12 Months Old

Ian had his 12 month well-baby appointment last week. Here are the stats:

Weight: 24 lbs., 8 oz. - 75%

Height: 29 1/2 inches - 50%

Head Circumference: 18 3/4 cm - 50%

Ian hates having his height measured so much that he actually becomes smaller. I think it is the way he arches his back. He had to be measured four times because the results fluctuated so much each time. Apparently the plastic measuring device is too cold or too hard or too restrictive for him to comfortably lay on it. He really protests much more to it than he does for vaccinations. They finally got a good measurement by laying him on the exam table and making tick marks on the sanitary paper at his head and his ankle, and then measuring the space between the marks. Whew! I was worried when he kept coming up below the 15% percentile on height.

Ian seems to really enjoy being One. He talks, walks (yes walks! Footage coming soon!) practices eating with a spoon, follows simple directions ("Go get Elmo Bird!" or "Go get the singing book!") and likes to tease me by running away when I try to grab him to change his diaper or put his shorts on. He has also had a decrease in appetite starting the day after his birthday. (Could it have been all the junk food we introduced him too?) But I hear that is normal for One year olds.

One of my favorite developments is his "counting". Scott often says "One, two three!" and then does something exciting like spinning Ian, or pretending to drop him. So if Ian wants Scott to do it again, he'll say, "Gooo, Gweee!"

Ian has 7 teeth. His hair gets blonder all the time, and will be in need of a trim in the back sometime soon. For now I am enjoying the sweet way the end of his hair waves into a semblance of a curl. His eyes have settled on being hazel colored, just like his grandma and grandpa Larson, but with a tiny bit more blue to them. I am getting used to hearing from everyone that Ian looks just like his daddy. They are totally right, too.

Ian loves trucks. The bigger the better, though he'll wave to them all. On our morning walks around the neighborhood, Ian cranes his neck out the side of the stroller to see what's coming down the road. And he waves goodbye to any car that passes us. He will also smile and talk to anyone within earshot at Walmart. I guess he takes after his mom as well.

We had a picnic in our backyard on a beautiful, warm day a few weeks ago. Ian hardly left the blanket because he dislikes touching grass. If you try to get him to stand on it, he will tightly cross his legs under him and attempt to hover over the grass. But when his little legs get too tired, he'll drop one at a time, and let keep the other elevated. Since crawling required both legs to touch the grass simultaneously, he won't do it. So here he stayed when I sat him down.

See how he is pointing to his palm with one finger? He does that frequently, and it means something to him, though I can't tell what.

Mmmmm grass... It is itchy to sit on, and it has an unsatisfactory taste. And when Scott blew on some grass to make a whistling sound, Ian was terrified.

This was taken on our last cool morning of the year. What a cool CEU beanie!

Ian's First Birthday!

Ian turned One Year Old on Thursday, April 10, 2008! It was such a fun day, filled with firsts.

Although I have now forgotten what special birthday breakfast I made for Ian, I can tell you that it did not include the usual morning vegetable. And since our healthy eating habits were shot for the day anyway, Ian and I met Scott down at Fudruckers for lunch and introduced Ian to hamburgers, root beer, seasoned fries, pickles, nacho cheese, and a cookie overloaded with chocolate chips. He was a fan of all the above, but I especially liked how he shook his head and grimaced each time before going back for another long sip of soda.

Ian was nothing short of arm-flapping ecstatic when Scott jumped in the back seat when we picked him up for lunch. Ian seemed to know that something special was going on, which allowed him to see his very best friend at a time when they were usually apart. This was definately a highlight of the day.

Later, Ian helped me select some fun board books which later became birthday presents. We also picked up some birthday pizza and Cheetos. I knew they were destined to be his favorites, once he tried them. And I was right.

And to cap his day of dietary catastrophe was the event I have waited a whole year for: The Birthday Cake. It was awesome. Here are some pictures of the day. It was one of my favorite days ever.

The birthday boy wakes up happy. Not unlike every other day.

The kid scoredbig.

He crossed his legs himself. Awwww.

Opening a really fun gift from grandma and grandpa Larson.

Reading himself a card from Great Mama and Great Grandpa Searles. The accompanying sailor suit fit perfectly!

This Lion walking toy was in the next package. When I went to buy it, I looked up and down the toy isle for it, without any luck. Ian was making a commotion and pointing at something while sitting in the cart, and finally I looked to see what he was so interested in. Turns out it was the very toy I was searching for. It was then that I knew our present was going to be a major hit with the birthday boy.

So to get him interested in opening the present, I hit the lions nose through a little hole in the wrapping, and as soon as Ian heard the music he crawled double speed over to the package. Here he is dancing (bobbing) to a tropical little tune.

Cake Time!

We are so glad Ian joined our little family a year ago. Life has only become sweeter since he arrived. We love you Ian boy!

