Our Birthday Boy

This post is only about two months overdue, but never too late.  Ladies and gentlemen, we have a big one-year-old at our house!  He's as active as ever, cruising around wherever he pleases, and loves to hold kitchen spatulas and big sticks.

John Hudson's first birthday was a joy! We celebrated with all of our family at Michael's parents' house.  JH loved being the center of attention and he loved his cake.  Love is not a strong enough word for how he felt about his cake, actually.  I used this recipe minus the berry filling.  We sweetened with maple syrup and ta-da! Grain free, sugar free birthday cake fit for a king.  I was a little worried about the cake having 6 eggs since John Hudson had an allergic reaction to eggs before, but he did great.

We were shocked at the amount of cake he consumed.  This was after eating a full meal at dinner, too!

John Hudson started walking at almost 13 months.  Now that he's almost 14 months, he's getting around very easily.  He loves his newfound freedom, especially in huge crowds.  I'm thinking a leash might be a good investment (just kidding, not really...).  He also loves pretending to talk on cell phones! It is adorable.  Grammie got him his own "cell phone" for his birthday and its been a huge hit.  He jabbers and carries on as if someone is really on the line. 

Did I mention that John Hudson loves kitchen spatulas and big sticks?  Oh, and rocks. A gravel driveway is his paradise.  Our kitchen spatulas and wooden spoons are strewn all over the house.  One morning, he held onto a wooden spoon all morning, took it on our morning walk, slept for 2 hours in his crib and ate lunch all without letting go.  Pretty impressive.  He would do the same with huge sticks if I would let him have them in the house! Sweet little boy.

God is still teaching us a lot about disciplining John Hudson.  Some days are so delightful and some days are just so difficult.  He is testing us at every corner to see if we mean what we say.  We pray that God will continue to give us perseverance and wisdom as we train him up.  We are so very thankful for the godly families God has placed in our lives that can help us navigate this journey.  Proverbs 23:13-14 is pretty clear:  Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.

John Hudson is becoming more of a picky eater, unfortunately.  He'll eat anything if its covered with sweet potatoes or butternut squash.  Or bananas.  We do let him enjoy these favorites weekly, but we're also trying to widen his palate.  For breakfast, JH usually has a banana and a piece of apple gate nitrate free breakfast sausage.  We are hoping to try eggs again soon (but I'm chicken!...no pun intended). Mid-morning he usually drinks a smoothie containing 1/2 banana, a few pieces of frozen fruit, our beloved raw milk kefir, and tons of coconut oil.  For lunch, JH loves avacado, nitrate free sandwich meat, cheese, or leftovers from the night before.  Dinner is usually just whatever we're having minus grains, beans, and sugar.  It's so great being able to feed him whatever we're having, but whether he'll actually eat it is another story.  But, we're discovering that he will eat when he gets hungry enough.  So if he refuses to eat at dinner, he must sit "quietly" while Michael and I eat.  If he seems hungry at bed time then he is offered the same food as dinner.  Sometimes he will eat, sometimes he will not.  But we want to encourage an attitude of joy and thankfulness at meal times, whether he loves the food or not.  

Our current schedule changes pretty much weekly because John Hudson and I are still going to Mommy and Me between 3-5 days a week.  The school year will be ending soon and I'm hoping to get on more of a routine.  But a "typical" day runs like this:

7-7:30- Wake up and nurse
            Eat Breakfast
8:15- Leave for M&M
10:30- Drink Smoothie from sippy cup
12:45- Arrive home, eat lunch if not already sleeping
12:45-2:45- Much needed nap
3-      Eat lunch if didn't before
3-5:45- Play, play, play! Sometimes eat a small snack
5:45- Daddy comes home; eat dinner
6:30-7:30- Playtime with Daddy, evening walk
7-7:30- Bath time
8- Read, sing, pray, nurse, night night! 

As you can see, on Mommy & Me days JH only takes one nap.  I'm not sure if this will stay the same when we're home all day or if he'll fall back into the two nap-a-day routine.  Either way is fine with me as long as he's rested!

You can also see that we're only nursing at morning and night now.  Its very bittersweet for me to be weaning, but I'm also thankful that it has been pretty easy to do, so far.  He never asks to nurse during the day anymore.  Our morning nursing sessions are very sweet because normally I'm already up and have coffee and I can read my Bible and meditate while he nurses and dozes (sometimes for 30 minutes if we have time!).  I hope to have this sweet time for a few more months.  

What a wonderful year it has been! We pray for many, many more years with our sweet boy.  He has taught us more already than we'll ever be able to teach him. Thank you, Lord, for this precious blessing!