The Big ONE

Hey, it's Karston's first birthday! Karston was born this time last year right about ... now! All the others have been monthly milestones, but this is the first real birthday! On the one hand, I can't believe it's been a year already because I clearly remember feeling like I would always have the smallest baby when he was so tiny and his hair was so dark!





I saw a small red baby (premature?) at the doctor's ten days ago, and other than the redness, I recognized the newborn fist shaking and the yawn with shut eyes with such clarity! Then we had a fabulous fun year of blur and sunshine, his hair lighted (a whole lot), he gained some weight (not a lot), and he's been happy and healthy. Some time in there we slipped past the delicate newborn stage. So he is officially a toddler now, and not a baby, and certainly not a newborn.


I've reviewed the other months, so I'll review this one too.


Speaking of toddler, Karston thinks nothing could be better than cruising. Yes, C ! R ! U ! I ! S ! I ! N ! G ! Prepare to hand over your fingers until your back is stiff, because this child needs to cruise! He also babbles more (or else he is fluent in Tibetan and we're not), and he definitely understands a lot of what we're saying. Karston waves to people now, and sometimes claps his hands. He also learned to turn all the way around with his butt, just like the Bill Cosby routine about the dentist (we saw Cosby last month, and he was delightful!).


All that cruising requires calories! Karston eats baby food meat now, which he wouldn't do before. He especially likes sweet potatoes and turkey (and still just plain sweet potatoes, but why not nudge up the calories and protein?) as well as meat from his parents' sandwiches (but not his own lunch meat). He's also very serious about nursing, so he's an eating machine in all ways. But with all the cruising, he's not gaining weight. He has a distinctive cry when he's hungry, and a distinctive laugh when he wants to nurse. If only we were doing so well on sleeping (he'd rather cuddle).


The big spot this past month: We went to Key West for a week just before his birthday! Everyone except "I get a darker tan" Daddy got a sunburn, which is not what I wanted for my sweet little almost-one-year-old, but it happens. Now we know that Karston gets his skin tone from his Daddy, because he has a nice dark tan now. I really enjoyed taking a nap with Karston every day in Key West. Yesterday, for the first time in fifteen months, I felt well rested! Of course that means I had trouble falling asleep last night because I'm not used to being in bed when I'm not exhausted. I think I've forgotten how to fall asleep!


Happy one year, Karston! May you enjoy the coming years as much as I've enjoyed this one!

Baby, Toddler