12 Months Old!!!

9/22/12

William, I cannot believe that you are a whole year old!! What a blessing it has been to watch you grow this past year. This month's pictures were the hardest ever!! :) You did NOT want to sit still. We would sit you in the chair, and you would slide right out! We tried putting you in the big chair in your room, since it rocks and you love to rock, but you were just too busy trying to get to your toys!!

We went to the doctor for your 12 month checkup on Monday the 24th. You are 30 inches tall (55%) and weigh 19 lbs. 14.5 oz (11%). You are still our slender little guy. The doctor wasn't concerned about your weigh at all, she said you are gaining proportionately between appointments. You have never been a big eater; we used to have to beg you to finish a bottle even as a newborn. You met all of the milestones, and she was impressed that you turn pages in a book and take things out of things and put them back in. She said those are usually 15-18 month old abilities. You were cleared to eat peanut butter and shellfish. I have been so nervous about you trying these because of allergies. You had 4 shots, since we decided to have your flu shot at the same time as the others. You were a champ once again, and once they were over no one would have known you had any shots! It is not lost on us how healthy you have been this past year. We have only had one sick visit in an entire year, and that was for a rash. What a blessing!!

Your schedule has changed a little bit this month, since you are officially off of bottles! You had your last bottle on Friday, September 7th. I called the nurse that morning and asked her when you could switch to whole milk, since we were almost out of formula. She said we could go ahead since you weren't acting very interested anymore in the bottle. We tried some milk at lunch, and you LOVED it. You were used to the cold temperature because we always get your water for bottles out of the refrigerator door. But I am so happy that you loved the taste! You had milk that one time, and never looked back for a bottle! We didn't even finish out our formula, haha!! Thank goodness for an easy transition!

You wake up around 7-8. You come downstairs and have yogurt and pancakes or strawberry, blueberry waffles, toast, etc. You LOVE breakfast. It is your favorite meal. Your doctor said typically the favorite food groups at your age are carbs, fruit, and dairy. That is definitely true. You aren't crazy about fruit or veggies in their whole form yet. I guess it is a texture thing, because you will eat it in baby food form. You haven't had baby food in a while though, so we try and get creative! You play downstairs for a little while before going down for your nap. You usually sleep about two hours. Lunch is getting easier. You usually have some turkey or ham and a fruit and some cheese, or a quesadilla, or a grilled cheese, mac and cheese, etc. Sometimes you will stay have a baby food at lunch just to get some veggies or fruit in. You go back down for a nap around 2-2:30. This past week, you haven't been as interested in your afternoon nap. Uh oh! Hope it's not going away!! Depending on when you went to sleep, you sleep about 2 hours. Lately we have had to wake you up from your nap around 4:30 so that you don't sleep so late and not want to go to sleep at night so late! You wake up around 4:30 and have some milk and a snack. We have dinner usually by 6:30. You typically just eat when we eat. We found out this week that the Japanese food at Fujisan is a hit, especially the noodles! You have a bath (which you love to crawl and pull up in) around 7:30 or 8, and then we read to you and you are in your crib by 8:30. You are flexible enough that if we are late getting home at night, you don't freak out.

 You are starting to follow directions on small tasks. When we get you up from a nap, we tell you to drop your paci back in the crib. You lean over and throw it back down. It is so funny. We can also tell you to put your cars back in the racetrack, and you will!

You have so many favorite toys. Conner gave you a racetrack when we went to EC this month and you are obsessed with it. You will put anything on that racetrack to watch it spin, including yourself. You still love your dog Scout. You are now really into your walking toys since you can walk with them. You love going for walks in your wagon. You just talk and hang on for dear life the whole time! 

You love to put your cars in the race track and watch them spin. You also know how to start it spinning, by pulling on the red lever. We never really showed you any of this, you just picked it up one day, haha! You now play with your toys in the tub, you love pulling toys out of the basket in there and putting them back. At bathtime, you pick up each toy from the outside of the tub and put them in the tub, like you know they belong in there for you to play with, ha!

You have a ton of teeth!!! 4 of them came in all at once! You have three on the bottom, and 4 on the top. Dr. Willey also discovered that you have a molar on your right top side coming in! We didn't even know! I can't believe how well you handle teeth coming in.