Singing about Squash

Here is a video I took several weeks ago. Ian demonstrates a few of his favorite words in it.

Outing to the museum

Our friend put together a trip to the Houston Museum of Natural Science yesterday. Scott was due home later than usual because he was helping with a youth trip to an LDS Temple so it was the ideal time for Ian and I to enjoy a Tuesday afternoon with free admission to the museum. We had a blast!

There were life-size dinosaur skeletons and fossils, lots of taxidermy African animals to study (Ian was enthralled by a sandy-colored beaver), an oil extraction exhibit, lots of gems and precious stones (some made into fancy tiaras and necklaces! Ooooo la la!), and lots of neat displays illustrating various laws of the universe. Though most of it was beyond Ian's vantage point from the stroller, he seemed to enjoy just being there with all the excitement and other children. He even had a 6 year old girl as his personal tour guide and she rolled him around the entire afternoon. She was very responsible about keeping him close and replacing his binkie whenever she saw necessary. She was wonderful! And although dinner time and eventually bedtime passed us by, he remained happy as long as she was nearby!

After the museum we ate a picnic at a nearby park and enjoyed a nice breeze and lots of space to run around. It was the perfect afternoon!

Us in the shadow of a T-Rex! We weren't even scared.

I really liked the African animal exhibit. Some of the scenes were downright frightening! Too bad we didn't get any pictures of Ian with the beaver.

Ditto

I loved what a good friend just posted on her blog today. I hope she doesn't mind me sending you all there too -- she is so clever and I have a feeling all those parents out there can relate.

New Words

I am usually surprised by the words Ian takes interest in. Recently he began saying clock, uh-oh and squash. Mom has still not entered his vocabulary, but all these other words must hold some special importance, even if it is known only to him. Here are my guesses about why he says certain words:

Clock: Each time I walk into his room to get him out of bed, Ian immediately scrambles to standing position on the side of the crib and points emphatically at objects in the room, asking "That?! That?!" So I introduce the picture frames, the ceiling fan, and recently, the digital clock on his dresser. Now when I walk in his room to get him up from his nap, he points to the clock and says "Cock!" and then points to everything else and asks "That?!" I think these things are so important to him because they are what surround him as he drifts off to sleep and as he awakens each day.

Uh-oh: This one is less of a mystery: it seems every child enjoys deliberately testing gravity by dropping sippy cups, French toast, and whatever else is handy off of the side of their high chair. Originally, I guess saying "uh-oh" was my nice way of expressing "if you splatter milk on the new paint ONE MORE TIME...!" It hasn't worked to teach him not to drop things, but he picked up "uh-oh" readily. And the tendency to drop things repeatedly just so he can practice saying it.

Squash: He pronounces it as "shash" or as "scotch" with emphasis on the "ch". This word entered his vocab when I was feeding Ian pureed squash several weeks ago and explaining what he was eating. He happily repeated the word, much to my surprise. These days, all types of pureed baby food = shash. And if he's being fed some solid food he doesn't particularly like, he'll point at the tub containing baby food containers and request "shash" instead.

I love catching Ian singing songs containing a muddle of his favorite words. He is such a cool kid.

Baked Zitti

Our friends Jeff and Amber sent us their awesome cookbook again this Christmas, full of tried and true recipes that have the habit of becoming Larson Family Favorites. Here is one recipe we have eaten a lot lately:

Baked Zitti (Rachel Ray)

3 garlic cloves
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes
1 (14oz) can crushed tomatoes
salt
pepper
Basil
1 lb Zitti noodles
3 T Butter
3 TB Flour
Nutmeg
3 Cups Milk
1/2 cup Asiago cheese **
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese**
1 cup cubed Mozzarella cheese

** I get the Parmesan blend (which includes Asiago and other cheeses) that comes in those shakers, and add a full cup.

1. Start cooking noodles. Remove when slightly chewy.
2. Saute garlic for 2 minutes.
3. To garlic, add tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Simmer 10 minutes.
4. Add 1/4 TB Basil and simmer another 10 minutes
5.To create a white sauce, heat a second pan and melt butter and whisk in flour, salt, pepper and a sprinkle of Nutmeg. Whisk in milk and bring to a bubble. Stir constantly and don't let sauce stick to bottom of pan. Cook 4 minutes, or until thickened. Set aside.
6. In a casserole dish, mix drained noodles and tomato sauce. Press down slightly with wooden spoon.
7. Pour white sauce over the top BUT DO NOT MIX.
8. Sprinkle with Parmesan and Asiago cheeses and then top with Mozzarella chunks.
9. Broil on Low until cheese on top is melted and slightly browned. (approx 7 minutes) If broiler is on High, watch carefully and remove after approx. 2 minutes.

To prove how delicious it is, here are some pictures of Ian after having Baked Zitti for dinner. He ate nearly as much as I did, in addition to what he is wearing. But he's a fickle kid -- he refused to eat the leftovers the next day.