I’m often dancing around the house, practicing for the Zumba classes I teach. Just this week Wes has found his own dancing feet.

Observe:

(Song: “Me Estas Tentando”)

Here are some things Wesley did on his Last Day as a One Year Old.

He went outside to play.

He read books.

When the joy of functional play wore off he resorted to random destruction.

So I stuck him in front of the TV to give me some respite. Can I tell you how much I love Signing Time videos? Wes only recently developed an attention span for them, but he really seems to enjoy them. I’ve never seen him quite so entranced.

Today I made a cake for his birthday, which we will hopefully celebrate tomorrow along with another BYU Cougar win.

And how do I celebrate Wesley’s Last Day as a One Year Old? By remembering the painful contractions I was having exactly two years ago tonight and then rejoicing that I’m not in labor today! Instead of moaning through pain I’m listening to Zumba music, updating my blog, and eating ice cream. Happy Last Day!

Yesterday Wes didn’t take a nap until later in the afternoon. When he woke up John put him on the floor of his room with a bottle of milk to drink. A few minutes later I passed by and found this:

Today I learned that Wesley has a new skill:

Wesley apparently learned how to wave “hello” and “bye bye.” I don’t have video proof yet (soon, though), but I’m proud of him. If you tell him to wave “hello” or “bye” he’ll put one of his arms straight out in front of him and kind of maniacally throw it around. But it’s a wave.

Other milestones:

I borrowed a “Signing Time” video and he sat and watched a full 20 minutes of it with me.

He’s getting a little better with his signing. He can sign “more” the correct way now (bringing both hands together so fingers are touching).

He can fold his arms on demand. Nursery at church taught him this initially, and then at home before most of his snacks we say a blessing on the food. I say, “Fold your arms” and like lightning his arms are folded. They don’t necessarily stay folded for long, but still…

He’s also getting two molars on the top. Still no top front teeth. Just the bottom two front teeth and the two top molars.

He can step off of curbs by himself. He likes to step down and then run into the street. The therapist wants him to practice walking on and off curbs, though, so…

Not necessarily milestones, but other things about Wesley:

One of his favorite pastimes is knocking chairs over. And pushing chairs around. The nursery leader at church says Wes is very “helpful” by pushing the chairs around all the time during playtime.

He also likes to knock me over. If I’m sitting on the floor he’ll come up to me and put his hands under my feet or legs and try to tip me over. I will humor him for a little while, fall backward, and ask him to help me by giving me a hug. He’ll either flop onto my stomach and hug me or climb onto my stomach and sit there like he’s king of the world.

I took him to an aerobics class the other day, and after class two ladies came up and asked me all about Wes. I couldn’t figure out why they were so interested in how old he is, whether he’s my only kid, how he’s doing. I was kind of worn out from the class but tried to be polite and ask them about their kids too, even though I was only mildly interested. Later I realized they may have recognized Wes has Down syndrome, and maybe they were a little fascinated. I forget about these things.