12 Months!!

A few weeks ago my baby turned into a little boy and turned 12 months (somehow it sounds younger than if I was to say he turned one year old!)

I am LOVING this age, here's what you are up to my little man:

Height:  31 1/2 inches which is around the 93rd percentile

Weight:  27 lbs which is around the 98th percentile

(So pretty much that means that Benjamin is a very healthy little boy!)

Likes:  Climbing!!!  That is your new thing.  You're also really starting to love walking though you still crawl alot because you're so stinkin' fast.  You still love all things electronic like computers, remotes, cellphones, phones, etc.  You love your books and can often be found heading over to your basket of books to read first thing in the morning.  I absolutely love reading to you.  You love to dance while Mama plays the piano or while you're watching Praise Baby.  You love going down the slide!  You love playing with your football and you like playing with lightsabers and having lightsaber fights with Daddy.  You pretty much just like exploring everything and getting into everything!

Benjamin reading books in the morning (Ben sitting on his feet is his Daddy's favorite position he sits in)

Dislikes:  Oh my sweet child, you still hate getting your face wiped after meals and whine almost every single time.  You don't like being told "no" (surprise, surprise) and you sometimes don't like getting the shampoo rinsed out of your hair.  You're usually pretty easy going unless you're tired or hungry.  Though you prefer to be close to your Mama, which most days isn't a bad thing!

Eating:  The biggest change in your eating is that you switched over to whole milk!  You didn't fight the whole milk at all, and I really didn't think you would.  You did NOT want to drink it out of a sippie at first and really wanted your bottle.  But that only took 2 days of "weaning" and we haven't used a bottle since.  Although I must confess that I haven't put them away.  They are still "drying" on the dish rack on the kitchen counter.  I think I'm in denial that he's growing up.  I'll put them away someday. 

You still love food of course!  You have now tasted peanut butter and really seem to like it.  You also tried an egg but really only like it with ketchup, just like your Auntie Amanda.  You love, love, love blueberries and inhale them when you have them in your meal.  You're not too picky, but every once in awhile get in a "mood"! :-)

Sleeping:  You're sleeping through the night, except for the very rare night.  You're still taking 2 naps a day varying in length but usually about 1 1/2 hours each.  Your longest nap has been 4 hours and your shortest has been about 15-20 minutes.  Some days you "skip" a nap and can do okay doing so but you're usually extra tired after that.  You still sleep with your 2 Floppy dogs, 2 blankets, and your paci and you have Mama sing "You are my sunshine" through twice before you go down.

Personality:  Goofy!  You are such a shy little clown.  You're goofy, but act crazy when you think that someone is laughing at you.  You get this adorable twinkle in your eye and "perform."  Unfortunatley, you seem to have a bit of mama's temper.  You can get pretty mad which will mean I'll have my work cut out for me to be patient with you as I discipline you and teach you to keep your temper under control.  You are so observant and love watching other people and other kids.  You're always on the go but will still sit a little bit to watch some Elmo.  You're becoming super vocal and it's sooooo adorable hearing you mimic words and try to express yourself.  You can be shy and timid but also very loud and aggressive.  Your Mom and Dad happen to think you're pretty close to perfect (or at least perfect with a temper, ha!)

Highlights:  Learning to walk!!!!!!  HUGE milestone.  You're learning new words like ball, balloon, water, all done, downstairs, milk, bite, yes, bubble, diaper and banana to name a few.  In a few weeks you're going to have your first night away from Mom & Dad so they can have a night away (to make up for when he got sick and we had to cancel last time)  We had a great birthday party with our close friends and we loved celebrating your first year. 

I'm not sure we'll ever be able to express in words how much we love you Benjamin and how much we love being your parents.  Every night we sneak into your room and pat your little bum, tuck you in, squeal at how cute you look and sigh because we just love you so much.  I cannot wait for the next 12 months my little Koalas, you are our joy!