Duncan: 51 Weeks Old

Duncan is 51 weeks old today, so that means he's only got one more week to go until the big first birthday! Where did my little baby go? He's turned into such a big boy -- a truck-loving, rambunctious, giggly, fun, cuddly, trouble-making, mama's boy. I just love him to pieces! :)

After last week's random two-day battle with a 103 fever that didn't turn into anything after it went away, we opted for a laid-back weekend of rest & relaxation to get the little guy back to 100%. But, of course, the random medical drama continued on Sunday when Duncan woke up with a few blotchy, rash-like, inflamed areas on his arms & legs. Later in the day, they got redder & bigger and more blotches showed up on his face. So it ended with a trip to the clinic for evaluation.

After being given the "No worries, it's probably roseola or just a reaction to today's heat" diagnosis, we took him home to just keep an eye things. By Monday morning, the blotches were mostly gone and he was all clear again on Tuesday. So I think that Duncan, like his mother, does not do well in extreme heat. Which is why he is lucky that we live in SF, even though the heat wave this week is trying to melt us! Even so, Duncan seems to be 100% happy & healthy today, so I have no complaints. :)

He's been sporting shorts all week to fend off the heat & I can't get enough of his cute little legs sticking out of those shorts!

Since it's been so hot this week, Duncan and I have been doing morning playground time to avoid being out in the heat in the middle of the day and afternoons. We've really enjoyed the change! Since the playground is less crowded in the mornings, Duncan seems much more relaxed & doesn't have to fight over play things and I can set him free to explore while I sit back & enjoy conversations with other mommies. He's even been hitting it up with a couple of the girls we've met there. ;)

Our afternoons have been spent playing at home in Duncan's palace of toys, but he's mostly interested in trying to get to things he's not supposed to and just plain old trouble-making in general. It seems to make him happy, so as long as he's not hurting anything, I tend to just let him devise his schemes and watch to see what he comes up with. It's pretty fun. :)

Over the last week or so, I've taught Duncan some pretty awesome but useless tricks! Haha! I taught him to give a very satisfied "Ahhhhhh!" after he takes a drink of water and he does it every time now with a giant smile. It is SO cute and cracks us up every time he does it. He loves to say "Ahhhh!" like 2 or 3 times in a row with a smile to make sure we heard him. LOL Also, I taught him to respond to "What does an elephant say?" with a cute spurt of air from his puffed up cheeks through his pursed lips and I have to admit that he makes a better elephant impersonation that I do. Haha! :) He also has added "Stomp! Stomp!" to his list of commands that he understands, so when we tell him to "Stomp! Stomp!" he bangs his foot on the floor and smiles. He likes to do it especially when he is lying down on his belly. Sometimes, he will lie there and stomp loudly once so we hear him and waits for us to say "Stomp! Stomp!" so he can do it some more. Hehehe! He's so funny!

It's amazing how quickly he learns things. He knows all sorts of names to things so we can ask him to go to it or go find it or ask him where it is. He'll point to pictures of people and things that he knows and knows where to find all of his favorite books. He remembers what things are called as soon as we teach them to him a couple times. It's so amazing. He just doesn't like to say anything other than his own made-up words and sounds yet, and prefers to use gestures to indicate things that he wants from us. I guess he'll start talking in his own time. At least we know he understands us even if he won't talk to us. :P

He does make the rules around here it feels like! :P I sure do love my little handsome guy. I just can't get enough of him! My little baby whose almost a year old... *sigh*

We are so excited that Duncan's Uncle Trung, Auntie Heather, and cousin Logan are going to be here this weekend and staying for an entire week!! He is going to have the best time with them! We're on vacation next week so the next time you hear from us, Duncan will be a full-fledged one year old!

Love,
Tam