And now, Lucas is one. How did that happen? I remember the day of his birth like it was yesterday, and yet, I know a lot of life and growing has happened in the 12 months since. The first five or so months were more of a challenge than usual, with Lucas spitting up dozens of times a day…which, I know is a relatively small problem in the overall scheme of things, but which becomes tedious and time consuming and nerve-wracking in day-to-day life. He never had problems growing or being super-energetic, though, so we just waited for the hopeful day when the spitting-up would stop. And it did – almost overnight – and it seemed like my brain took it as a sign that his infancy was over. It’s funny, the things we find that we miss sometimes, and as crazy as it sounds, I admit that I did cry more than once at the realization that I no longer had to change shirts three times a day, or carry a couple dozen burp cloths with me wherever I went.
Then, almost as soon as the spitting-up ended, he was crawling, then at nine months, walking, now running and reaching and going everywhere and getting into everything that he possibly can.
He has been teething persistently since about three months, but his teeth were frustratingly slow to come in, with the first not making an appearance until 10 months, the next three following within a week. Whether because of the spitting-up, or the lack of teeth, or something else entirely, it took a long time for him to develop an interest in any kind of food. It was also around ten months that he would finally eat more than two or three bites of anything. But his tastes were quick to change, and now he’ll eat just about anything we give him. His favorites are rice, fruits (especially banana), mac and cheese, potatoes and carrots…nothing too unusual, but exciting for me in its normalcy.
From the start, Lucas has been full of energy. He can’t even nurse without kicking a leg, or swatting an arm. He is strong – almost freakishly sometimes – and so persistent I struggle to keep up at times. His favorite song is Come Thou Fount, and has been from his very first days. When I sing to him, he will “sing” along, which at this point amounts to some cross between humming and singing gibberish.
He has two fingers that are constantly in his mouth, a habit that unfortunately had more of a chance to take hold since his teeth were so long in coming in.
He loves his siblings, and they love him. I honestly think he might have a bit of a superiority complex because of it, though. When he enters a room, he looks around at everyone, fully expecting a round of big smiles and exuberant greetings every time…because that’s what he got for the first many months of his life. It has waned somewhat now, though his siblings will still clamor to hold him, or feed him, and Nathanael has become the go-to person for walking him around when he’s tired, almost always resulting in Lucas nodding off.
He’s definitely a mama’s boy, though, and I am kind of glad he is. Sometimes I complain about his occasional insistence on only sleeping if being held in the middle of the night, but I truly do love having him snuggled up against me while he sleeps, and am not in so much of a hurry for him to move on from wanting me close. I love this boy so very much. I’m thankful beyond words for the gift he is to our family. I’m thrilled to celebrate his first year of life today. Happy 1st Birthday, Lucas William!