Thomas's Birthday

Thomas is now 1 year old. People often say that your children grow up in an eye blink, but it feels like Thomas was born a lifetime ago. When I think about all the moments, all the milestones, all we've learned, and everything that's happened, it's hard to believe that it's only been a year.

While we weren't planning a big party or anything for Thomas's birthday, we did want to make a day where we did things he enjoyed. We were going to make him his favorite foods, buy him a forward-facing seat for the car, let him take an extra long bath, and take him out to a restaurant for dinner. Curtis was still on spring break, so he'd have both parents available for play all day.

Unfortunately, things didn't work out that way. For his first birthday, he got his first illness.

It all started Sunday night, when he didn't want to eat dinner. Very strange for Mr. Chowhound. Then Monday, he didn't want breakfast either, he just wanted to sleep. When he turned away from lunch, I got really worried. I got him to eat a few bites, but then he threw up. Poor baby! I talked to his pediatrician for some reassurance. He spent almost all of Tuesday sleeping and snoring from all the congestion. He'd wake up only to cry pitifully and lay limp in my arms. Curtis and I hid in the den, playing video games without the sound to avoid disturbing him. By Wednesday afternoon, he was perking up some, but Thursday morning, he broke out in a rash. Fortunately, it was the day of his 1-yr checkup. The doctor gave him a prescription for an antibiotic, since he had a slight ear infection in his left ear (due to the congestion). He's been on the mend since then, and now seems to be his old self except that he's still sleeping more than normal.

At his checkup, he got his shots and weighed 23 lbs. (He weighed 21 1/2 at nine months.) He's up to 29 inches tall and his head is 19 cm. He's around 50th percentile in height and weight, but his head is well over 95th percentile. I refer to his "Charlie Brown head" everytime I'm trying to get a shirt over it. His blood test at 9 months revealed that he was slightly anemic, so he's now on iron drops every night. He's on track developmentally, though his pediatrician was very concerned that he doesn't say any words yet, not even "mama" or "dada". We finally reassured him by telling him that Curtis didn't speak until he was over two.

So Thomas's birthday was put on hold, but Wednesday, he got his new seat and can now see where he's going. Saturday night, he had enough appetite to take him out for dinner. It was appropriately enough the Olive Garden, which was the same chain that we went to the first time he was ever taken to a restaurant. For the first time, we ordered him his own meal off the kiddie menu. He had the grilled chicken with pasta (plain) and broccoli. He wasn't wild about the broccoli, but loved the pasta and breadstick. It also came with a glass of milk, and he drank from a straw for the first time. He would point to the glass and I would lower it down for him to have a drink. I was putting his food onto my bread plate as I cut it up, but he really liked to eat from both plates. Amazingly, only two pieces of noodle hit the floor. All in all, he was a surprisingly good dinner companion.