OUI OUI WELCH'S!!: October 2013

I can't believe my baby is one. Its crazy how fast time passes. He had such a fun birthday, with lots of love and lots of presents. We had a birthday party with friends the Friday before his bday. He had so much fun running around the park and eating cupcakes. Maybe next year he will notice that other kids were there too :)
Anders really knows what he wants out of life, and it is so cute watching him learn to communicate this to us. He signs "please" for everything that he wants, and now the one finger point is starting to accompany the sign. Its adorable. When we were in Utah a few weeks ago at the viewing of Clay's Grandmother, Anders kept walking up to people and asking for a drink. He would sign please over and over again, but no one had any idea what he was doing. They were probably all thinking "why does this kid keep rubbing his chest... what a little weirdo". Anders also learned how to do stairs while we were in Utah. He can go up and down them, but not without supervision. This kid is fearless! I caught him a number of times flying head first down the stairs (before he hit anything of course) and he just kept going for it. Didn't scare him a bit.
For his birthday Anders got a little backpack. Its just his size, and it has replaced his diaper bag for now. He carries in it a few diapers, some wipes, some water and a few snacks. We take it to the Gym (both the one I work at, and the Walmart one) and he has everything he needs while I am playing tennis or working. The other day as I was coming in the house I dropped the backpack next to the door in the laundry room. Later on that night Clay and I were watching a movie and I could hear Anders struggling with something. It took him a little while and a lot of effort, but he picked up and carried the backpack from the laundry room all the way into the office (our house isn't very big, but for a little one carrying a heavy backpack its quite a feat). He brought the bag to me and then started signing "please". He had remembered that there were snacks in there, and I guess he thought he needed a snack while he was watching a show with us :) It was really cute.
Another favorite moment happened last night. Anders found a comb, and started combing my hair for me. He has never done that. He usually just combs his own hair. But last night he stood behind me and combed and combed my hair. He though it was soo fun. It felt good for the most part, but after a few knots and tangles I decided I was done and told him to "go comb Daddy's hair". I gave him a little nudge in Clays direction (clay was lying on the ground) and Anders walked right up to him and started coming Clays mustache!! Hilarious. (Clay had shaved that morning, so this made him feel super self conscious).
Another new thing that Anders does is blowing bubbles (almost)! Since we moved here Anders and I have been doing a Mommy and Baby swim class at the walmart fitness center. Its mostly just getting babies used to the water so they aren't afraid. He LOVES it, and always has. Now whether we are in the pool, or if he is in the tub at home, if you ask him to blow bubbles he will put his face in the water. Its really adorable. He also goes under water at the end of every lesson without crying (or drowning). Big improvements.
This morning when he woke up, I changed his diaper, and sat down on the floor in his room to play with him. He was not having it. He would sit in my lap, point to the door and sign "please!" He apparently wanted to go out of the room but wanted me to carry him. Silly kid. I insisted that he walk, since I had no idea what he wanted. Finally he took my hand and pulled me into the kitchen and over to the fridge. There he signed "please" and pointed to the fridge repeatedly. I opened up the door, let him look for a second, and then he saw what he wanted and pointed. He wanted to yogurt. So i put some in a bowl and strapped him into his booster. I started feeding it to him and he wasn't having it. He kept pointing at a spoon that was on the counter and signing "please". So I gave it to him, and he started feeding himself. He was so pleased with himself. And he made a HUGE mess. He a similar thing the other night for dinner. Anders and I had been at work at the Gym, so we got home around 8. He walked in the house, and went straight to the fridge. Clay opened it up and Anders pointed right at the pizza box that was sitting in there. Clay pulled it out and he went straight to his chair. He ate almost a whole slice of pizza! I'm pretty sure its his favorite food. That and peanut butter sandwiches. He definately takes after his dad.