Dear Ryan (12 months)

Well little bug, we made it. Here we are one year later. I can't believe how fast it has gone. You are getting so BIG and growing so much everyday. It's amazing watching you play because it's almost like I can actually SEE you learning - it is so incredible to watch.  Everyday you bring so much joy into our lives and we cannot imagine life without you.

What's going on with you?
- You still LOVE peek-a-boo and now will pop up yourself and hide again (mommy says pee-a-boo for you and you think it is hilarious)
- The pool is still your favorite summer place! You love floating around the baby pool in your little raft because you can do it all by yourself.
- You are mastering your toys - you are figuring out how they work and how to play with them (instead of mommy having to make them work)
- You can put balls into things with control AND actually let go of them! You will roll the ball back and forth with me (until you get distracted)
- You can stack rings but still would rather have them unstacked.
- You starting DANCING. It's ridiculously cute and I love to see it. The intro song to The Backyardigans gets you going every time

You favorite thing to do is walk alongside the couch and it's usually to get closer to Bob so that you can poke him. Poor Bob.

Clearly by the looks of those thighs you are eating well. You are eating a lot of real food which is great! Over the past month you have been eating a mix of breast milk, formula and real food. You nursed first thing in the morning and then in the evening until the week before your birthday when we dropped the evening feeding. On your birthday we had your last feeding and it was a little bittersweet (nursing post to come).  Now we are going to start working on weaning you off the bottle - hopefully it won't be difficult. The good news is that you enjoy a sippy cup with a straw! We had to bypass the "sippy" sippy cup because you just weren't feeling it. 

This is a new face that you have been making. I have no idea why you started making it but it's pretty funny!

Here you are with your little walker toy. Everyday you are using it and you are getting more and more confident. I know you are going to start walking soon and I am not sure if I am ready for it!

You are a lot more difficult to get a picture of these days...you squirm all over the place!

Here you are looking a little tired...perhaps it's time for a nap. Speaking of naps, I think you are TRYING to give up your second nap and only have one long one, which I am totally ok with. The only problem is that sometimes you are super grumpy by the time dad gets home if you have only had one nap. The good news is that you are sleeping really well at night - you had been waking up at 6:15ish but since we got back from Montana you decided that 7:15am would be better. Mom agrees :)

You LOVE your new chair that Yia Yia and Papu got you for your birthday!

We went to your 12 month check up the day after your birthday and it was NOT much fun. Poor little man got FOUR shots and you were not a happy camper. They also took blood (from you foot) to test for lead. All good there. Here are your official stats:
Weight:  19 lbs 14 oz - 10%
Height: 29.25in - 35%
Head: 45.1cm - 15%

As you can see you are still on the small side which is so hard for me to believe because you don't seem small at all!!!

In other news, I just ordered more stickers for picky sticky so it looks like I will keep up with these monthly posts for a bit longer!