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• Weeks 9-12
• Weeks 13-16
• Weeks 17-20
• 5 Months
• 6 Months
• 7 months
• 8 months
• 9 months
• 10 months
• 11 months
• First Birthday
• 12 months
• 13 months
• 14 months
• 15 months
• 16 months
• 17 months
• 18 months
• 19 months
• 20 months
• 21 months
• 22 months
• 23 months
• Second Birthday
• 24 months
• 25 months
• 26 months
• 27 months
• 28 months
• 29 months
• 30 Months
• 31 Months
• 32 Months
• 33-34 Months
• 35 Months
• 36 Months
• Third Birthday
• March 2005
• April 2005
• May 2005
• June 2005
• July 2005
• August 2005
• September 2005
• October 2005
• November 2005
• December 2005
• January 2006
• February 2006
• Fourth Birthday
• March 2006
• April 2006
• May 2006
• June 2006

• Main Alec Page

12 Months

Alec you are one! You are such a toddler now, really wanting to walk everywhere. You managed to walk the whole mall on Sunday with your Grammy. We were all quite impressed - you sure don't tire easily.

You figured out how to stand up on your own. Well sort of. You can get yourself up on to all fours with knees and elbows locked and then you sort of push up till you are straight. Haven't figured out the squat to stand yet. It is just so amazing to watch you Alec.

You are so cool - you can clap! All of a sudden you clap! And you understand the word clap! I don't know why I am so impressed with this but I am. This morning (3/5) you were watching Sesame Street and you started clapping along with them doing the chicken dance. I was amazed because you had never done that before. Then we went to music class and you were doing shaka shaka and clapping like crazy - at the right times! Then later I was watching Oprah and the audience clapped and you clapped along with them. You amaze me. Tonight we went over to Vivi's for dinner and you had us all laughing and clapping - you are just so proud of yourself that it is contagious. How you make us laugh and smile Alec.

You have a new wave. You now stick both arms out and wave one wildly around. Very strange. Your first wave was more of a royal twist of the hand, then it evolved into an open and close fist motion, now this wild shaking. You are a strange bird Alec Martin!

Tonight at Vivi's you looked so cute. I wish I had snapped a picture. In your little Lego outfit. You are so grown up, toddling all around, smiling and playing. You really love to be with your friends to play and I think it is good for both of us. Because now I think you are frustrated you can't communicate. You show no interest in making any signs, and you can't speak so you make these awful whiny noises. It really is awful Alec, I love you to pieces but the whining is reaching a new peak of insanity. Your dad is funny, he looks at you and says "learn to talk already!" Silly dad.

You are really sleeping well now. Slept through the night again and again lately, even sleeping until 9:15 this morning! I guess you were just ready. Me too! And I think you may be going down to one nap now. I'm trying to make your morning nap and afternoon nap meld into one big mid afternoon nap. You used to nap 11:30-1 and 3:30-5:30 (on a perfect day). Now it's more like 12:30-3/3:30. Not bad! You've come a long way baby!

You can show me your tongue. I say "Alec, where is your tongue?" and you stick it out and wiggle it around, then grab it with your fingers. We're still working on the other face parts. You really like peoples faces, especially mouths and noses.

You really like for me to name things for you now. Tonight in the bath we were reading your bath book and I would say book and you would look at it and get all excited and say "booh". I have to be better about naming more things for you. You don't say much but I think your understanding is really developing. You really seem to understand so much more now. You definitely understand - eat, drink, nurse, crib, home, play, book, no, shoes, piggys, sock, change, mom, dad, rocka rocka, shaka shaka, clap, walk, come here, arms up, so big.

We went to the local science museum today. They had just opened up a new toddler wing and it was so cool! They had a big water pool with boats that you loved, you wanted to play there all day, but the water was so cold! There was all sorts of cool stuff there - one of those ball machines, musical steps, wooden toys like cars that go down a track, balls that light up when you dance, a train. Well worth a visit! I was worried there wouldn't be stuff for a little guy like you, but there was plenty! I am so excited about this place - I think we will have so much fun there in the next year. I know we will miss it when we move.

You have discovered how to turn the TV on by pressing the button on the set. You had discovered how to change the channels with the remote awhile ago, but now you have found the on/off button on the actual set. You seem quite fascinated by it and are not happy when I promptly remove you from the set. I am afraid you will somehow pull it over on you. One of my neurotic first time mother fears I guess. But you are so proud of yourself!

We went to the doctor for your 1 year checkup. You got the stamp of approval for being a big, healthy, happy toddler boy. You weigh 28 lbs Alec! Good grief, it's a good thing you are walking now, my poor arms! You got three shots - in your arms now rather than your legs since you walk. The first one you didn't cry at all, just looked confused and turned to snuggle me. The second one really hurt though and you got so upset, I was upset for you. But you pulled through!

We went to the playground today because it was a balmy 46 degrees here today. Woohoo! It felt like 60, it has been such a long hard winter! I put you in the baby swing and you were so happy, laughing, with this amazed expression of joy on your face. I don't know if you remembered swinging from the fall or if you just thought it was a cool thing to do. Either way you were so cute and made me laugh. My big happy boy. I think you were also just very happy to be outside and walking, you were smiling and laughing all day. You were also fascinated by the snow, loved to touch it, examine it. Such a curious guy!

