James is Twelve Months Old

James is a year old now, and just like that, this chapter of my life closes.  I no longer have a baby anymore ... he's our last one and now I can't talk about his age in mere months anymore.  When someone asks how hold he is, I simply reply, "he just turned a year old." 

The last few weeks have been difficult for James because he cut three -- THREE! -- molars through all within a few days of one another.  Cutting a single tooth is hard; molars are even more difficult; and three of them at once is pure torture.  His sleeping habits became skewed, there was a lot of crying and he just plain wasn't my normally content little boy.  Then, to add to the irritability issues, he received four vaccinations (one in each leg and one in each arm) and he tensed up at the time that they were administered, delaying the healing process.  His arms and legs hurt for a solid two days and he flat-out gave up on crawling.  Yes, he would just lay on the floor.

This last month meant big changes besides the crawling and the cutting of molars.  We moved James out of his infant car seat and into a toddler seat.  He loves it!  He can see everyone better and his legs/feet are not cramped anymore. 

We also lowered the crib mattress down in his bedroom once I found him sitting upright in his crib.  Incidentally, that happened on the exact same day that he began crawling -- January 17, 2017.  This balloon was the object of choice that initiated his first attempts at crawling.  By the next day, he was an expert.

He is now on the move and I can rarely get him to sit still for a picture.  There are just too many fun things that he has access to now that he is mobile and 'on the go.'  I snapped this picture while he was distracted with one of his toys.

Yes, he now has the freedom to get any and all toys out of the toy box and does so regularly.  He loves to dig and toss them over the side (just like each of the other kids used to do).

He also loves to climb in and out of his chair (really, it belonged to all of his siblings).  He doesn't like to sit in it for extended periods of time (read: more than 1 minute at a time), but enjoys the act of getting in and out of it whenever he pleases.

James hasn't spent too much time outside this winter, but I suspect that he will be running and begging to be outside during the next winter season.  It's kind of difficult to move when you are bundled up and just learning to crawl.  It makes for a cute picture though.

Happy twelve months, James!