Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Elliott: Twelve Months

Elliott, you love playing games with your sister. You often initiate a game of chase or a volley of laughter. You will take off crawling and turn to look behind you to make sure at least one of your sisters is following you. You like to quickly put your face up to theirs and then draw it back. This makes Lucia and Mazie laugh as much as it does you. You also enjoy biting your sisters and stealing their toys, but usually you do play fair.
You love books. The first thing you do in the mornings is mess up the books that I neatly stacked the night before. You will pick up a book to look at just as frequently as you will pick up a toy. You are so often on the move that reading with you seems to be the only time we can hold you, unless you are very tired or hurt.
You love coffee and will worry us if we try to sit down with a cup of coffee. You prefer to drink it from the cup, but I have taken to giving you a little sip by dipping my finger in my coffee cup. You think that you are big enough to be drinking from a big person cup.
You will eat just about anything. Sometimes you have to warm up to a food, like avocado or rutabagas, but usually you will eat whatever I put on your tray. Your sisters pick their food up with their fingers and thumb; you grab food by the fistful and shove it in your mouth. Eating brings you a lot of joy. You often roar while you eat. When you are finished eating, you like to make noises by tapping the back of your hand against your lips to change the sound coming out of your mouth.
You have the cutest little cowlick at the back of your head. Your hair is very blond and is beginning to fill in. One of your teeth on the bottom is very crooked. So now, in addition to calling you "Mr. Fat Feet," we also call you "Mr. Crooked Tooth." Your eyes are a melange of blue, green, and hazel. Your cheeks may be the softest thing I have ever felt.
You have been walking for several weeks now. You lead with your belly, bend your elbows, and hold your fists up in the air whenever you are going somewhere. You very rarely crawl anymore.
Happy first birthday, Elliott K. We love you.

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