His birthday was a jungle animal theme with a little extra focus on lions because David roars like a lion! Since he came out of the womb, I can remember those joyous first loud cries and thinking, "he's got quite some serious pipes"! And he still proves day after day, that he has the roar of a lion, but also the amazing courage of a lion... he is also starting to grow quite the lion's mane, our boy has some serious hair at the age of one! The Lion Sleeps Tonight quickly became my theme song with David and it still calms him when I sing the different melodies. I know his Uncle Boz is watching over him, showing him how to be a mighty warrior and sharing in the song as we did together so many years ago on a trip to Ruidoso. It is such a meaningful song to me for memories I cannot explain and will forever mean even so much more now that it is David's song.
Our incredibly generous and loyal family and friends traveled many miles to help us celebrate our special little boy... my sister, niece and in-laws from Houston and my best friend from San Antonio. Not to mention our amazing local family!! It was a simple party really intended to bring everyone together with food, drinks and some back yard hanging out in which the good Lord gifted us with a tremendously beautiful January day. I served fun but easy dishes, such as Lions on a Log, Chimpanzee Cheese and Crackers, Baboon Bites, Hungry Hippo Dip, Serengeti Sangria and more. David's cakes were a daddy lion and lion cub for his smash cake and he LOVED every moment of being sung too and celebrated. He beamed with happiness and clapped his hands at every one's singing. A mother's pride could not grow any bigger at such a moment in her child's life!
At one year old, David is awesome! On his exact birthday, he stood on his own without assistance for a few seconds. He loves to push his walker and walks on his knees as his newest means to get around! He is loving books more and more, especially the touch and feel and lift the flap versions. He LOVES music in any form and the most simple melody or an all out head banger's Nirvana jam will elicit excitement and dancing! He has started copying The Little Mermaid "aaahhhh" tune (because Margo sings it all the time) and the baseball stadium "Charge" organ theme.
In his eleventh month, he experienced the sand box for the first time and loved it. He could have stood there for hours running it through his hands, tossing it all over himself and even taking the occasional taste. His favorite toys are balls and he will throw any object, including food, cups and shoes. He has really grasped the concept of how things go together, such as stacking cups, putting the ball in the goal or down a ramp, placing all sorts of things where they should go. This is all very different from his sister and are obviously male dominant traits.
Oh' my goodness, he is a love!!! He squeals with excitement when I come home from errands and just yesterday heard Cary come in, took off at warp speed down the hall, laughing and crying out to him in pure unadulterated joy at seeing him. He loves to give hugs and crawls into my lap over and over, resting his head on my leg or my shoulder and gives great big wonderful open mouth baby kisses!
At his one year appointment, David weighed 20 pounds and was 29" long, both in the 25th%. He is a bit on the small side, but I am just happy he is growing after he lost over a pound back in November. I think once his tummy issues are resolved, he will really flourish. Goodness knows, he loves to eat, he just can't eat that much variety. We will be introducing dairy this week starting with one drop, then 1/8 t. and so on... a very gradual process. We have only tried two new foods since his ER visit... spinach and strawberries, neither agreed with him. We have a follow-up with his GI in February and we are scheduled to see another in Houston in April. I am just trying to go with the flow and be grateful that David is happy, sleeping well and thriving. We will figure out this diet thing sooner or later if he doesn't outgrow it first!
This first year has been hard with sweet David. Seeing him suffer month after month, crying with such terrible intensity it would tear your heart out, day after day, was all very taxing on all of us... except maybe him. His resiliency is undeniable and he is just my beautiful hearted gentle yet brave baby boy. His eyes are soulful, the way he stares into mine during our quiet moments show me that he knows more than he should... it is as if he has endured, conquered and gained some kind of baby wisdom. In a way it is heart breaking for me. I tried my best these past twelve months to make it right and ok for him and at times I failed, I couldn't always fix it, I couldn't always soothe him, I let him cry when I probably shouldn't have, I yelled when I should have comforted. I lost my mind a bit this past year, but it was all out of love, that intense love that only a mama knows and when you can't control and fix something or make it better, it does indeed drive you mad!
I am just so glad we made it, we fought together, with God and as a family, we are here, at one beautiful amazingly joyful year. All is right in this moment and that is all that matters. David and I created a bond entirely unbreakable in this first year of some hard times, but it was also filled with wonder and fun, love, joy, and sooooo much happiness, more than my heart can contain!
David Victor, meaning "beloved conqueror". You are indeed our beloved son and you have certainly proved to be a conqueror and I think this important trait will carry you though life. Your round out our family in the most perfect way and bring me an immeasurable amount of happiness. I love walking into your room each morning to greet the day with your infectious smile and laughter. You are so happy and you make me happy, like I could never imagine until I became a mother to you. We were meant to be... you and I, you have a big chunk of my heart and a piece of my soul. I will never ever stop loving you or thanking our amazing God for the gift of your incredible life and the joy it brings to me. Happy birthday, boy of mine, I look forward to experiencing our family's journey with you in it!
