Happy 1 Year!

 

Whew, little bleated I know!  It's been really busy around here as William's parents were here for a week and the whirlwind of house/mortgage related activities.  I am really having a hard time believing my baby is 1 year old!  I will also blame the lateness (and lack of many non iphone pictures) for the fact that this little guy is BUSY! 

Stats:
We went for his 1 year check up and he is 22 pounds, 6 ounces which puts him in the 44th percentile.  He's 30 inches long and in the 61st percentile.  And his head is still puny at 44.7 cm, which puts him in the 9th percentile.  We didn't get his shots as he had a runny nose, so we'll go back this week for that.  But Dr. Tripathy said he looks fabulous and his ears were all cleared up from the infection a couple weeks ago.  As noted on my FB status, I'm not too thrilled with Dr. T, so now that we've made it a year and I still don't love her, I'm making a few phone calls and thinking about switching.  There were several doctors that got many recommendations, so I hope to have that in place before he goes back in 3 months.   

Milestones:
No big new ones this month, but lots of progress on the skills he acquired last month.  He's a super crawler now and can get anywhere very quickly.  Sophie is not so sure about this new development but she has been great so far about him chasing her, pulling her tail, and tackling her with hugs and kisses.  He loves pulling himself up on anything that stands remotely still.  He's cruising around the furniture and will occasionally let go, especially if a toy is involved.  He still has a little trouble getting down from a standing position, but mostly just falls over and then starts crawling where he wants to go.  Funny story of learning how to be a mom of a crawler:

He was playing nicely in the living room, so I ran to my bathroom a few feet away to finish getting ready.  It suddenly got pretty quiet, so I ran out and didn't see him in the living room.  And where did I find the little bugger?  Playing in the toilet.  I'm sure my laughing and taking pictures didn't help reinforce the idea that playing in the toilet water isn't something I'd like him to do.

Other new skills:
Not a new one, but he still LOVES to point.  And it's usually a little crooked finger point.  So cute.  But he loves for you to name the thing he's pointing at and will usually whine if you don't recognize what he's doing.

He is "talking" up a storm and his receptive language is growing by leaps and bounds.  The only real word that other people would be able to recognize is 'mom.'  It's very clear and only directed at me, so I wrote it in his baby book as his first word. As mom, there are a few more words that I recognize.  Anytime he sees a cow or plays with his toy cows, he'll say mooo.  His Auntie Jenna would be so proud.  Then when he sees Elmo, he'll sometimes say Mo.  The other big one is when we're playing cars, he'll try to mimic his voice when I say vrooom or do a siren noise.  All adorable.  As for what he's understanding, that's pretty amazing to watch.  If you ask him where mommy or daddy is, he'll look around and point at us.  He'll also point at his teddy bear, big truck, high chair, fan, and of course his passy to name a few.  Cannot wait to hear his little voice making more words!

He can consistently point to noses, eyes, and mouths.  He does this on someone else's face or on a doll.  He can point to his own nose with no problem.  He still signs "more" regularly, waves hi/goodbye all the time, and has started blowing kisses.

Food/Nursing:
We're pretty much done with baby food, but I still keep a little bit around to supplement a meal if he's not eating a ton.  For breakfast, he still doesn't love any form of baby cereal.  But he loves strawberries, blueberries, and grapes and will devour toast with butter or bites of my Eggo waffle.  He also really likes scrambled eggs.  For lunch and dinner times - he loves cooked carrots and peas, hot dogs, cottage cheese, yogurt, fruit, macaroni and cheese, chicken, mushrooms, and any kind of pasta and sauce.  The only foods so far that he doesn't love is watermelon, banana, melon.  And the biggie: milk.  We introduced it a few weeks ago and he doesn't love it.  Water in the sippy cup, no problem. He downs it.  But he's not loving the milk.  We've tried is cold and warm and it doesn't seem to make a big difference.  I'm just going to keep trying at every meal.  I've basically dropped the noon nursing, but I was hoping he'd be drinking a little more milk before I drop other feedings.  But I guess I'll have to drop them first, and then see if he'll pick up the slack with the milk.  I'm really in no rush as of yet to get him weaned.

He would still nurse until the cows come home if I'd let him.  And by that I mean, all evening, all night, and for a long time when he gets up in the morning.  I know that I have created this sleep monster, so we're working on dropping any night time feeds since I know he doesn't need them at all.  This little guy's in for a rude awaking when we move to the new house in 2 weeks!

Poop
Every time we sit in the high chair for lunch, he starts grunting away.  At least he's consistent for the most part in this area.

Likes/Dislikes
He still LOVES reading books and really likes bathtime.  Loves our little pool and his big teddy bear from Auntie Du.  Loves playing peek-a-boo.  Hates getting out the bathtub and getting dressed in general.  Really hates when you tell him no to playing with the printer, or banging his drum sticks on the coffee table.

All in all, it has been the most amazing year of my life with this little guy.  I have another post in review but I keep crying when I write it, so it may not be ready to for awhile.  I am continually blown away with how much I love Owen and I thank god everyday for blessing us with him.  I cannot wait to see how his personality continues to develop and look forward to see what God has in store for his life.  Happy 1st birthday little man.

I love hiding things in my new big truck from Grammy and Grandpa

I love playing with my new letters from the Mac's

I'm loving this road trip with my car seat facing forward (more on this in a later post)

Mommy and I are so cool with our sunglasses