Joseph Turns One!

Happy first birthday to Joseph Anthony!

I know it is trite to say, but I simply cannot believe how fast this year has passed. I can't remember life without this soul in our family. Please join me in a trip down memory lane . . .

Newly born after my longest, most puttering labor. Joseph was my smallest baby at 6 lbs 5 oz.

Baptized into the Catholic Church at one month one day old! And then he finally learned how to nurse!

Two months old

Three months old at Easter

Three months old

Four months old

Five months old

Six months old

Seven months old

Eight months old

Nine months old

Ten months old

Eleven months old

Twelve months old and a chunker at 23 pounds: born my smallest baby, but my heaviest at one year old!

Twelve months old

Joseph is such a happy-go-lucky baby. He was my first baby not to suffer colic--or whatever you want to call screaming for many hours each night for months. He hangs out with me, smiles, and his complaints are so tiny, they make me giggle when I think of his first three feistier siblings.

At twelve months old, he is crawling speedily, cruising on furniture, and unintentionally standing free. I'll see him cruising along furniture, then let go with both hands while he holds a toy, but he hasn't noticed so far that he's actually standing, even for up to five seconds. His siblings each walked at ten months, so I'm curious when he'll reach that milestone. In the meanwhile, he's in the phase of crawling up the stairs as madly fast as he can dozens of times daily because he knows what fun things are up there, then he arches his back and screams at me when I bring him off the stairs. Little baby tantrums are cute!

Joseph likes his solid foods very much and eats textures well, although he still nurses like a champ and gets most of his calories from me. He doesn't sign or speak any words yet, but he has consistent sounds he likes to babble at me.

Opening his birthday gifts

The best family photo I could get this morning

My baldest baby yet! His noggin measured in the 95th percentile at his first birthday, compared to his height and weight proportionately in the 60s percentiles.

My happy baby wasn't so happy during dessert.

We're at the tail end of a couple weeks of various sicknesses, and the baby is still feeling yucky, so we did very little to celebrate today. Trying to have a traditional birthday dessert scene was quite the comedy of errors. I did not even bother baking a cake, but scooped some ice cream to keep things easy. Joseph was feeling ill and tired, he was not interested in this weird candle, he cried the whole time we sang 'Happy Birthday, and he refused even to try the ice cream. So, I took the pumpkin upstairs, where he promptly fell asleep for the night.

We are so blessed to have this son in our lives! He brings delight to me daily, he truly does.