Your favorite thing to do these days is just walk in circles all around the apartment. You really aren't into sitting and playing or reading these days. All you want to do is practice your new walking skill. And you prefer to be holding something while walking. Right now you like to hold the cell phone and hammer that came with your workbench. Another favorite is the pull phone toy you have. And today it was my library book. You are a funny guy.

Tonight you were sleeping on our bed while I was waiting for your dad to come home and put you in the crib. I was sitting next to you knitting and you woke up, rolled over, looked at me and said "Ma" and then you kept saying it and smiling at me. I thought my heart would melt. I love your sweet self so much, Alec. I just want to snuggle you and snuggle you.

Whenever you see the cat, who is usually hiding under something or on the floor, you stop, pause and squat down to look at her and then you giggle hysterically, like she is the funniest thing you ever saw. It makes me laugh, how precise your movement is, stop, squat, crane neck, laugh.

This walking thing is so cool. You just walk and walk all over the apartment. I just shut all the doors and let you roam the living room. Today I was sitting on the floor and I said Alec, come see mom and I opened my arms really wide and you just stopped, looked at me and sort of ran over and flew into my arms. I was so happy. I think you love me! I know I love you!

You have found yourself an attachment object. My computer mouse. You love it. You carry it all around with you, sometimes holding it close, sometimes dragging it by the cord behind you like a dog. I literally had to pry it out of your hands for bath tonight. You are definitely your dad's mini-me.

Oh Alec, for the past 6 months I have been knitting you a blanket. Only the 3rd thing I ever knit and a big project by my beginner standards. It took so long and I tried so hard, but it has so many mistakes. I hope you will love it and cherish it always though, knowing I made it from love for you. That I knit it late at night, sitting in bed with you lying sleeping beside me. That I knit it at knitting group, with you crawling all over the place, playing with the other ladies. That I knit it on car trips to Pennsylvania and Boston while you slept soundly in your car seat (dad was driving!). Though I finished it too late for it to be your baby blanket, now that you are a big 1 year old toddler, in a way it is your baby blanket. It will forever remind me of your first year, trying to knit a few rows here and there while trying to keep up with you my very active son. How you used to grab at it, how you'd smile when you'd see it. I just can't wait to give it to you, know that you can snuggle it, play with it, whatever you want to. It's yours my baby boy. It's yours to wrap yourself up in when you are missing your mom, knowing each stitch was made out of love for you.

Alec, you really give hugs now. I say "Alec, give hug? or Hugs?" and you come over arms open wide and hug me, laying your head on my shoulder. This is the best.

Your new word is uh-oh. You sort of drop things on the floor and say "uh, uh, uh, oh" Mimi taught you this great new word when we were visiting while your dad was in CA.

You had a very rough day this week. We went to Nan's house and you were sort of throwing a tantrum because I wouldn't let you put your fingers in the VCR tape slot, and Nan was trying to grab you, but you fell into the corner of the wall - hard wood corners! It was scary but somewhat amazing watching the bruise and goozle form on your forehead. You had quite the bump! I was a bit worried but you didn't throw up or pass out so I guess you were OK!

Then after that we went to Mimi's house and Uncle Brian was watching you while I put your car seat in Mimi's car. I forgot to warn him about the stairs and since he is never around babies he thought you knew what you were doing when you tried to WALK down the stairs. Um, no, Alec, you can not walk down the stairs! SO of course you rolled down them. Poor Uncle Brian, I think he was more upset than you were. You managed to get a brush burn on your goozle and one under your nose, but other than that you seemed none the worse for wear. What a day for Alec! Walking is definitely overrated!

Speaking of walking, now at almost 13 months you are walking with your arms down. You no longer hold them over your head, or clasped behind your head. The Frankenstein look is over. You are solid on your feet these days and walk with your hands at your side. Like a person, like the little person you are. Everyone who sees you now tells me, "He's not a baby anymore." As if I don't know that. As if I hadn't noticed my baby had turned into a boy.

You can really say ball now. It's not just "bah" it is "BALL" - you yell it of course. You see a ball and run towards it yelling "BALL BALL BALL" - so proud of your new word. I am equally as proud :)

You bring me things now - a book to read, a toy to play with, a box of crackers to open for you, etc. You make this "unh unh unh" noise when doing this, your way of saying, um I need you to do something for me. You really communicate now Alec, and your understanding is really growing as well. Well, except for understanding the word NO and what you are not supposed to do :)

You have developed all these crazy new sounds - mostly screeching. You have an excited screech, an angry screech and sort of a whine screech. Not sure how I feel about this screeching!

Today we went down to the park and there were two dachshund dogs there and you just loved them. You chased them all around the park as fast as your little legs would carry you - which wasn't very fast! And you held both your arms out and were yelling "dah, dah awooo ah ah ooo" Which I think meant "dog, dog, wait for me!" You were just so excited by them! It was so neat to watch you!

You are really into turning things on and off - like the TV, my radio, your CD player. I think it's also because you really like TV and music.

Alec, you are my challenge! We have so much fun lately, especially now that it is so nice out and we go for walks and to the park everyday. But the other night we went to my knitting group and you were such a terror. I don't think we will be going to another knitting anytime soon - only if dad can watch you! Let's just say you pulled the curtains off the wall! I was horrified! You are a terror my dear boy, but I love ya!