You have so many fun tricks that we love! You wave bye bye and when people you know come up to you, you just throw one hand up like an old man does lol! You still love to clap and blow kisses. I think sometimes if you think you are in "trouble", you will start blowing kisses to get back on my good side. Smart boy!! You still enjoy peek-a-boo. You have now figured out that if you bend down on the other side of the coffee table and then pop up, we yell PEEK-A-BOO! You love that!!

You also learned to take food out of a bag this month. You look like such a big boy. We were sitting together and I was holding your bag of yogurt melts, and you reached right in and got them and put them in your mouth. 

You are so close to walking! You can crawl as fast as lightning,  I swear. You will walk with us holding your hands or even just one hand and you cruise around everything. You love to walk with your walking toys also. You just haven't quite gotten up the nerve to let go and go for it! You are standing alone for a long time now, and can play with toys while standing without holding on to anything.

You are starting to realize when you shouldn't do something. It doesn't stop you, however. The other day, I was working on the sofa and you popped your head up over the coffee table and spied the remote and looked at me with this devilish grin and slowly reached for the remote. You so knew you weren't supposed to have it! I try hard not to laugh!

On that same note, we have had several tantrums when you are told "no". You lay flat down on your stomach and put your arms and legs straight out and just sob for about 5 seconds. You like to look up and see if we are watching you or acting concerned. You get over it pretty quickly though. Whew, this is just the beginning!!!

You "speak" here and there. You love to say DaDa and Yum! You will sometimes say RyRy for Riley, ba for ball, MaMa (UGH say it more!!!), and thank you when we hand you something. Of course it isn't THANK YOU, but we try!! ;)

You still love to give an open mouth, messy kiss. You also will "love" someone if we say, "Love Mama", "Love Nana", etc. You lean in and kiss and make this little mmmm noise. It is SO sweet. Anytime there is something soft like a pillow or your stuffed animals, you jump right down on top of them and love them. It is hilarious!

We made a trip to Elizabeth City this month! You saw Conner and stayed with your Grandma and Grandpa while Nana, Hannah and I went to a wedding. You also saw Papa. Randi came and visited us for a lunch date! You saw Molly several times. Yall play so well together now, we love it! 

You have discovered how much you love opening and shutting doors. I can't even go in the pantry without you following me into the kitchen and shutting the door with me still in there! You love opening the cabinets too, oh my goodness! 

You still wear a size 4 diaper. You are fitting great in 12 month clothes, and some 18 months clothes work too! Your shoe size is 4.

You had a second haircut this month, on the 13th! You did great again!

We had your first birthday party on Sunday, the 23rd. It was the Very Hungry Caterpillar themed, and I had so much fun planning it! You had so many close friends and family come out and celebrate your little special life. You are a lucky little boy! 

William, I know I say it every month, but we just love you to pieces. I could never have imagined having a sweeter boy! I can hardly believe this first year of your life is over! We made it through one whole year!! You are an answer to a prayer. I pray that you always will come to us with any problem, big or small and that we will always have a close relationship. We love you, love you, love you!! 

"First we had each other, then we had you. Now we have everything."

11 Months Old!!!

8/22/12

William, we cannot believe you are 11 months old! How is it even possible?!!? I just can't get over the fact in less than a month, you will be a whole year old!! You are just the most wonderful little person we could have ever imagined!!

We are still unsure of your weight/length since thankfully, we have not had to visit the doctor for a sick visit. We will know your exact stats next month!! 

You are still on a great schedule. You wake up around 7-8. You come downstairs and have yogurt and pancakes or strawberry, blueberry waffles, toast, etc. You LOVE breakfast. It is your favorite meal. You have your bottle around 9:15 and then play downstairs for a little while before going down for your nap. You usually sleep about two hours.

Lunch is the hardest meal. You don't seem to really LOVE anything we give you. You usually have some turkey or ham and a fruit and some cheese, or a quesadilla, or a grilled cheese, mac and cheese, etc. Sometimes you will stay have a baby food at lunch just to get some veggies or fruit in. You have another bottle around 1-1:30 and then go back down for a nap shortly after that. Depending on when you went to sleep, you sleep about 2 hours and it's usually time for your last bottle. You are not very interested in bottles anymore. I am hoping that means that the transition from formula to milk will be easy. You usually only drink about 2-3 oz at a time.

You have your last bottle around 5 and then play. We have dinner usually by 6:30. You typically just eat when we eat. If we are in a restaurant, you will usually get a grilled cheese. You have a bath (which you love to crawl and pull up in) around 7:30 or 8, and then we read to you and you are in your crib by 8:30. You are flexible enough that if we are late getting home at night, you don't freak out.

