Letters to Valor: 12 months

My dear Valor Zeal,

I'm all sorts of sentimental because you turned a whole year old last Wednesday. How did this day arrive so quickly?! It probably doesn't help my mama's heart that I just reminisced about your birth day, which I can scarcely believe was a year ago. Alas, time does not lie, for you are no longer an itty bitty newborn; rather, you are an extremely mobile, vocal, curious, cuddly, silly one-year-old. It's as if you know you've reached a plethora of milestones lately. You beam with pride as you walk confidently with the walker. You cruise along furniture with ease, taking every opportunity to climb precariously atop couches, tables, and chairs (at least you're adept at scooting off the couches safely). You ride on the rocking horse, shaking the handles gleefully. You are fascinated by cause and effect, picking up pretend cooking tools to toss into the play kitchen's sink hold over and over. You stick magnets together. You bang pots together to make noise.

You use your voice to communicate more. You vocalize repetitions of "ah, ah, ah" into the toy microphone, thoroughly delighted by the echo. Your regular rotation of words include, "mama," "da! da!", and most frequent of all, "nanana" or drawn out "naaaa" to indicate your vehement request for food. You love all food (except for eggs) with passion. Your newfound loves include strawberries, mangoes, and meat. Your upper left front tooth sprouted from your gums this month. We're in awe of the light speed you pack in food now that you have three teeth to help you chew. You stick your tongue out in giddiness. You pucker your lips into a fish face. You blow raspberries for emphasis. You cuddle, snuggle, and head-butt to communicate your affection. You crawl to us speedily to pull up onto us, whining to be carried. Your eyes light up when visitors come over, often crawling to them to be carried. You don't like getting left behind, wailing the second someone leaves the room. You're intuitive, often frightened when someone raises their voice. You begin crying as if you got in trouble. When you hear us say "no" firmly, you shake your head along to the word.

You weigh 20 pounds and are 29 inches tall. You wear size 6-12 month clothes, size 3 shoes, and size 3 diapers. You abhor having your diaper changed, but are getting accustomed to changing your clothes. You put your hands out to stick into shirt sleeves when getting dressed. You nurse about 4 times a day. You take a 1.5 hour morning nap, and a 1.5 hour afternoon nap. You routinely nuzzle your face into your stuffie Jean Valjean before going to sleep every time. You love rubbing your face into fluffy blankets and pillows, throwing yourself into the softness and giggling giddily.

Your sweet snuggles are seriously the best. I am so thankful to the Lord for granting you one year of life, my baby boy. You bring such joy and silliness to our family. I praise God for giving you to us for the time being. I love you always and am forever blessed to be your mama.


Love you so,
Mama

P.S. Valor Zeal at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 months. Plus, his birth story.