A Photo from Every Month of my First Year- I (Diary of a One Year Old)

From August 2016 to August 2017, I have now seen a whole year pass by on this Earth. It has been a year of innumerable achievements, exciting milestones and steady growth. To celebrate my upcoming birthday and capture this journey with pictures, I’ve selected one image from each month since my birth to share with you.

This week, we begin with six of those images and next week, I’ll be back with the remaining six pictures. So here goes.

August 2016

Picture me two days after my birth. Splotched skin, eyes barely open and still quite overwhelmed by the noise and light of this world, after the cosy darkness of Mum’s tummy. This photo was taken in the hospital, before I even went home. In fact, it was my Mum’s Mum who came over to see me and clicked this picture!

September 2016

One month later, settled in San Pedro, I had already grown up enough to keep an eye out for the little girls in my neighbourhood. Okay, no, I’m kidding. I was still barely figuring out life, but my Mum’s friends were up to no good with my pictures. This is one of their handiworks.

October 2016

By this time, I had mastered the art of smiling and I couldn’t get enough of it. I would pose with my toothless grin, while my parents kept their cameras flashing!

November 2016

I started lying on my tummy, sitting up with support and venturing out for outings. In fact, I flew down from San Pedro to Abidjan to welcome my Mum’s brother, who came all the way from the US to meet me. In this photo, I’m at the Burger King outlet at the airport, waiting to see off my ‘Mamoo’ after his lovely stay.

December 2016

December is a month of Santa Claus, or ‘Papa Noel’ as they say it here. I had a lovely Christmas celebration with my French neighbours, after which we moved to Abidjan for a new beginning in a new year.

January 2017

I was now a big town boy, living in the crowded and happening city of Abidjan. My social circle increased by leaps and bounds, with lots of Uncles, Aunties and their kids becoming my friends. I also learnt the art of holding onto my two big toes and I did that quite a lot!

After I touched six months, I started learning even more exciting things and I travelled to Dubai, Paris and India. I’ll be back with photos for the remaining six months of my first year. Stay tuned!