Jack: 12 months

Sleep

Boy, are we blessed in this department!  Jack goes down for bed at around 7:30 and will sleep a good 12 hours.  Sometimes he will wake up a little earlier, but I think he goes back to sleep - I only hear little chirps for a little while!  He also entertains himself in his bed for a while...he will lay in there and relax and then start to play with his lovey.  If it has been too long, he will take his crib rail protector off - it has 3 knot fasteners and I can always tell how long he has been awake by how many of them are undone :)

Eating

Just after Jack turned 11 months, I reached a point of utter frustration.  The battles over the bottle were just wearing me out.  And I am sure they were wearing Jack out too!  So after talking to the pediatrician's office, we made the switch to all table food.  She said to just give him formula in the sippy cups and not do any more bottles.  AH!  We compromised and did just one bottle a day at bedtime to ensure he was at least drinking a good 7-8 ounces of formula (we trialed differed sippy cups with whole milk and water).  And good grief does this boy like to eat.  Looking back, I definitely think he was just telling us he was ready for table food!  I have written down just about everything he has tried and liked, and it is such a long list!  Here is a picture of the latest list!

The only food he has consistently spit out was when we scrambled egg beaters.  I think he prefers real eggs - can't blame him there!  For breakfast, we usually give him some mini pancakes and fruit and some baby cereal with milk + baby food mixed in.  Lunch is crackers, cheese, turkey pepperoni, and fruit/vegetable!  He will have some Pirate's Booty or something like that as a snack with Katie and then dinner is usually whatever we are having (within reason, of course)!  I'm so glad he is willing to try anything and 99% of the time likes it!  And he is getting better about drinking milk (his last formula was the night before his first birthday) - I put it in his morning cereal and then he is slowly getting the hang of the sippy cup.  And at dinner the other night, he actually drank from a straw!!  Hopefully in the next month he will really figure out the sippy cup!

Weight

At his 12 month appointment on Thursday, he weighed 23 pounds, 6 ounces (50-75th percentile)!

Length

Jack was 30" (50-60th percentile)!

Size Clothes

We just transitioned him to size 18 month things - a few of the things are just a little big on him, but he definitely looks more comfortable (especially the jammies)!

Size Diapers

Size 4!

Hair color

Sometimes his hair looks brown, sometimes it looks blonde, and sometimes it even has a reddish tint to it! He definitely has more of it though...and it even has a definitive part!

Eye color

Beautiful blue!  And we've noticed recently that he has some hazel right around the iris - it is so amazing!

Looking Like

When it is just me with the kids, people say he looks a lot like me.  And then when Brad is around, folks say he looks like Brad.  And he definitely has similar features to Katie.  And at his party, my grandmother said he looks a lot like my dad did as a baby.  So...looking like himself with family influence, I guess :)

Nicknames

I seem to always call him Jacky Wacky these days...it just works!

Favorite toy

He got lots of new, fun toys for his birthday!  And then I have introduced some of Katie's old toys to him too - he loves the plastic set of golf clubs that Cee Cee gave him for his birthday.  And he likes to play with blocks.  He also likes to pull up and play with the grocery cart we have.  He got an Elmo toy for his birthday that he loves.  He also has started really liking having a lovey to sleep with...whenever I lay him down he always grabs for it and tucks it close to himself.  And then he also plays with it when he wakes up!  He hasn't been particular to a certain lovey, but he just likes having one with him (one of the Angel Dear ones - we have 4! ha!)

Firsts

The biggest first for Jack recently was his first birthday!  What a fun, special day!

Milestones

This boy is BUSY!  He loves to try to race into the bathroom and play the toilet like a drum.  Or race into the laundry room and splash in Sadie's water.  We try to keep those doors shut now :)  He has figured out how to climb at least one stair.  And he walks!  He took his first step on June 7 and then took like 6 steps the next day. Just today he set a new record at 16 steps before falling.  He will, no doubt, be running sooner than I'd like :) He still prefers the bear crawl as his speedy, primary mode of transportation, but he is definitely figuring out that he can walk and really wants to run everywhere instead!

Talking/Words/Sounds

Still about the same!  He will try to make the sounds to songs, say mama + dada + baby + byebye (with a wave, of course) + try to say dog, ball, book, poop (hehe), uh oh, bottle....he is more willing to imitate for sure!  And when we sing his favorite song, Wheels on the Bus, he has tried to roll his hands for the round and round part.    

Anything else?

I cannot get over how social Jack is!  There seriously is not a time where we go out to run an errand or do something and someone stops to talk to him (like people generally do with babies) and comment on his happy disposition, smile, and bright blue eyes.  Of course, that makes me a very proud mama...and I know we are in big trouble because he is already a big flirt!  I was watching The Today Show this past week and Heidi Klum was on...good grief Jack would not take his eyes off the TV!  He was smiling at her and waving at her and giggling...it was hilarious!  

I cannot believe my little man is already a big ONE YEAR OLD!  How is that possible (I know I've said that probably 10 times!)...I feel like I blinked and it was time for his birthday!  Jack is the sweetest, funniest, happiest boy there ever was.  I am one very blessed mama...that is for sure.