1 year

at 12:22 this morning, talan cash turned 1 year old. he was gracious like his brother and came out quickly, but unlike his brother, not so forcefully. and even after an entire year, i don’t believe that i’ve thought about returning him even once. that’s saying something.
as you may have read once a month, talan has been a happy, relaxed and easy going baby. he’s had to deal with his share of illnesses in his first year of life, including a stay in the hospital at 6 weeks old for pneumonia, an 80 year old man smoker’s cough that he has battled since day 1, countless colds and a dermoid cyst near his eye which will one day be removed. but through it all, he has continued to be, dare i say, the best baby that ever has been.
after having hayden, let’s just say NOT the best baby that ever was, many people would ask…and you want more?! my answer was always…why not?! they don’t get any worse than this one, so why stop now before getting a good one?! my dad always insisted that things CAN get worse and i better watch what i say.
and along came talan giving me polar opposites in almost every way.
he entered the world weighing in at 7 pounds 3 ounces and measuring 21 ¼ inches. after 1 year of formula, gerber baby food, and some table foods he now weighs in at around 22 pounds and quite a bit longer than 21 ¼ inches (exact weight and measurement to be posted after his 1 year checkup on the 15^th).
talan continues to sleep relatively well. he typically takes his morning nap around 9:30am. there are several days he doesn’t actually sleep, but for the most part he typically does still get his morning nap in. he then will go back down around 1 or 1:30 for his afternoon nap and then goes to bed around 7 and doesn’t wake up until around 7:30-8am.
he hasn’t been eating table foods as well as he was last month. it’s most likely because he hasn’t been feeling well lately, but he’s just been much more interested in his bottle again. when he does eat food, his favorite is pizza. last nite he ate almost an entire piece by himself.
i have given him a sippy cup several times with milk in it and he’s looked at me as though I’m insane. he refuses to drink it. not sure if he just wasn’t getting anything out of the cup or if he just didn’t like the milk, i put formula in it and he instantly drank it. so…we know he can drink out of a cup. it just has to be the right stuff (a little new kids reference seeing as though they have reunited).
we still have not switched talan over to the big car seat as we’re just trying to make it through the winter with him in the infant carrier. we’re hoping we’ve seen the last snow fall so the switch should be coming soon. don’t freak out…my dr. totally understood so you should too.
talan continues to love jumping but has grown to enjoy swinging in his jumper even more. or maybe it’s just that he’s a little too big for the jumper and can’t quite jump in it the way he used to. either way, he now loves to swing.
i took him outside yesterday as it was 66 degrees. he sat in the grass picking at it and trying to put anything he could in his mouth. every time he’d start to crawl he’d sit himself back up. grass feels pretty weird when you’re used to nothing but hardwood and carpet! he eventually got used to it and was soon crawling all over. this summer is going to be work between trying to keep him off of the concrete so he doesn’t put holes in his pants or scrapes on his knees and him putting everything in his mouth.
he loved when i put him down the slide and loved the wagon ride even more. hayden pulled him and our next door neighbor’s daughter around for quite some time before he passed it on to me. talan just sat in the seat smiling and talking away to kylie.
he has begun to take A FEW steps when he hold on to our hands, but he prefers not to. he does walk along the furniture quite fast though. he has also started letting go of things and standing on his own for a few seconds at a time. last friday i actually saw him stand on his own for about 30 seconds until he suddenly realized what he was doing and dropped to his knees. he also walked a little ways holding on to his walker the other day. until he realized he could again, drop to his knees and walk on them.
hayden was never a climber and i’m wondering if talan will be one. i have seen him climb up on the baby gate several times now and he loves to pull himself up and climb up on anything that he’s able.
he has wicked strength, just like his brother. his new favorite thing is to go into the bathroom and turn the hot water on in the bathtub. we can crank that thing off as hard as we can and he just comes in and with one twist turns it on. he thinks it’s the world’s greatest game. so between that and him constantly unrolling the toilet paper, the bathroom door is now always closed.
last month he was next to impossible to change as he wouldn’t lay still for even a second. for whatever reason he’s given us a break this month and it’s not quite so difficult…..most of the time.
he’s been very into fake laughing lately. in fact, the other nite at around 2am when he woke up, dave went in to rock him. after calming down he apparently thought it’d be a good idea to sit there and laugh. in the dark. at 2am.
he also has this thing with his arms. he’s always moving them as if he’s directing. he’ll fling them above his head or dramatically side to side. he’ll babble away and his arms will just be flailing all over the place. occasionally he’ll raise one hand out above his head and put his head down. it’s funny and it’s weird. and it’s totally talan.
he loves to dance, he loves to push buttons…especially on the tv, he loves to turn the phone on speaker phone and just look at me and smile as soon as the recording comes on telling you to hang up. he loves baths. he loves to wave to people, especially when they walk in or out of the door. he loves hayden and the cat. in fact, the other day, a cat was on tv and i swear he was saying “meow”. he absolutely LOVES soft things. his blanket is one of the softest materials in the world and he’ll just bury his face in it, wiggle around and say “awww.” he loves to chew on things and put things in his mouth. the other day at the dr. he crawled over to the door and he tried chewing on the hinge. he loves to smash the food on his highchair tray or fling his hand across it making all of the food fly off.
he’s still not a fan of getting changed. he hates when you wipe his nose or do anything to his face, really. he hates having to sit still for his breathing treatments…or sit still in general i guess. He’s getting worse about crying when he sees me leave a room. he just doesn’t want to be left behind. there really aren’t many things he dislikes all that much. he’s just too easygoing.
we have had an amazing first year with him and i can’t wait for the year to come. he has changed so much in so many ways, but he has remained that sweet, happy, chill baby that we brought home 1 year ago.
it seems like talan has always been here, a part of our family. but then in so many ways it feels like it was yesterday that he came to join us.
as much as i’m not a baby lover, i am going to miss him being a baby as we move into the toddler years. but i’m excited to see him grow and learn and to see his personality develop even more.
we love you so much, talan cash. i'm not sure i remember what life was even like before you and i know i don’t want to remember. you have brought so much love and joy and happiness into this family and we are so grateful you are ours.
enjoy your first birthday and this next year ahead. just as i tell hayden almost every day, you will ALWAYS be my baby.
happy birthday talan cash!!!!