You are not really a baby anymore. You are 12 months old, and that means you are ONE YEAR OLD! We'll now start calling you a toddler (or maybe a pre-toddler). Sometimes, people will still call you a baby, and I really like that. This has been the most joyous, fulfilling year of my entire life, and you are the reason for that. I will never be able to explain to you how you have changed my life in such a way, but I hope and pray you will find out for yourself one day...in the very far away future when you become a parent. I'm glad we have all survived this first year, and I cannot wait to enjoy the next year together with you, my sweet boy.
A few things about you at 12 months-
Personality:
You are more independent than ever! You are still a little hesitant to leave mommy and daddy, but you seem to settle in just fine when you are left with other caretakers. When we are home together during the day, you are back to enjoying playtime by yourself and don't seem to care if mommy is there at all. You are just starting to walk, but you are being quite cautious. When we celebrated at your party, you mostly got passed around and held by all your loved ones. You were super quiet and shy that day. We think you were just overwhelmed with everything going on at the house. You did ham it up a few times though, so that kept the crowd amused. Some days you can be quite stubborn. If you can't have something or do something, then you will pout/huff/puff/fuss about it until an alternative becomes available. For now, it's pretty easy to get your mind off of your disappointment and on to happier things. You babble all the time, and we love talking back and forth together. You keep me laughing with all your new sounds and "words."
I have misplaced my notes from your 12 month doctor's appointment, but I think I can mostly remember your stats. You are 23 pounds and 4 ounces, which is in the 80th percentile. You measure 33 inches long, which is off the charts! Mostly, you wear size 4 diapers. Your clothes are sizes 12 and 18 months. It is so wild to look back at your newborn pictures and see how much you've grown.
You took your first steps right around Halloween, a week and a half shy of your first birthday! You are still mostly crawling, but you have walked up to about 5 feet at one time. Like everything else that you have accomplished, you are very proud of yourself. You are very strong, pulling and pushing your toys and other heavy objects all over the house. You seem to have a good sense of rhythm. Every time you hear music, you stop what you're doing and dance to the beat. It is absolutely the coolest thing. Finally, you got some new teeth. You now have 8 teeth: four on the top and four on the bottom. Getting new teeth really doesn't bother you that we've noticed. I hope that trend continues when you get your molars!
Sleeping is one of your "strengths." You still take a morning and afternoon nap which last 1-2 hours usually. You go to bed between 7:30 and 8 pm. You usually wake up around 7 am. Lately, you have been stirring around 5:30 am, but you will just whine or play for a few minutes and go back to sleep. Sometimes, you will play by yourself happily when you first wake up. When I put you down at night, you usually go right to sleep. At naptime, you like to fuss a little before falling asleep. Things are a lot happier around here when you've had your beauty sleep.
We have been giving you more snacks lately as you're getting hungry in between meals. You are starting to get picky with your eating though. One day you will like something and the next day you will throw it on the floor. Your first bite of cake came at your birthday party. You were not too excited about it, but you ate it politely and enjoyed the tastes you had of the white cake with vanilla icing. You like to drink water from your sippy cups throughout the day and with meals. We have continued to nurse four times a day, but we will start weaning slowly as you're ready for cow's milk now!
For your first birthday, we went to Columbia and took you to your first USC football game. We beat Arkansas! You wore your new Lattimore "21" jersey and were the cutest fan there. You did so great with all the noise and activity. Your favorite part was the marching band's half time show. You danced along with the music and cheered with the crowd. Of course, you really enjoyed the new jumbotron scoreboard, too. I loved sharing that special first with you. On Sunday, your actual birthday, we celebrated with your friend, Legare, at her birthday party. You played in ball pit and jumped in a bounce house for the first time! Both of these activities were a huge hit with our little Camper. You got so many fun toys, cute clothes, and cool books for your birthday. We have spaced out the fun by giving you a new present every few days (or when mommy really needs a break). Your mom and dad gave you a Camp-sized shopping cart with wooden pantry food for your birthday. It was an instant hit as you love pushing things around as well as putting things into things and taking them out. You enjoy so many different things, and it makes it easy to have fun with you!
What a year this has been. You have gone from a 7 pound 14 ounce baby to a 23 pound little boy. It has been so amazing to see you grow and learn along the way. I have loved experiencing so many firsts with you, and I am excited to share more with you in the coming years.
Love, love, love,
Mommy
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