2012 – The Breakthrough Year

Last Diaper, First Steps

2012 was a year of growth and exciting milestones for both Cyrus and Juniper. Especially Juniper, as you can imagine. She started the year out as a little mushy thing, and now she is a little girl who smiles, babbles, and believe it or not, walks! Well, pretty much.

For Cyrus, the beginning of 2012 was probably defined by the lingering trauma of having watched his mother “burn,” as he puts it, while she unexpectedly gave birth at home November 3rd of 2011. It has stuck with him ever since, and he still references it, even in December of 2012.

Just before spring, Cyrus was diagnosed with a dairy allergy. We already had a hunch, but this validated it and made it official. We changed his diet and he hasn’t had any major problems since.

But Cyrus has moved forward in every other aspect of life. One morning in the third week of March while I was dressing Cyrus, he exclaimed, “I wanna wear big boy underwear.” And we haven’t looked back since. Except for that time in Boston later this summer with the Pull-Ups, which we nicknamed “hotel pants” so Cyrus wouldn’t think he was wearing diapers again. Potty training is a bumpy road, sometimes with no light at the end of the tunnel. But 50,000 cleaned sheets later, Cyrus has done a fantastic job and we are so proud of him. He began 2012 in diapers and ended the year in big boy underwear.

At the beginning of the year, Cyrus was drinking from a sippy cup, but now he drinks from a regular cup! Albeit with a straw most of the time, but still – progress!

In the summer, Cyrus made his camp debut at Elmwood Day Camp, where he thrived. He not only had a blast, but he also grew up a little more.

This fall, Cyrus had his first day of school at the nature center. Cyrus is enjoying it and loves going outside all the time with his class.

For Cyrus, 2012 has been one growth moment after another. He was my “baby” at the beginning of the year, but now he’s my big boy!

Juniper has had all the regular milestones that babies go through during the course of their first year. It has been so amazing watching her grow. As with all babies, it’s hard to tell what eye color the baby will end up with. When she was just months old, her eyes kept changing color. At first they seemed like a translucent grey. As our friend Max observed, “Her eyes are metallic!” Then they morphed into a dark green and I thought that she might have hazel eyes like me. But as the months went by, it was clear to us that we had a beautiful brown-eyed girl. At the end of the summer, I took Cyrus and Juniper on a playdate, where one dad exclaimed, “Her eyes! Look at her eyes!”. She already has them lining up.

I think it’s safe to say that Juniper’s first word is “Dada”, which is a lot easier to say than “Post Expressionism!” She was saying dadadadada a lot and then one day Allie came down the stairs while we were in the dining room and Juniper said “Dada!” she was looking directly at him. One morning shortly after that, Allie made a fart and Juniper quickly blamed it on “Dada!”. Update: I totally forgot that Juniper’s other first word is “cat.”

Juniper now babbles a lot, and it’s sounding more and more conversational, so we just engage her and pretend we understand everything that comes out of her mouth. I hope we haven’t made any agreements. Just the other week, I was bringing her downstairs. The cat was in front of us a few steps down, and Juniper pointed to her and said,”Wish!”. Unfortunately, Wish the Cat was napping, and it was Samhain the Cat to whom Juniper was referring. Close, but no cigar. Lately however, she has been trying to say Cyrus. “Cy. Cy. Cy-wish.”. She points to him when she says it!

At the beginning of 2012, Juniper was eating only breast milk. Now she eats regular table food, like chopped up chicken, broccoli, green beans, strawberries, and Grandpa Ralph’s turkey meatballs. You name it, she eats it!

I think the most exciting milestone, though, is when, just two days ago on December 4, Juniper took her first steps. And yesterday she really walked. And today she made a fancy pivot, just like mommy in marching band.

I’d have to say that 2012 has been a stellar year. Despite this also being the year that I’ve gotten the least sleep out of all the years of my life, so many things happened and so many memories were made. This is definitely one for the books. Onward to 2013!

December 7, 2012. Tags: big boy underwear, first steps, Milestones, potty training. Uncategorized. Leave a comment.