This month, you have gotten two more teeth!! One is your top right tooth. It looks so huge in your mouth!! It is completely out. Another one is on your left side...an incisor maybe? It isn't all the way out, but it is getting there! So that makes 4 total.

You wave all the time now. I love it!!!! You love to tell people "bye bye" by waving! Sometimes, you get really excited and do both hands! Haha!

You still love to clap!!! Especially when someone says, "Yaaaayyyyy" you really look around and smile and clap hard!!

You learned how to blow a kiss this month. You just put your little hand up to your mouth and throw it away. Sometimes you even say "Mwah!" Melt.my.heart. You also like to give kisses. They are messy but we love it. You just lean in to our faces with your open mouth and give us a big ol' kiss!! Sweet boy!

You started standing alone for several seconds. Sometimes you do it on your own; you just have a toy in one hand and then decide to let go of your toy box and hold the toy with both hands. You are so proud of yourself and start laughing and getting excited. You will also do it if we put you down and let go. Big boy!! 

We have seen a little separation anxiety this month as well. It passes quickly, thank goodness. Sometimes when I leave at lunch to go back to work, you whine a little and sometimes even cry. It also happens sometimes when I walk out of the room. You are so sweet!

You and Riley are seriously BFF. You have really interacted with her a lot this month. Your new thing is baiting her with your toy. You wave it right around and then she runs toward you and grabs it from you and runs off. You laugh hysterically when she does this. She is constantly coming over to you while you play. When she finally goes and tries to rest, you follow her and start messing with her again so she will get up and play. Thank goodness she is patient!!

You are mainly in 12 months clothes and pj's. Some 9 months pj's fit, but they are getting too short. You definitely seem to outgrow in length faster than width. You still are in a size 4 diaper.

You had your first haircut this month (7/23). You already need another one!! Your hair just springs out all of a sudden, we can't believe how much you have! You did great for your haircut. 

You hung out with Molly several times this month. Yall are so cute together now since you both crawl around and play. You even took a bath together this month!! We had a playdate with Noemie as well, and yall both bugged poor Riley to death in her kennel. We went to Greenville this month and met up with Shelley, Brandon, Sophia, and Conner. We had a fun day with them!! We had dinner with Becca too!! Tanya came home for lunch to visit you a few times! You love when she comes and you try to say her name!

You have tried more and more food this month. Sometimes, you love food one day and hate it the next day. It is so funny and sometimes frustrating. Just when we fill the pantry up with what you "like", you decide not to like it anymore haha! Pizza is a new favorite for this month.

You are "saying" a few words. You at least try. Ball, mama, dada, dog, diaper (you say "duuuup" whenever we bring one out), Nana, duck, book, thank you. Obviously you don't say them perfectly, sometimes you just mimic the syllables and use the first letter. It is still so sweet that you are trying!!

You still love the music table and little truck that Shelley gave you. A stuffed octopus entertains you in your bedroom. You will dig him out of a whole pile of toys. You still love Sophie the giraffe, especially in restaurants. You still love your paci for naps and bedtime, and sometimes in the car.

You are more interested in books lately. You love the "Llama, Llama" books and especially "Llama, Llama, Zippity Zoom". You laugh the whole time we read that one. As soon as you see a book, you start laughing. I am so glad you love to be read to! 

We are in full party planning mode for your party next month. Your birthday invitations went out this week and things have been arriving at the house daily in preparation!! We can't wait to celebrate your first year of life! What a blessing you are!

William, you are just perfect!! We love you so, so much!!! We could not have asked for a more easygoing baby. You are the perfect little companion and love to be out and about with us. We look so forward to experiencing so many new things with you as the years go by!!!

10 Months Old!!!

7/22/12

Oh, my sweet William, I know I say it every month, but where does the time go?! I cannot believe you are already 10 months old! So close to a year. It is unbelievable. You are just the sweetest baby. You love to be loved on!!

This was the hardest month for your monthly pictures. You did NOT want to sit still. Every time we would sit you in your chair, you were immediately climbing over the side or wriggling out of it. So, it definitely took some work. You are busy!!

We are not sure what you weigh. I am guessing around 20 lbs. You are still our long and lean little guy. 

