One Amazing Year

 Wow.  Just wow.  Jake is 1 year old, and what a special year it has been.  He is such a treat.  At one year, he weighed in at 25 lb 8 oz (94th percentile).  He measured 31 in (85th percentile) and head 18.5 in (74th percentile).  He's wearing 18 month clothes, but it's hard to cover that belly!  I don't know what size shoes he wears because, well, he doesn't wear shoes.  I can't find any that will fit the tallness of his feet without being ridiculously long, but I find his feet to be so cute, I honestly haven't tried very hard.  Pretty soon I won't have a choice.  Jake loves to point to everything and babble about it.  He loves (and there is no way to say this strong enough) his brother and sisters, and loves rough housing, being silly, and laughing with them.  He shakes his head a lot, but not to say no, just to be silly.  He blows kisses all the time, but with more of a "ba" sound than a "mwa" sound.  He's really learning to master stairs, up and down.  About a week ago we practiced turning around to come down stairs.  He was already pretty good at realizing he was at an edge.  He reaches his hand down over the edge to prove it to himself, then stops.  Now, he's able to turn around, and actually goes down the stairs with a lot of speed and confidence, which is a bad combination at his skill level.  He just started signing "more" and "hungry", but he rubs the belly of whomever is holding him rather than his own.  Whenever he does something we've been encouraging (kisses, turning around to go down stairs, signing more, etc), he starts, stops for a second to clap for himself, then finishes what he's doing.  I think it's partly because he proud that he's learned it, and partly because that's the reaction he always gets from me and he likely thinks it's required to finish that task.  He absolutely loves Bo (the dog).  I'm not sure the feelings are mutual.  Jake isn't really saying anything yet, but I think he's trying.  I think he realizes the sounds he needs for several things, just can't make the connection to forming those sounds.  He's likely got several words that all just sound the same to us.  I've mentioned that he bangs his head when he's frustrated or upset.  He's also still quite a biter.  He mainly bites out of frustration when he's hungry or tired.  I don't think he's bitten out of meanness...yet.  Jake just experienced his first trip on an airplane.  He went with Buck out to Portland to visit family (so nice that he still flies free...the rest of us were rather jealous).  I hear it was a fantastic trip and he did pretty well flying.  I know he enjoyed meeting lots of family he's never met before.  Jake still isn't walking, still has no interest.  He stands for a while, but doesn't even want to walk behind a toy or holding someone's hands.  I think one day he'll just take off when he decides it's a good idea.  I'm pretty sure he just doesn't want to lose speed.  He's a fast crawler!  He makes us smile and laugh every day.  He is such a dear sweet child.  I only wish he would snuggle more with me, but I'll settle for the sweet kisses he sends my way.  We love you so much, Jacob Scott!