one year of colin

Happy birthday, Colin! Our biggest news from this month is that Colin started standing on his own AND took his first steps! He stood on his own just two days after he turned 11 months. He was pretty stable and could hold the pose for several seconds! His first attempt at walking happened while we were visit Grandma and Grandpa. Grandma reached out her arms and he took a few little steps towards her! He has tried a bunch more times, but he gets too excited! He always tries to run, which ends up with him lunging forward and tumbling into the arms of whoever is nearby. And, when he's not trying to run, he's trying to climb.

We took Colin to the pool for the first time while we were visiting Grandma and Grandpa. He took to the water like a little fish! We put him in a floaty ring in the baby pool and just motored around like a little bumper boat. He loved floating in the big pool also.

On Father's Day, we went to the farmers' market where Colin played in a little fountain. I think he wanted to get all the way in! Later in the day, we went to a nearby splash pad where he had a ball! He was obsessed with the water jets: poking, splashings, crawling through. He didn't mind getting soaked or sprayed at all!

Now that the world is beginning to open up again, Colin is enjoying going out and seeing the world! He squeals with excitement any time I put the car in park now; it's like he's saying, "Where are we exploring today?!"

Near the end of May, we ate inside a fast-food restaurant (that was completely empty) for the first time. Colin really enjoyed the pizza.

Then, this month I took him to the mall for the first time. We got lunch at the food court. Colin really enjoyed the pizza.

And finally, we ate at a real sit-down restaurant as a family for the first time in over a year. Colin really enjoyed the pizza. (I'm sensing a trend as to why he likes going out.)

We went back to the same restaurant for my birthday. (We particularly appreciated the fully cicada-netted outdoor seating.) Colin dropped his pacifier on the floor and said "uh oh!" for the first time. This week he also started saying lots of "mama" (mostly when he is whining) and "ba" for "ball!"

Speaking of pizza, Colin pretty much gave up baby food this month. Why would you eat baby food when instead you could just eat hundreds of grapes? His favorite foods are fruit and cheese, but he will eat pretty much anything! Last week, I gave him some tiny pieces of tortilla and then walked into the kitchen. While I was gone, he managed to slam his body forward and back in the high chair until he got it to roll all the way up to the table. By the time I got back, he had grabbed an entire tortilla off the table and was eating it. Just yesterday he popped through a 5th tooth, which makes eating tortillas (and pizza) even easier!

Routine is very important to Colin. I put him to bed the other night, and he seemed tired so I skipped reading him a book. After I left the room, he wailed so I went back up with a bottle. I picked him up and carried him to the rocking chair to feed him. He shoved the bottle out of the way, pointed at the book "Little Blue Truck," and said, "Da!" Guess I can't get away with skipping bed time stories any more! (Everything is "da." Half of Colin's life is spent pointing at things and yelling, "da!")

Colin loves to climb, explore, and even sometimes snuggle. If I sit on the floor, he always crawls over and plops himself into my lap. It's just so darn cute! He's the sweetest, smiliest one-year-old! We can't wait to celebrate your birthday party tomorrow, Colin!

P.S. Here's some of the cute artwork Colin made this year. The picture of him on the sled is my favorite!