You started pointing this month too. You don't do it often, but once in a while we will see you pointing at something. Once you realize that you are doing it, you stare at your finger that is pointing until you are about cross eyed. It is so funny!!

We celebrated July 4th this month. You were too cute in your smocked flag outfit. We met Daddy at Nana's and watched the fireworks. We were rebels and let you stay up a little later than your bedtime, but it worked out fine. You continue to be our flexible baby, shew! I was afraid you would be scared of the fireworks, but you just sat in your stroller and stared. You even laughed a few times at them, which was funny!!

You are obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!! When you see Mickey come on the screen, you just smile so big. Nana got you your first Mickey Mouse stuffed animal, and you light up whenever you see him too!  We don't let you watch much, but sometimes I can't help it when you are being snuggly, to just start it so that you will snuggle even longer! ;)

You are so ticklish. Under your chin, under your arms, on your feet, etc! Your laugh is just so sweet. It is one of my very favorite things!!

You are eating mainly table food! You had your first kid's meal this month, at Chick Fil A. You loved the grilled nuggets, and their applesauce. You have tried so many different things. Some of your favorites are mac and cheese, beans, green beans, peaches, pears, cheese, quesadillas, waffles, pancakes, yogurt. The list goes on and on. You pretty much try what we have. We order off the kids menu for you a lot too.

You wake up around 7:30-8. You come downstairs and have yogurt and pancakes or strawberry, blueberry waffles, toast, etc. You LOVE breakfast. It is your favorite meal. You have your bottle around 915 and then play downstairs for a little while before going down for your nap. You usually sleep about two hours.

Sometimes we have to wake you up so that you can eat your lunch!! You love to sleep, thank goodness! Lunch is the hardest meal. You don't seem to really LOVE anything we give you. You usually have some turkey and a fruit and some cheese, or a quesadilla, or a grilled cheese, etc. Sometimes you will stay have a baby food at lunch just to get some veggies or fruit in. You have another bottle around 1-1:30 and then go back down for a nap shortly after that. Depending on when you went to sleep, you sleep about 2 hours and it's usually time for your last bottle. You are not very interested in bottles anymore. I am hoping that means that the transition from formula to milk will be easy. You usually only drink about 2-3 oz at a time.

You have your last bottle around 5 and then play. We have dinner usually by 6:30. You typically just eat when we eat. If we are in a restaurant, you will usually get a grilled cheese. You have a bath (which you love to crawl and pull up in) around 7:30 or 8, and then we read to you and you are in your crib by 8:30. You are flexible enough that if we are late getting home at night, you don't freak out.

You have had your bottom two teeth for a while, but now two top teeth are coming in!! We had no idea. You have not been running a fever or fussy. We just happened to look in your mouth one day and saw some white coming through.

You play quietly in your crib when you wake up in the morning and from naps. It is so cute!! Sometimes I don't even know you are awake until I hear you banging your paci on the rails. You never wake up crying or grumpy. You are always happy and when we walk in to get you, you pull yourself up with your arms up so that we can get you. So sweet!!!

Your favorite books are the "Llama, Llama" books! They are so fast and the rhymes are so cute. You love all the sound effects we make with them. You still love your stuffed Mickey Mouse, the music table, and all of your ride on toys. You have discovered a seahorse this month that Laura gave us at a baby shower. You pull it out of the toy box and just laugh at it and then carry it around in your mouth like a puppy! 

You are getting so good at waving. It is so sweet. Whenever you hear "bye bye", you automatically start waving. It is precious. You are still a pro at clapping. Stephanie's dad loves to clap at you and you just clap right back at him. It is so funny!

You are mainly in 12 months clothes. You can still fit in 9 month PJ's and Jon Jon's, but for the most part, you are in 12 months. You are still in size 4 diapers.

You hung out with Hunter this month when he came to stay with us for a few days. You also saw Molly a couple times, and attended Noemie's first  birthday party!!! You tried a lollipop for the first time at her party!! Conner and Shelley visited us and we loved that!

We had a few pool visits this month too! You love floating around in your float.

You are still crawling everywhere at a rapid speed!! You pull up on anything that you can, and you will sometimes let go for a few seconds and just stand there and look amazed. We get so excited!!!

William, you are just a precious, precious thing! We just love everything about you. I cannot believe it is almost time to celebrate you being one year old!!! You have brought us so much more happiness than we could have ever imagined. I can't even imagine life without you. Your Daddy and I just LOVE you!!!