Last day of the first year

Our Mr. E turns one tomorrow!  New suit arrived from Lolo earlier this week (yup, that's right, a proper suit; our son is 1 going on 70...)

Which means I have four more hours to write his 11 month update.  Reading my notes hastily written in my iPhone when we were in the US, I can't believe this was all just a few weeks ago... it already feels like so much has changed in his world since then.

But here goes!!  11 months... made special by his celebration in NY (all credit for the two mini-cakes to spell out "11" goes to Lolo, who also continues to send Elliot the most elaborate birthday cards every month on the dot).

Stats: (a bit of an overachiever)

• Height: 2 feet 7.89 inches (99th percentile)... he is now literally up to my hips when we both stand up... 
• Weight: 25 pounds 10.58 ounces (97th percentile)
• Head circumference: 47 cm (83%)

Words:

• Mama (though we have since come to realize that "Mama" refers to both me and "I want to eat" -- which I guess is basically the same thing)
• Bapa (his word for dad... though I feel compelled to add that he did call him "Buba" one time)
• Hi (said as he waved to the cat out on our patio)
• Yum yum (said after eating sweet potato... that's my boy)

Number of teeth: 10 (we had first visit to the dentist this past month)

Favorite foods: just about everything for this Paleo-baby, but particularly:

• Avocado (nothing beats him dancing once he's had some avocado, except perhaps giving us a high-five afterwards)
• Chicken
• Broccoli 
• Spinach
• Salmon
• Sweet potatoes
• Pumpkin
• Oranges (only later did I read you're not supposed to feed babies oranges... oops)
• Peanut butter (woohoo! not allergic! didn't take after mom on this)

Favorite songs:

• In NYC: "Little Drummer Boy" (he dances during the "parampapampam")
• Back in Seoul: "Tatlong Bibe" (3 ducks) -- singing this can stop a meltdown

Best friend:

• Without a doubt, Ate Jhona.  No one can make him laugh as much as she does (Tyler's been gaining lately, but neither of us comes close)

Nemesis:

• Napping and all things involving laying down (in fact, I've since learned to change his diapers with him standing up)
• Sleeves

Favorites:

• Baths
• Waving at cats outside
• Morning snuggles
• Brushing his teeth (seriously)
• Brushing our teeth (he finds this HILARIOUS)
• "Helping" mom pick out her clothes every morning by emptying out and throwing all clothes in my dresser onto the floor
• Downing his bottle and throwing it down, drop-the-mic style

What he laughs at:

• Peek-a-boo (he started initiating this lately)
• Tyler imitating his grunts
• "Oops"
• "Ouch"
• Tyler's electric toothbrush

Favorite toys:

• Balloons
• Car from Ate Jhona
• Singing book from Lolo
• Pomelo fruit from Lola and Lolo's fruit bowl that he enjoyed far more than the boxes of toys bought for him

What he gets mad at:

• When he waves to people and they don't wave back
• OR they wave back but they lose interest after the fifth time going back and forth

New skills:

• Clapping
• Crawling up stairs 
• Turning around and getting down from the bed when we say "Edge!!" (Tyler is particularly proud of this... he's been teaching him this since reading about it online... hadn't seen him incorporate it -- in fact, "Edge!" seemed to become a game where we would smile and dive down into our arms from up upon the bed).  All seemed to come together in NYC! 

Trips:

• Tokyo
• Taipei
• NYC
• Manila