Michael: 12 Months!!

5/15/14
This month:
*You weigh: 21lbs 6.5oz 

*You are: 29 3/4in tall
*You are wearing: size 12 month clothes and size 18 month sleepers

*You still eat about every 2 hours. I feed you in the morning, when I put you down for a nap, when you wake up for a nap (x2), before bed, and typically once in the early morning around 5:30 or 6:00. 
*You have your 2 top teeth, 1 next to your top tooth and another trying to pop through, and your 2 bottom teeth.
*You are in a size 4 diaper.

*You go to bed around 8:30-9:00 and sleep until around 9:00. You take 2 naps a day that range from 1.5-2 hours long. You get up in the morning around 9:00, nap at 11:00 and sleep until around 12:30-1:00 and take your second nap around 3:30 and sleep until 5:30ish.

You have started taking a few steps at a time, but still don't cant to walk full time. You are so fast when you crawl and have no need for walking to slow you down!! You like to eat and love to feed yourself but are still pretty picky. You really like carbs. A meal full of breads and pasta is heaven for you! You are soooo loud during meal times. You sit in your highchair and yell until we feed you or you get what you want. We say "Oh that's just Michael singing his dinner song". It's super fun. I hope you grow out of that phase quickly.

You don't really talk, you do say ma ma ma ma and da da da da but I'm not sure that you are using them in context or know what you are saying. I'm sure you will eventually be a little chatterbox like your sister. You are still a mamas boy and I love it. We are still nursing, and I'm not sure how much longer we will go, but I love that down time we have to just snuggle and spend some quality time together. 

You are so smart. I know that every parent always thinks their child is a genius, but you are pretty smart! You are a little observer and love to mimic what other people do. You got a new riding toy for your birthday and you knew exactly how to push yourself around on it.  

You get into everything. Ev-er-ry thing. Everything. It's insane. I don't remember it being like this with Ellie, but every time I turn around you are into something you're not supposed to be, or putting something else in your mouth. Did I mention the time you ate ashes a few months ago? That was fun. You can climb up onto the couch in our living room and have taken a few falls off of it and even one or two over the back of it. We all say that you are going to be our ER baby. You definitely keep me on my toes there's no doubt about it!

I absolutely can not believe how fast the past year has gone. It feels like it was just last summer and I was trying to get the hang of balancing the needs of a newborn and the needs of a toddler. Those days sure seemed long, but the weeks flew by! I am so glad that we have long since settled into a routine and that you and Ellie are starting to play together more and more. You just adore her and love to be in whatever she is doing. She is still learning to be gentle with you and that she has to share all the things, but I am looking forward to the day that you two are the best of friends and spend all day playing together. I'm sure we will still have some quarrels in there too, but it is my hearts desire for you to have a close relationship. After all, I don't know what I would do without my siblings!!

We love you so much sweet boy. I am so glad that God chose me to be your mama and look forward to watching you grow and learn. I can't imagine all the changes that will be coming in the next year! 

Happy First Birthday Michael!