12 months = one year

Now that my little peanut had his birthday I suppose it is time for a little 12 month update.  How long do I still refer to his age in months before it just becomes 'blank years old'? Another thing about toddlerhood that makes me a lil' bit sad...

Hendrix is getting better and better with his walking and balance and recently mastered getting himself to a standing position from the middle of the room without pulling up to anything. It has now been a few days since i have seen him crawl and I think those days may be over.

He weighed in at 21 pounds and 5 ounces at his one-year-well-baby visit and was super brave about his shots (all 6 of them....whew!) though he was really getting grumpy with us by the time we got to the finger prick for the hemoglobin test. Who likes to have their finger poked and then squeezed???
His doctor was really impressed with his achievement of developmental milestones, and said a couple times, "I think this kid forgot that he was born early!"  That was super encouraging.  He is only in the 25th percentile for height while in the 50th percentile for weight, so he might be short like his momma.  poor kid.

He is doing awesome at being apart from his mommy as he is going to the babysitter two mornings a week.  We have successfully finished our second week of that routine now and he barely cried when I dropped him off this morning. My good friend, who has a daughter very similar in age, is the one watching him and that sure has made it easier for me to leave him.  It's been a month of changes for all of us, that's for sure!

He is doing alot more talking. In addition to his earliest vocabulary of mama, dada, kitty, dog and ball; he has added hot (he learned that at his birthday party while being warned not to touch the fire), go and uh-oh. 
In addition he has started babbling something that sounds like 'ah ee ah ee' over and over again while he is playing...not sure the meaning of that yet.

He still loves his signing movies.

He is busy. While visits to the library used to be relaxing, now I have to watch him like a hawk or he just disappears. He is so quick.

Another favorite activity right now is drumming. He likes to pound kitchen utensils on bowls and pans to make racket.  Since that has been so much fun he has also found other items in his toy box to experiment sounds with. His newest instruments have been his wooden puzzle pieces - he loves banging them like cymbals.   

He also likes to sing opera when daddy occasionally plays it for him. He really gets into it and is hilarious!

 What a little musician we have! Lol

Oh and we finally had a breakthrough with sleep habits! He is sleeping all through the night in his own bed! Hooray! We did have to use the crying it out method of sleep training, and it was painful (especially for mom and dad) for a couple nights but our perseverence and consistency paid off and now he is soothing himself to sleep which seems to be better sleep for him and obviously for us too.  It was so worth it!

He has discovered drinking fountains and now we can't walk by one without stopping to take a drink and do some splish-splashing.

He has recently started 'panting' when he gets really excited. It sometimes sounds like he is hyperventilating. very silly.

He loves stairs.

He loves slides.

He loves playgrounds.

He got his first haircut the day after his birthday.  If I had let my hubby pick it would have been months ago so he would never again be mistaken for a girl, but I had a hard time parting with those little curls that were finally starting to form in the back.

I did it myself, and no, he didn't sit very still.  

That is why it isn't very straight. ;)  

It is nice to see his eyes a little better, and I know that it will grow back. 

Won't it?!?!

Oh and is finally getting some top teeth - four of them all at once. Wowzers!

He may be a toddler now, but he will always be my sweet, baby boy. ;)

 

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

running already?!

When he decided to take off, he decided to really take off!  It hasn't even been a week since he started walking, and now he is running. 

I just can't get over how cute he looks as he keeps those arms straight out for balance. ;)  Or how about how grown up he looks?!  Oh my.

He has decided that walking/running is now his favorite way to get around, and reserves crawling for only when he topples (which is becoming far more infrequent) and needs to get back to something he can pull himself up to.  He can't get to a standing position from the middle of the room yet.  I have seen him squat down to pick something up, and then stand back up though.  That balance is really coming along!

He is also getting really good at walking on grass, mulch, and other uneven surfaces.  If only he would keep his shoes on better!

He has already had his first skinned knees, though they didn't seem to deter him at all. What a tough kid.

we've got a walker!

It clicked today.

Hendrix has all of a sudden gone from taking a few uncoordinated steps when prompted/begged by mommy and daddy to toddling all the way across an entire room, just to turn around and come back.

He is so proud of himself and it is fun to watch.  :)

no longer a stationary subject

mr hendrix doesn't like to be cooperative for mommy to take pictures of him anymore.  he doesn't. sit. still.  since he has learned how to crawl he is constantly on the move.

oh, and have i mentioned that he took his first steps over the weekend?  

it was only a couple, and he hasn't done it again since even though we have been encouraging him to try. i am sure that it won't be long now and he will be a pro.  he is feeling a lot more comfortable at keeping his balance as he cruises around things, and even lets go to lunge (but keeps his feet planted....silly boy).

basically i have a whole lot of pictures that look like this....

...and this.

can't wait until i can catch some of him walking!  ;)  i am really thankful that i can adjust the shutter speed on my camera, otherwise i am certain all of the pictures of him would be nothing but a blur!