His Little Red Balloon

He got his first balloon at Trader Joe's this week. His face lit up when he saw it. He kept wiggling his wrist to make the balloon move and once he figured out I could pull it close to him, kept asking me to bring it close so he could stare at it. Then he took a nap with it in the car.

Avacado on a Stick

Truman discovered the next big hit for the Minnesota State Fair: Avacado on a Stick.








Alright, it might not catch on, but Truman loved it yesterday when he had sushi (just cucumber rolls) for the first time. We went and got him his own pair of chopsticks after so we can recreate his favorite way of eating, on a stick.

He's definitely a Minnesota boy.

(We) Let Him Eat Cake

Truman's one. His birthday was a wonderful family get-together involving delcious food and cake. I have more photos and video of him digging in to share, but it may take a bit to blog about. So for now enjoy this:

And the Bunny Says ...

"get these ears off of me!"

Truman had a great first Easter watching dad sing at church and then spending another wonderful day with family. He even got to play the piano and sample a cookie.

12 months: It's a Big World and I'm Going to Run Around it

At twelve months Truman is a 25 pounds on-the-go toddler. It's hard to believe that a year ago I was still waiting for him to come out and say hello. Or, "Hi, I'm new here," to be more exact.




There is so much accomplishment that comes with this birthday for Truman, but also for Joe and I. He has grown from a little, nearly-helpless being into a pint-sized boy who feeds himself, uses the potty, signs for milk and calls my name when he's looking for me. He sings along to music in his own little language, much of which I am convinced is real words pronounced strangely because he hasn't yet mastered the art of uttering them. He says mom, dad, poop, pee and boo often and he has said peak-a-boo, book and hi a few times.





We watched him journey from rolling over at two-and-a-half months to walking at 5 days before ten. Now he runs all over our lawn in his little red shoes bearing the four slow-to-arrive teeth he has.





At a year he loves music, looking at books himself but not reading them, and anything that involves stacking things or placing lids on things. He will sit for 5-15 minutes if concentrating on a task or studying if something will fit inside or stick to something else. As a result, we call him a little scientist or engineer.





Of course with his cool red kicks and harmonica (our birthday gift to him) he looks a lot like a little rocker, too.











I am an entirely different person than I was a year ago. I am calmer, happier and more confident, even if I'm running all over the place chasing a toddler and telling him that crayons are not food for the 100th time. Parenthood is as amazing as everyone said it was going to be and I can't wait for the adventures yet to come. He's a kid now and we're ready to explore the world together.

Rest assured it will be a rock'n, well photographed adventure.

Hats