Enriched by Ethan: September 2012

Well, it's official...Wyatt is now entering toddlerhood! His first birthday was on Tuesday. We celebrated with a party at my parents' house on Sunday. Wyatt and I had been staying there for a nice two week visit home (hence why I've neglected to post since last month). It was great to have extended time with family and be able to visit old friends and colleagues that I never get a chance to visit on our usual short trips home. Keith joined us last weekend and we all rode back together on Labor Day. And speaking of the visit home, we have recently learned that we will be transferring back to Omaha in October!!! We are beyond excited about this. The exact date has yet to be determined, but we know it will be sometime that month, most likely the latter half. We are also going to be able to get back into our house, which we had been renting out for the last 3 years since we moved away. I am soooo happy about this and ready to be back in our own place, close to family. I'll keep you posted on the move as we get closer, but for now I suppose I should get back to the main topic of this post...

I wish I could tell you that we now have a child who is walking all over the place, but we're still not quite there yet. However, he has taken numerous unassisted steps. I've noticed that he takes more of them when he's holding a toy in his hand. I'm not sure if it makes him forget what he's doing, or gives him some sense of balance. For the last few days I've given him a small object to hold and then coaxed him over to me. It seems to be helping him take more steps, so we'll see when he really takes off!

Wyatt's personality continues to evolve, and he really has a good sense of humor. It doesn't take much to make him laugh. And if he sees you start to giggle he'll join right in! Most recently he's started snorting when he laughs which is hysterical. He also continues to enjoy mimicking us. Any noise we make he'll copy. Currently his favorite sounds to mimic are screeching and clicking our tongues. It's quite funny!

While he still isn't saying words on a regular basis, Wyatt will at times try to say baby, bye-bye, and night-night. This is on his terms of course, so it's anyone's guess when he will actually repeat us when we say them. I've noticed that his babbling has changed a bit. He now seems to make jibberish sounds where he uses his tongue to make L sounds while he talks. I'm hoping this is a sign that his speech is evolving, and not that he is learning some sort of alien language. We've also gotten Wyatt to make animal sounds a few times. When asked what a monkey says he replied "ah, ah!" and what a sheep says: "baaa!" We're working on other animal sounds as well. It's really so interesting to watch his understanding of sounds and language develop!

This year has been such life-changing one for Keith and me. Not only in terms of our family dynamics, but also for us as individuals. Being a parent is the most important and rewarding job we've ever had. But that's not to say that every day has been rainbows and butterflies. There have been many instances this year where our patience and sanity have been tested. From the first few days home where I struggled with breastfeeding and sobbed in the rocking chair as I tried to feed him, to the nights where we struggled with Wyatt's sleep and tried letting him cry it out (and cried along with him). Yes, those are times that I will admit I never want to go back to. But there are also so many moments that I wish I could re-live forever. Wyatt has brought such tremendous joy to us, and we couldn’t imagine life without him. We love him so very much.

And now for the photos:

Here are some of the pictures from Wyatt’s party. We did a cowboy theme, of course! I only have a few photos right now, as my camera went dead and I'm still waiting to get all of the pictures that other people took, but here's a few. More to come!