12 Months Old

I apologize that this post is long overdue. I have felt so terrible about not getting this one done on time. I mean...come on...it's his ONE YEAR post, and I'm lagging behind on it! Bad, bad mommy. In my defense....Collen's birthday was on a Monday. On Tuesday, he was sick with a high fever. (He's definitely my child. You can almost always count on me being sick around my birthday and major holidays) I picked him up early from his babysitter's house because he had his 12 month appointment that day. She told me he had not been acting like himself....was very lethargic....and seemed very, very warm. She hadn't been able to check his temperature, but we were both certain that he was running a fever. I got him home, took his temperature - 102. When he runs a fever, HE RUNS A FEVER. There is no "low grade" with him....it's always high. They gave him his shots anyway (I don't, for the life of me, understand why they did that). On top of the fever and shots, he had 5 teeth coming in. Whew.... So, we(I) spent that week cuddling, snuggling, sleeping with, and medicating a sick, sick boy. At one point, his fever got up to 104. I took him to the doctor, and as usual....a virus. Not a thing to do except Tylenol and let it work its way out. So frustrating....and leaves me feeling helpless. :( Needless to say, I couldn't get a good picture of him that week. THEN...school started....and Hurricane Irene hit. We stayed with my parents for 2 days during the Hurricane because of Collen being so sick. We knew our town was expected to get hit worse, so we wanted to be sure we could get to an ER if we needed to. THEN....school was out, we were all a little lazy and enjoying time together....school started back...craziness again...getting back into the routine...and now, we are finally getting a rhythm going.

All of that to present to you, his 12 month picture:

12 Month Stats:

Weight: 23lbs 7oz (50%)

Length: 30 1/2 inches (75%)

Head: 49cm (95%)

Things Collen is doing:

Words he is saying: "Hot", "Juice" ("jzooce") - He tries to mimick other words. He had tried to repeat "Gracie", "hurts", and "ouch." He used to say "no, no" all the time, but for some reason he has stopped saying it?? And he doesn't say "see" anymore. Not sure why he let those two go...."no, no" was so stinkin' cute!

Teeth: 8 teeth! Up until 2 months ago, he had 3 teeth. In 2 months, 5 new teeth!! Luckily, he doesn't complain about teeth much at all. They don't seem to bother him (thank God!).

Sleep: He still wakes up during the night, but we are making progress. Last night, he only woke up once (opposed to the usual...5 times a night....then him ending up in our bed) and stayed in his crib until he woke up for the day!! We had been having major issues with separation anxiety, but now that he is getting into a routine and loving his babsitter, we have seen an improvement. :)

Walking? Not yet....but we're getting close. He takes a few more steps every day and is gaining more and more confidence and balance.

Clothes - He can still wear most 12 month clothes. Around the waist, 12 month fits with a little room to grow. However, getting it over his hips is the hard part. In shirts, 12 month is too small, so we stick to one piece outfits right now while he's in between. 18 month clothes are becoming more and more comfortable.

Favorites: Elmo, any toy he can push around the room, any toy that can function as a "car" and can be pushed around while making car sounds, chicken nuggets, green beans, any kind of fruit - especially strawberries and blueberries, pancakes, sweet potato, milk, any dog or cat, kids...loves to watch them, "reading" books. He doesn't have much interest in TV, but he loves books!! He likes for us to read them over and over while he turns the pages.

I am loving this age!! The transition from 11 months to 12 months was tough for him and us - I think it was more because of routine changes than anything. But now that we are all into a new routine, I am seeing so much about this age that I LOVE!! He is so interactive and playful. He and I like to chase each other around the house. I'll chase him one direction (as he crawls as fast as he possibly can!!!), and then he'll chase me back. He's becoming more interested in actually playing with his toys....as they were designed to be played with. It's amazing watching him learn something new every day!!

Being the parents of a SIDS baby, reaching the one year mark was incredibly momentous. I think we all felt a little relief knowing that he is 99% unlikely to be affected by SIDS. But, we are still guarded. I think we always will be. We know it's impossible to protect him from everything and anything, but we sure are going to try to protect him from as much as we can....

I am so thankful for this time we've been given with Collen. Being a parent is so rewarding. It's hard work....but to see that little face and know that he loves me more than anything...even Elmo...just melts my heart. We love him so, so much and couldn't be more blessed to have him in our lives.