Happy 1st Birthday, Peter Elias

 Well, you say, I might look like I'm two, but I just had my very first birthday. Celebrations at the Bontorno house are pretty extensive: mine started with early morning sweeping.

  Followed by late-afternoon sweeping.

 A little fun.

 Some gifts.

 And some cake that I didn't like. Who likes little blue things on their food?!?!

It was a great day to finish out an exciting year (filled with sweeping).

*Editor's Note - Peter Elias is so fun to be around. This birthday week, he's begun talking - a very guttural mishmash of sounds. But, he answers simple questions with a "da" and quick head nod for yes and a definitive shaking of the head for no. He loves to hide and wait for people to find him. He also loves to go far away from mommy or daddy and turn back to see if we are watching him. For instance, he goes to the toilet, turns to make sure we are looking, cracks a huge smile and quickly plunges his hands in the water.

Peter Elias went to Mexico with our family in June. There he began choosing to walk rather than crawl, and he's been gaining momentum ever since. People in Mexico loved him. My favorite comment was, "can I touch him?" Everyone wanted to look at him and hold him.
He loves trucks/cars/trains and sticks/poles/pencils. He makes a siren sound for the trucks he plays with. He continues to scream for joy and fun. He still rarely sits to read a book. He chews on blankets edge - though he doesn't have a comfort blanket - any old one will due. He goes to sleep after I lay him down. He usually gives me a big smile as I leave the room. He slept through the night once!!! But mostly, we still hang out 1-2 times a night.

He loves the sand and water. He will sit in our sandbox for 45 minutes at least and play with the shovels and dig. He loves slides and can climb our little slide in the basement and slide down all by himself.

Peter Elias wears 18 month clothes, and this big guy has an even bigger heart. What a special guy.

Busy Baby

10 Month Peter Elias (with a nod to 9 months as well)

I am so close to walking, but I revert to crawling very quickly when I get a glimpse of somewhere I want to be like an playhouse/hut-type structure to sit in. I think my siblings are pretty funny and even love to wrestle them. My appetite has gone down recently since I can get around and have fun so easily! But, a month ago, the greatest parts of the day were those filled with food - pizza, pasta, and frozen peas were my top choices. Now, I just want to climb and go outside. When my mom walks past the outside doors, I make it known that I want to go through them. After getting 4 teeth in 2 weeks, I am a much better sleeper and only wake 1+ times a night these days. I love my mom, but I LOVE my dad. I also don't mind other people holding me for the most part. One day, Mommy dropped me off asleep at a friend's house for a few hours. I guess I wasn't expecting to awaken to new people, and Miloe said I was "crying and crying and never stopping." Today, I ate an apple core out of the compost collection bucket. I've been slightly into tasting sand in our sand box.
I say da-da-da-da a lot. I haven't used a binky in over a week - because my parents can't find one and I don't put up much of a fuss. I continue to be excellent and cute and happy.