12 months

12 months as of June 26, 2014

Happy 1st birthday, Trace Jameson!

Clothes: You're in 9-12 and 12 month clothing still. All of your boardshorts are size 6-12 month. You're still in size 3 diapers - Pampers Cruisers and wear Huggies and Pampers swim diapers size 3-4.

Sleep: You still sleep from 6:30pm-6:30am. You get a bath every night at around 6:10pm. We rock you in your dark room and give you your bottle at 6:25pm. You are so tuckered out by the end of the day and are fast asleep, in your crib at 6:30/6:45pm. You wake sometime between 6:15am and 6:30am and play in your crib until I realize that you're awake -- you don't make a peep, so often times I'm sleeping and don't know when you get up. Your dad or I get you out of your crib by 6:30/6:40am, at the latest. Your nap times are at 8:30/9:00 and around 1:00pm. Your naps have been really hit or miss this month. You LOVE your first nap, go down within seconds and it's always about 2 hours long. Your second nap is much shorter, but we're working on straightening this out, as I've realized that you nap very hard at Nanny & Papa's and while on vacation...

Health: Your health has been perfect, but your dad and I went away for 3 days and came back home to you with a really horrible diaper rash. It was so bad that it broke open and was bleeding. I took you to the pediatrician and she said to "keep doing what you're doing" and, thankfully, it's since cleared up and gone away.

Diet: You get 1 bottle/day and 3 "big boy" sippy cups/day (sippy cups with no handles). You're on Similac Sensitive (Sams Club brand). You take 1 6 oz. sippy cup in the morning and 1 8 oz. bottle as your last bottle of the day at 6:20pm. You eat breakfast (oatmeal, homemade apple sauce, eggs, turkey, toast or blueberry pancakes) at 8:00am. You eat lunch at noon and dinner at around 5:00pm. Your meals consist of whatever we are eating, leftovers from the night before or whatever I have in the refrigerator. You take a sippy cup filled with 3 oz. of formula at 11:00am and 3:00pm. We also regularly give you snacks of Puffs, Cheerios, rice cakes and yogurt melts and offer you sippy cups filled with a little water all throughout the day.

 Baby Gear Love: Joovy jogging stroller, Fisher Price space saver, Aden + Anais lovie, Itzy Ritzy shopping cart cover, swing sets, books

Likes: talking, babbling, sucking fingers, playing with Cali, eating, using sippy cup, going on walks, crawling, standing, combing the furniture, interactive books (play music, light up, touch & feel, pop-up), swinging on swing set, swimming, eating outside, infant Tylenol, tiny-small wooden toys (tool kit, blocks, magnifying glass), water/sand buckets, bathtime

Dislikes: watching someone else eat, Nose Frida, cutting teeth, being tired, not getting your way

Crying: Your 12 month growth spurt was exceptionally tough on both of us! Daddy was at the College Baseball World Series, so you and I were left to fend for ourselves... there was A LOT of crying these days, but other than that, you were an angel all month!

Milestones: You have 7 teeth fully in and I can see your 8th, 9th and 10th teeth under your gums about to poke through. You talk so much and love to say DaTTy (Daddy), MAmaMAmaMAma, irdie (birdie) and "hiiiiiiiiii" as you wave at anything and anyone. There's no way you could be anymore friendly or happy than you are! You look at everything, stretch your arm out, make a tight fist and say "BA" as if to say "looky what I see." You climb the stairs, open all cabinets, walk around all of our furniture and are generally always getting into something. Your still peg-leg crawling and it's just as cute as it's always been AND **drum roll** you took your 1st steps on June 25th... the day before your 1st birthday! We were on vacation at the beach house and thankfully, got it on video. Those 8 steps of yours were absolute perfection and made my heart swell!
UPDATE: The evening of the 4th of July was the last night that you took a bottle. Starting on July 5th we transitioned you to a sippy cup and you could have cared less. No big deal... you're a champ! NO MORE BOTTLES!! And those 3 teeth that were mention above? They poked through on July 5th as well. You are only 12.5 months old and you have 10 teeth, 2 of which are molars (on top)! You also are quite a good walker. You took is veeeeery slow and didn't push yourself, but you're now getting more brave and are walking all over the place! And lastly -- my personal favorite -- I taught you how to kiss me and it's just so fantastic. I ask "Can I get a kiss?" and you lean in and plant one on me. Melt this mama's already overflowing heart!

Dear Trace,

Happy birthday, angel boy... You are now 1 year old, a toddler I've been told. As I reflect over this past year I'm consumed with gratitude and am filled to the brim with pure, innocent happiness. You might only be 365 days old, but you have had such an impact on so many peoples lives. You've touched hearts, have left a lasting impression and have spread your happiness to everyone you come across. Because of you, I think parenthood is easy. Because of you, my heart is overflowing with love. Because of you I want to be my healthiest, so that I can live a long long life (and bug the crap out of you in my old age). There are no words to describe what it feels like to be your mommy. Maybe it's heaven on earth! Hearing you say Mama over and over again makes my heart pitter patter. Knowing that I get to be your mom forever is such a gift. Thank you God. You really are the perfect child. You are so perfect that the day before your birthday you gave Dad and I am gift -- you walked for the 1st time. You took 8 steps while we were on vacation at the beach. You took those same 8 steps several different times, and every time you did it, you were so incredibly proud of yourself. But I assure you, Dad and I were more proud. We are your biggest fans, your loudest cheerleaders and the most proud parents around. Whether it's saying "hiiiiiiiii" and waving incessantly, calling for birdies or giving high fives, we celebrate everything you do, every time you do it. I fly out of bed in the morning because I can't wait to see you and I get sad in the evenings because I know it's your bedtime. I can't believe how far we've come this past year. You inspire me to be a better person because you are the most sweet boy. You share every toy and piece of food with anyone around you. We've learned and grown a lot. You're just so good at life! I can't wait to witness what this next year has in store for you. As Nanny always used to tell me, "I'll be watching and praying..."

Scenes from the past month!