12 month stats

Carson has developed so much over the last month. He is sooo close to walking on his own. He will walk holding just one hand. I even caught him standing unsupported this week! I don't think he realized he was holding on or leaning on something. He was doing it all by himself!

HEIGHT/WEIGHT/TOOTH COUNT

• Height: 31.25 inches - 85th percentile
  
• Weight: 27 lbs 3 oz - 93rd percentile
  
• Tooth Count - 6

...as of his birthday. He has 2 more coming in on the bottom right now!

PERSONALITY

Happy, happy, happy! He is such a ham! He makes everyone laugh and smile. We recently took him out of day care and put him in an in-home care center (which we LOVE!!). Just the other day Carson and I were leaving and as she was closing the door I heard her two little boys (ages 4 & 6) say, "I love Carson!" That made me smile. He is such a busy body. He loves to play, especially in the kitchen. Maybe he will take after his Daddy and be a good cook!

BTW, since we took him out of day care he has been well for 5 weeks straight!!! Before that we hadn't gone longer than 7 days in between sickness since he was 4 months old. We are keeping our fingers crossed.

VOCABULARY

"Da-da, da-da, da-da!" This pretty much sums up his favorite word this month. He learned how to say da-da and now he says it all the time. Brian LOVES it, as you can imagine. Just the other night, he called from his room at about 2am saying, "Da-da, Da-da..." He has always called for Momma. I have to say I was a little bit said, but not for long since he was specifically calling for Daddy so he was the one who had to get out of bed to get him!

New Tricks

Carson has learned how to blow kisses. He will motion his hand from his mouth and even makes the smooching sound. I love it!!! But I still love the big open mouth, slobbery, snotty real kisses that he gives the most!

My parents were here for Carson's birthday party for 10 days. When they were here my Mom got the idea to take the "toy part" off of his "sit-to-stand" toy and so there is just the frame. She showed Carson how to use the frame and walk. It is soooo cute! The frame has wheels on it so it looks like he has a geriatric walker. It is a must see sight!

He also learned to point his finger. Now he points at everything! He will point to something and just start babbling away. I do wish I knew what he was saying.

FAVORITE FOODS

This time last month I was so concerned with his slow transition to table foods. It was one of the big things I wanted my parents to work on with Carson while they were here. Sure enough, he made the transition and he eats EVERYTHING under the sun. I haven't found anything he doesn't like. He especially loves bananas, ham, beets, pizza, cheese, well...EVERYTHING! I guess that is no surprise since he has been over the 90th percentile in weight since birth! We've got a hungry little man.

FAVORITE TOYS

Carson doesn't really favor one toy over another for the most part. He does, however, prefer to play in the kitchen. He has mastered the tupperware cabinet and has now moved on to the pots and pans. Tubberware is for babies and pots & pans are for big boys!!!

FAVORITE ACTIVITIES

Diaper changing has taken on a new dimension! My mom made a wreath for Carson's room when he was born. The little animals make sounds when you squeeze them. I originally had it above his tall chest of drawers but my mom made the suggestion to move it over the changing table. So now when we change Carson's diaper he starts roaring like a lion. Love it!!!

DAILY ROUTINE

Carson usually wakes up between 6 and 7. He usually has dry cereal and a banana for breakfast. Sometimes he will get a nutri-grain bar which he loves! But its quite messy. Now that we have changed day cares we leave the house between 7:30 and 8 to drive the 2 miles to his new in-home care center. He still gets a bottle mid-morning but we are working on transitioning to strictly sippy cups. Our pediatrician said between month 13 & 14 is when they start growing attached to their bottle so we are working on it now! I am not too concerned about Carson growing too attached. He never got attached to pacifiers or to a "lovey" of any sort. Sometimes Carson will take a short morning nap & then lunch time is around 11:30 and then he usually goes down for a nap. He is now consistently taking 1-2 hour naps where before he was only get 30-60 min naps at daycare. Another great perk of in-home care! Carson will get a snack before Mommy comes to pick him up around 5-5:30. Then we are off to go home and continue our night time routing of dinner, bath, book, bottle, teeth brushing, and night night time.

Until next time...