Charlie: 12 MONTHS!!!!

It is official, our baby boy has phased out of infancy and has become a toddler; reaching the 1 year old mark!!!  It has been a somewhat challenging year and I am thankful that Charlie has overcome the colic/gas, puking and most of the reflux stage (more on these below). It is just so awful to watch your baby go through so much pain and now that he is eating mostly solids and is so very mobile, he is doing so much better! He is a happy little boy who loves to laugh and be silly. And for that, I'm thankful to be where we are! 

Here's a little bit about Charlie this month:

• He really still hates getting his diaper changed. There are times that he is ok if he has a toy to play with though
• He is in size 4 diapers and 18 month and 24 month/2T clothes.
• He has 3 teeth and a 4th on the way!! His other bottom tooth popped through as did his two top teeth. (Hallelujah!)
• He has learned how to be angry.....he screams, makes a fist, goes stiff as a board, etc. It's horrible!
• He loves to laugh and be silly
• He mimics an airplane perfectly! 
• He can find a cord anywhere and loves to use my long hair as a rope
• He really enjoys taking a bath with Johnny. He actually cries when you take him out because he wants to keep playing. 
• His favorite toys include airplanes and trains and matchbox cars
• The attachment phase has begun. He screams every time he is left somewhere. 
• When you pick him up out of his bed in the morning and after nap time, he lays his head on your chest to give you a hug and then "pats" your shoulder
• He could sit in his high chair forever and eat. Many times I have to "cut him off"
• He still prefers to watch Baby Einsteins, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Daniel Tiger
• He hates being confined in the pack 'n play
• He loves being outside
• He is a mama's boy! 
• "Quiet" is not something that describes Charlie

Sleeping:
Sleeping is so much better! And I'm hoping that this will continue. After he cut his top two teeth and we decreased the number of bottles he was taking, his sleep improved!!! (THANK GOODNESS!)

Charlie is waking up for the day around 8:00am eating breakfast, running errands and then playing and eating lunch. He normally has a bottle and takes a nap around 1:00/1:30 and sleeps for anywhere from 2-4 hours. He will then wake up, eat a snack, play, take a bath, etc until about 7:00 when he has his second bottle then goes to bed......and he sleeps all night!!!!


Eating Habits/New Foods:
Bottles: 6 ounces before nap time with 3T of oatmeal and then the same before bed.

New Foods!!: Way too many to count. He is eating (or at least trying) just about everything that we put in front of him. He really knows what he likes though and would definitely prefer those items.

Yogurt and bananas are still hard on his tummy and we are slowly transitioning from the formula to milk with hopes of getting rid of the bottle in the next few weeks. He usually only spits up with yogurt (HALLELUJAH!!!!) which has cut down on outfit changes and laundry tremendously!!!!!

His favorite foods are puffs, fruit loops, applesauce, peaches, any kind of bread and peanut butter and jelly.

He has really learned how to use his front teeth to chew foods.

He is doing really well telling me that he wants "more" and that he is "all done" so now we are working on "please" and "thank you".


New Discoveries:
Dancing! He loves to dance/bounce in his high chair while he is eating. It is one of the most adorable things I've ever seen and he just laughs and laughs while he's "dancing".

Accomplishments:
Charlie is pretty exceptional on climbing the stairs lately. He started doing this last month but has gotten even better this month; this includes climbing over/under the obstacles that I put in front of the stairs to block him.

He is walking extremely well while holding on to our hands and I envision him walking in the next month or two at the latest.

Words: "hi", "mama", "dada", "more", "no", "all done", "bye"....and I would put money down that he is trying to say "Mel" & "Jah" (for Johnny)....but I'm not 100% sure on that yet

Places:
Church, Meijer, Kids Club at the gym, the bank, doctors office, dentist, the salon, Jump Start

Special Memories:
Celebrating his very first birthday! Birthdays are a pretty big deal to me and this one was no different. I love the whole process of it, even though he really doesn't have any idea what is going on. The balloons, the cake, the decorations, the presents.....I love it all! We had a great day of celebrating and minus getting his shots that day, he was a super happy boy!! We are so thankful for this sweet boy that God has given us!

12 Month Dr. Visit

Length: 29.5"

Weight: 20# 6oz

Head Circumference: 49.5cm

This visit was with the nurse practitioner and was pretty "routine". After taking his measurements and answering some questions with the nurse, the NP came in and examined him, asked about walking and if he had started that yet, she asked what we were going to do about milk/calcium and went over his percentiles with me. She was really pleased with everything she saw and we go back in 3 months for his 15 month well-visit.

Honestly, it felt a little weird to have such a smooth visit for Charlie. Minus his shots, there was nothing about the visit that was "sad"....there was no conversation on lack of weight gain, no discussion of acid reflux or puking or colic.....it was a perfectly normal visit and for that I am so very thankful!!! A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulder. (My heart goes out to moms and dads whose children have really serious health conditions....I can't even imagine the toll it takes on a parent!)


Waiting in the dr's office, looking at the fish. Mellany and Johnny were at this appointment because they had been sick with fevers so couldn't be at school. It actually turned out that at this same appointment the NP decided she wanted to swab them for strep and they tested positive! 

12 Month Photo Shoot
I'm not quite sure how I got any pictures of him this time.....he is literally moving all the time. I think there is something about our bed that prohibits him from sitting still.

And I know that there are way too many pictures but I wanted to be sure and show just how "all over the place" he was and all of his different expressions.....plus his top two teeth have just changed his smile so much and its so darn cute!!

You can also notice that his mouth is always open....this would be a "Barrett" thing. :)

Birthday Cake & Presents
Gammy was able to be here for his actual birthday so that made it a little extra special for us. Charlie opened presents that Mellany and Johnny picked out themselves and a present that Nana sent (he is already enjoying a truck and clothes from Papa & Teresa and a toy box from Gammy) and then sang happy birthday and dove right into his cookie cake. The design was picked out/created by Mellany and Johnny and they were the proudest older siblings I've ever seen.