Zapiski materi 22 - с днем рождения!!

12 Maя

Our nest has been full of guests for about 6 weeks running so I haven’t been at the computer much. But today I must take some time to write another mother’s note, because yesterday my dear son turned ONE!! Happy birthday sweetheart! It was lovely to receive notes from friends and family – thanks so much for thinking of him on his special day.

So I guess Lev is officially a toddler. And he is definitely toddling these days, almost like a weeble – ‘weebles wobble but they don’t fall down’ (is that just a Canadian thing?). His balance is getting better every day and he is an incredibly sturdy little man – in that he is definitely a Brower. He walks easily when holding lightly onto our hands and he has managed about a step or two on his own. Any day now he will bolster his confidence and strike out on his own.

The other day I looked at him and realised he wasn’t a baby anymore. In the past it was hard for me to recognise how much he’d grown because I was with him every day. But now he just keeps looking bigger and bigger to me. I notice it especially when I am putting on his nappy and he does one of those big stretches – his legs seem so long (must be the Fach genes).

And with his increase in physical size also comes the development of his personality. He is increasingly asserting his independence (or at least trying to). He definitely does not like to be restrained. And he is starting to whinge a bit when he doesn’t get his own way. His crocodile tears are hilarious. I can’t remember what the issue was but the other morning he gave us the biggest pout I’ve ever seen. His eyebrows were all crinkled and his bottom lip was almost touching the floor. It was like he was testing us – would he need to accompany the pout with his tears?

Peek-a-boo (often initiated by him) is a favourite game right now. And he loves his books, though as teeth five and six are on their way in, he’s presently into biting them more than reading them. Above all, though, are buttons – not the clothing kind but the kind that deliver some reward for pushing them. He regularly finds the TV remote and turns on the television. He loves to push our doorbell. Grandma and Grandpa Fach gave him an interactive book with many sound buttons to push and it occupies him for probably a good hour each day. Another favourite is the Baby Mozart DVD that Grandma and Grandpa Brower brought. He is mesmerized by it and it is hilarious to hear him interacting with the puppets.

We had two birthday parties. My girlfriend gave me some good advice – one friend per year, otherwise they get too overwhelmed. Well, he has too many little friends here for just one, but we decided to have Lena, his babysitter, and Aarno and his parents over last Saturday. And yesterday, we had his Russian mates and their mums. Both times I made a caterpillar cake. I must admit, it was a pretty fulfilling thing to accomplish – I really felt maternal! Actually, the best part was that it brought back some great childhood memories. My mum always made me cool cakes for my birthday. And we always did fun things like make cookies on Valentine’s and St. Patrick’s Day. We always coloured Easter eggs and made special stuff for Christmas. I am really looking forward to reliving more of these memories as I do these things with my own kids.

Undoubtedly I am bias, but I have to say that virtually all the time it is still joy, joy, joy. There is no question that Lev is the greatest joy in our lives. I’ve never been a morning person, but now I have a good cure – each day when I open up the lounge door, Lev is standing at the end of his cot and without fail he greets me with a huge, toothy grin. I love him so much it hurts. Derek remarked the other day that if we knew they’d all be as great as him, we’d have ten!