One year!

A year ago I was sleep deprived and in love. My tiny second born arrived and it has been a wild year.

Big brother adjusted to no longer being an only child and grew to be a pretty sweet with "his baby." Most recently he said, "I'll datect Milo."

We swapped houses for more quiet and more space. Milo started daycare and begin to grow into a real person.

Going from one to two is a huge change. Going anywhere from a restaurant to an airplane turns into a  production. We found somewhat of a rhythm and as Milo gets older certain things are easier. (like not having to carry a whole nursery). Certain things are harder (like having a squirmy toddler who tries to jump out of high chairs and pull everything off the table).

Still, we were definitely more relaxed than with Collin. It also helped that Milo is a lot less dramatic. From the beginning, he has been mellow, goes with the flow, and smiles nearly all day. He is curious like his big brother and maybe more dangerous. He also has to catch up with him so rolling, crawling and walking have all been a lot sooner than he expected.

For a while, I was worried we were never going to sleep. Collin slept through the night at three months but we weren't so lucky this time. After we moved and Milo slept in his own crib, he finally started sleeping through the night (probably around 8 months). Now he goes 12 hours or more and is pretty much on one nap a day.

It's so fun to see the difference in personalities between my two boys. I have a feeling, Collin will always be more emotional and intense but at the same time, fun, full of energy and creative. Milo, like Collin is social and also busy, busy, but so far we haven't seen too many outbursts. And while he does get frustrated, generally he's just content. Both boys love to cuddle and show their love. I can't wait until Milo gives me those sloppy toddler kisses.

Happenings in the world of Milo:

• Giraffe blankey (thanks Aunty Joanne and Uncle Keene!)
• Pacifiers. Weirdly he didn't start liking these until a few months ago where they discovered at school it was the only thing to get him to nap. I'm okay with it as we don't "plug" him in often and supposedly it's easier to break that habit than thumb sucking.
• Like his brother, he loves most fruit especially blueberries and apples.
• He's still a good eater but starting to show a pickier side.
• Gets very excited about Hurley the cat and loves chasing his brother or mom and dad with his arms outstretched--Mike coined it the baby zombie run.
• He's now the big baby in his class at school and will join the "Koalas" (aka toddlers) in June. It'll be exciting to see him start to speak French as he spends his time in an immersion environment. So far, not too many words besides "Mama and Dada" and lots of babbling.
• He loves opening up drawers and trying to climb into the dishwasher. He would also swim in the toilet if we let him. He's starting to stack toys and likes clanging things together. Everything still goes in the mouth and Collin's tiny toys are routinely pulled out of his cheeks. One of his favorite games is to roll a ball. It's also great fun to hand a toy to someone back and forth.
• He also loves to get into anything his big brother has, such as blocks or coloring. This usually results in Collin screaming and pushing Milo out of the way. I can understand Collin's frustration so it's always interesting trying to keep Milo away while Collin is playing. Of course the most scream evoking will happen if Milo messes with interrupting Collin's TV watching.
• He has a total of four teeth and I think some more may be coming on the top
• So far, he has no interest in cow or soy milk. Nursing is still enjoyable, the biting seems rare now. Knowing he is most likely my last baby makes it all the harder to think about weaning him...

So without further adieu, presenting Milo through the months:






















And the big numero uno