I'm 1!!!

I have been such a busy boy lately that I only update my blog once a month. Maybe I will slow down some this winter. Mama can only hope...

I turned one on August 19th. I think mom and dad find it hard to believe a whole year has passed by. They helped me celebrate by throwing a monkey-themed birthday party. It was a lot of fun eating tacos, playing pin the banana on the monkey (kudos to Abby who pinned the banana right at the monkey's mouth so it looked like he was eating it), and having fun with all of my guests. Then on my actual birthday, mama, dada and Grandma Linda took me to the Betty Brinn's Children's Museum where I got to play in the sand (I liked it this time!), learn about the digestive system, play with an ambulance, play several different musical instruments, and lots of other fun stuff. After the museum, we had lunch out on the river so I got to watch the bridge go up and down as lots of boats came by, including a tugboat pushing a load of coal. Mama also took me to the park later in the day.

I also had my 12-month checkup in August. As of August 28th, I was still not on the chart for weight (18 lbs, 3 oz), but I am in the 50% for height (29 1/2 inches). Mama says I burn off all the food I eat because I'm so active and that's why I'm such a little squirt. I also got tested for lead at this appointment and my initial test came back extremely high so I had to go to the hospital for a blood draw to do an IV blood test. Despite the painful experience of having blood drawn, at least this blood test came back normal so no lead worries. Phew.

One of my favorite parts of August was the week daddy had off. He stayed home with me on Monday and Tuesday while mommy was at work and on Wednesday morning while mommy was at the doctor. We also went to West Bend on Thursday to get some family pictures taken. It was just fun hanging out with daddy and playing together. Daddy also took me to one of his favorite places, Menards. I was a bit of a daddy's boy for the week after that and kept asking for daddy while he was at work.

Mommy, daddy and I also went to La Crosse in August for a family wedding. This was one of my longest car rides and I did really good. I slept most of the way there. However, I wouldn't sit still in church so mommy had to hang out with me outside and we missed most of the wedding. When we came home, we stopped in Madison and went to Ella's Deli for lunch. This is a restaurant with lots of fun things for kids like me to watch. There are lots of mechanical toys flying across the room, trains running around, games to play, etc. I was very entertained during lunch. But I also was wide awake for the rest of the car ride home and got a bit cranky about having to sit still for another hour.

I am not quite walking on my own yet. I prefer to hold somebody's hand (or sometimes when I'm cranky or tired, both hands) or walk behind my push toys. I can go pretty fast while pushing my car. Jesse better watch out as I am a crazy driver!

I got to practice my walking on the capitol lawn in Madison Labor Day weekend. Mommy, daddy, Jared, and I went to Taste of Madison last Saturday. While daddy and Jared had a beer and looked for more food, mommy and I walked across the capitol lawn and I got to watch other kids playing in the grass. I also tried daddy's jerk chicken and liked it and devoured some of mommy's pasta. Some days I eat really good and other days, like today at lunch, I'm rather finicky and just throw my food.

A few other highlights from the last month:

- I love mimicking mommy and daddy. One day mommy was itching her leg and so I came over and started scratching it for her. She thought that was pretty funny. I can also stick my tongue out like my daddy.

- I do not like the vacuum cleaner. When I was younger it didn't bother me, but when mommy tried to vacuum last week while I was with her, I just sat in the middle of the room and screamed. Yet when the vacuum was turned off, I enjoyed playing with it.

- I celebrated a friend's 1-year old birthday and then on the same day went to a pig roast and got to play a bean bag toss game with daddy and we won! I also went to a housewarming party last night and saw my girlfriend Bella. I have dibs on her and I think our mommys are ok with that.

- I am now drinking more cow's milk, but still am not quite ready to give up my morning bottle. Mommy tried one morning and boy did I make a fuss.

- I am taking one afternoon nap while still sleeping about 12 hours a night.

- My upper right tooth broke through last week and the tooth to the right of that (it's not the other front tooth; I think it's called an incisor, but my aunt Kali will have to verify) is also breaking through.

- Football season has started so like last year, I'm hoping to watch the games with daddy. However I doubt I will snuggle and fall asleep in his arms while watching the games like I did last season.

Last, but certainly not least, my favorite highlight of the month is I found out I will be a big brother sometime in April! Right now I'm excited about it, but I'm sure once the little bugger is born and hogging all of mommy and daddy's time, I won't be nearly as thrilled. I'm hoping for a brother so I don't have to worry about my sister trying to date all my friends when she is a teenager. But either way it will be fun to have a constant playmate who is more my age than mommy and daddy are.

Love,

Cameron