You turned one on October 9. It was my day off from work normally, and Daddy took it off as well. We had to go to an appointment in Boston, so afterwords, we went to the playground near the Frog Pond in the Boston Common. You had such a look of joy and excitement on your face as you toddled around, watching the bigger kids play. After the playground, we went to the Public Garden to visit the May Way for Ducklings statues. You had a great time walking from bronze duck to bronze duck, patting them each on the head. That night, we all went out to dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant, and the hostess gave you a balloon. Such a lucky boy your are. The look of glee on your face as you bobbed the balloon up and down was priceless!
The month leading up to your big birthday was all about walking. You are a walking machine these days, and have definitely reached the point where you walk much more than you crawl. Your new found mobility has you busier than ever. I am always amazed by your attention span and your ability to entertain yourself. Some of your favorite activities these days are banging the kitchen cabinet doors, taking objects out of boxes and drawers, and carrying around any stick-like object you can find. Yes, my darling little peanut, you are obsessed with sticks. Spoons, tooth brushes, spatulas, long skinny duplo blocks, full sized rakes, shovels, and your most recent favorite, the swiffer. I'm thinking of putting you to work cleaning the floors!
Breakfast seems to be your favorite meal these days, and usually starts with a banana. A whole banana. Well, we break it in half, but you do eat both of them. It's amazing how fast you can wolf one down. Hummus has become a new favorite as well, usually on a triscuit. You suck most of the humus off, eat a few nibbles of the cracker and then usually through it on the floor, eagerly awaiting the next loaded cracker to hit your tray.
Our biggest adventure of the month was visiting an apple orchard. There were a bunch of different activities to do there. You wandered through a hay bale maze, crawled around the pumpkin patch, and even chose your own pumpkin to bring home with us. We also went on your very fist hay ride, which is a very important tradition in my mom's family. Your great-grandparents had a farm, and we used to go on hay rides there as a family on the Fourth of July. And of course, there was the main event, picking the apples! You didn't quite understand that you could pick them from the trees, but you were quite content sitting under the trees, sampling all the apples that had already fallen to the ground.
We've also had a lot of fun this month with your early birthday present from Granny. She decided you needed a sandbox to play in, and boy do you love it. You like to dig through the sand, and smash the castles I build for you. Thankfully, you've only tried to eat a little bit of the sand.
Little Man, I'm sure there are so many more details I am leaving out. Every day with you is an amazing gift. You bring a smile to the face of everyone you meet. Your joy is simply infectious! We are not quite done celebrating your birthday yet, so I will save all of the details of your parties for after your second one this weekend. It's been a ton of fun so far!
