has nothing to hold on to. He'll just stand there with his hands on the floor and his toosh in the air. He gets upset when we hold his hands to practice walking. Much the opposite of his cousin, 3 months older, who wanted to walk (with the assistance of her mother, of course) EVERYWHERE at 7 months. He tries to climb up on things, even stuff that is way too high. Or the impossible - he tries to walk through the patio door when it's closed. The other day I found him sticking his little feet through the railing of the deck, trying to walk through it.


He's a thrower and hider of stuff. He often throws his food off the tray. Especially when he's mad at me. If I offer him something to eat and he doesn't want it, he grabs it and throws it in a fit of disgust. Even if I set it aside, he'll reach for it to grab and throw. Another favourite activity is sliding toys or any old thing he can find under the stair gate. Usually the items just sit on the very top stair, but what fun it is to watch the little noisy rattly balls bounce all the way to the bottom. At this point it's still cute and isn't done defiantly. It's so neat to watch his discovery of cause and effect.


The sleeping thing has been more of a struggle than I expected. Max's sleeping habits had settled down much more by the time he was one year. Thankfully he's been sleeping through the night more often than he wakes to feed. We've had so much going on lately, and it's just going to get busier over the next several months. I don't think it's fair to expect too much from him, adding more stress to his sweet little life. I've put my hopes to wean him on the back burner for now. I'll wait it out a few months and see what happens after the big move.

So what else does my one-year old boy do? I've already told you the game he plays all by himself, when holding an object in his hand, he'll put it up behind his head, hiding it. Sometimes he drops it and other times he just takes it from front to back, front to back. He loves to make things go. I've noticed that he's much more interested in things with wheels than Max was at this age. He loves to drive things across the floor, even on me if I happen to be within reach. He's very climby, particularly on me. Loves to climb and nuzzle me, and is just now learning to hug and kiss. He's not afraid to swing a hammer heavier than his own self and can keep a pretty steady beat with a chopstick and an upside-down bowl.


He's not really saying any distinguishible words or learned sounds as of yet, but he still has lots to say. He does the usual "da-da-da-da-ba-ba-ba-ba-mum-mum-mum". Often all in one. Perhaps he does say "mum-mum-mum" when he's upset, but I'm not totally sure of that yet. Another game he plays is peek-a-boo at the coffee table. He holds on to the top of the table and goes up and down, over and over. Kind of like he's doing chin-ups. Sometimes he'll do it facing me and make all kinds of smiley faces, other times he peeks up and down at the tv, zoning out but still going up and down. His newest trick is what we call the Koala. We hold him up above our heads and he wraps his little legs around our arms, grinning like crazy.

Oh, he makes us laugh.

My darling little one, you are a treasure to me. Daddy is crazy about you too, and Max will never remember what his life was like without you. You're just perfect.