Goodbye Infancy, Hello Toddler Years

 

Colden turned one on September 22nd.  I wanted time to stand still. I don't want to let go of his days as an infant. He's not yet walking so he's still considered an infant, right? 

Here's a recap of Colden Jack's travels during the first year of his life:

• Colden Jack McQuilton born at home in Heidelberg, Germany on September 22, 2011. 
• Between December and January he had traveled from Germany to NY, VT, PA, NJ and Montreal, Canada. 
• In January we moved from Heidelberg, Germany to Adlholz, Germany.
• In April he traveled with us to The Netherlands.
• In July he traveled with us to Mallorca, Spain.
• In August he traveled with us to Czech Republic
• In September he traveled with us to Poland. 

You've got that right. Between the time he was born and turned one, he knocked seven countries and four US states off his bucket list (he doesn't know he has a bucket list yet - but he does).  Wow!

What's he up to now? Well, he's not walking (daddy is away the next month so he's not allowed to walk just yet) but he is cruising around furniture and just today learned how to push his Pewi YBIKE.

He's still up at least twice a nice to nurse and still nurses several times a day. I'm okay with that. In fact, I'll be sad when he stops nursing in the middle of the night. I don't worry about not getting enough sleep at night. I'm so over that. Fortunately for me, I have two older daughters who attend school, therefore, I can usually nap with him during his morning or afternoon nap if I need to.

Colden has never had a bottle or store bought baby food. He once got a jar of a baby food for free at Legoland, took two bites and wouldn't eat the rest of it. We've followed baby-led weaning and it has brought about a wonderful eater. He'll eat everything. He especially loves strawberries, meatloaf and steamed broccoli. He had his first taste of cow's milk just yesterday (he uses a straw sippy cup). It was organic raw milk and he loved it. We don't drink a lot of milk these days - so I'm not sure when he'll have it again. I view milk, in general, as a non-essential beverage for toddlers. He's still nursing, he'll eat yogurt, cheese, nuts and plenty of other foods packed with calcium and good fats. I hate it when doctors expect and encourage your child to start cow's milk as soon as they turn one. Anyway, that subject could turn into a full-on rant so I'll stop while I'm ahead.

Colden has horrible separation anxiety (his sisters never got it). When I leave him at hourly care to go work out and run errands, he cries for me the entire time. Fortunately, however, he is fine with a sitter at home because his best girls (Olivia and Lila, whom he adores!) are there to ease his anxiety and keep him occupied.

I'm not sure what year two holds for Colden.  I know I'd like to finally make it to the UK (Visiting Gibraltar didn't really count) this year, or Greece, or Scotland, or half a dozen other places. We're sure to be here in Germany for at least another year - so maybe he'll pick up a little German. His sisters sure do speak enough of it around him...Whatever the year brings, it's sure to be fun and full of little-boy surprises!