Carson Anthony: 11 Months!

I know this post is way late but we were on vacation!  I didn't have a chance to upload my latest pictures before we left so that's my excuse!

The countdown to ONE has started.  I hate how fast this is all going but I LOVE watching my little baby grow and learn SO much!  Carson is now officially 11 months (as of 4/18!)!  We're in full party planning mode over here!

Carson is officially a walker.  In the past few weeks he has started to walk across the room and walk to get things.  Before that, he would only walk when we bribed him with something fun (usually food or an electronic, haha) but now he walks on his own accord.  He rarely crawls anymore and totally prefers walking over crawling.  Oh dear, my little baby is growing up!  Here he is with his big boy shoes:

Weight: Carson is still about the same weight...just over 20lbs!  I'm assuming he hasn't been gaining weight because he has been SO mobile and active.  I've also read that breastmilk calories can be easier to burn than formula calories so that might have something to do with it.  Anyone know if there is any truth to that?  Either way, I'm going to ask the pediatrician at his 12 month appointment but I'm not overly concerned!  

Height: Still holding strong at 29"!  That's an estimate because trying to measure the length of a super squirmy baby is HARD!  I'm anxious to see what his "official" measurements are at his 12 month appointment in a few weeks!

Hair: Carson's hair hasn't changed much.  He'll probably be due for another haircut soon....probably before his birthday!  It's still a medium brown and I get a lot of comments on how thick it is.  

Eyes: Carson's eyes haven't changed much within the past month.  They're still a very unique shade of hazel which I love!

Diapers: Carson is still in size 4 diapers.  We use mostly Target diapers but sometimes pick up a box of Pampers Cruisers when I find a good deal.  We're actually starting a diaper research study in a few weeks where we'll test diapers for 16 days....should be interesting!  

Clothes: Carson is still wearing 12 month clothes but he's about ready for 18 month outfits.  <--- That's what I wrote last month.   Guest what?  He's still in 12 month clothes!  He has a big stash of 18 month outfits in his closet thanks to his two wonderful grandmothers.  Some are even washed and ready to wear!  He just isn't quite ready yet.  We've put him in a few pairs of 18 month jammies and a couple 18 month shirts, but the pants still seem really long.  I think I might be forced to transition him soon for 2 reasons: 1.) His 12 month clothes are mostly cold weather clothes and it's getting warm (finally)!  2.) I'm sick of his 12 month wardrobe!  We've been in it since December!


Any time it's warm we try to get to the park.  There's one that we can walk to from our house and there's a bigger park about 5-10 minutes away.  Carson LOVES watching the other kids!

"All aboard!"

"See ya later!"

Eating: Carson has gotten on a pretty good schedule and nurses 4 times a day and has 3 "solids" meals.  He usually has a small breakfast and LOVES Cheerios!  For lunch he's still eating his oatmeal and we also add another side (fruit, yogurt/yogurt melts, puffs, crackers, cheese, etc.).  For dinner I try to give him a variety of food group options: veggies, fruit, grains, and dairy.  He's been surprising us with how much food he can eat lately!  Last month he tried peanut butter for the first time and he LOVES it!  Peanut butter toast is one of his favorites.  He also tried meatballs and he preferred turkey to beef (just like his Mommy)!  He's starting to get pickier about his veggies so I'm going to have to start getting creative!  He also tried a store bought food pouch for the first time!  Since we had our Florida vacation planned, I wanted to have some easy food options in case we were out and about....he seemed to really like the pea &   broccoli pouch he tried!

Sleeping:  Carson's sleep has still been great overnight.  He goes to bed by 9 every night...sometimes 8:30 if he didn't nap well that day.  He usually wakes up around 8-9am.  I know I'm very lucky and I do count my blessings!  :)  As far as naps, some days he takes 2 naps and some days he takes 1.  I guess he's in that transitional period right now.  If he takes two, his first nap is usually around 11am and his second nap is around 3:30/4.  His first nap is typically the longer nap and lasts anywhere from 45 minutes - 1.5 hours (on a good day).  His second nap is usually a little 30 minute power nap.  If he takes one nap, it's usually a long nap and it's pretty nice because I can get SO much done around the house!  The downfall is that it makes it harder to run errands and get out of the house!  I'm sure I'll figure it out once he fully transitions.  

Carson is ALL OVER the crib!  He moves around all night long.  Every time I wake up I check the monitor and he's ALWAYS in a new place/position.  It cracks me up!  Hopefully it won't be a problem down the road when we transition to a big boy bed!  He still loves to sleep with his crochet blankie that his Memaw made for him and he mostly uses it as a pillow.  When he first wakes up in the morning (or from a nap), he'll usually play with his blankie a bit and turn on one of his soothers....so cute!  :)  We've also started doing more 2-piece "big boy" jammies now that it's warmer!  He looks like such a big boy in them, but I'm starting to come to terms! 

This is the blankie Carson can't sleep without!

Nicknames: We still have most of the same: Little Man, Mister Man, C, Cars, Snickerdoodle, Snickers, Sugar, Boog, Bubby, Buggy, etc.  

Favorite Toys: Carson loves any ball lately!  He's really into throwing things and he loves to throw/roll a ball to someone and have them roll it back.  It's so cute to watch him play "catch".  He also really enjoys putting things away (shapes in his shape sorter, toys into a container, etc.).  I bought an elephant ball popper last month through a local garage sale board and Carson loves it!  Obviously it's cool because it has balls to throw, but he also loves the air that pushes the balls through the elephant's trunk!  Great $6 find!  He also cracks up when we play with his puppets that his Grammy bought for him!  We're still thinking of what fun things we can get him for his birthday (without going overboard) so if you have any fun ideas, let me know!

My cell phone is one of his most favorite toys, haha!

Milestones: WALKING is the big one here!  Last month I talked about how he was walking, but really he was just taking his first steps (5-6 here and there).  Now he is most definitely preferring to walk rather than crawl and it's really adorable to watch him waddle across the room!  He has also become a pro at standing up in the middle of the room.  A lot of babies learn this before walking, but he did it backwards and started walking first.  He can now walk to a toy, bend down to get it, stand back up, and continue walking. 

Although Carson learned to wave a while ago, he now loves to wave ALL the time.  It's super cute.  He will wave when we tell him to "say hi", "say bye" or "wave".  He also likes to wave to himself in the mirror, wave to toys, and wave to strangers.  His latest game is dropping food off his highchair tray and waving "bye bye" to the food.  Too cute.  STILL no real clapping around these parts.  I can't wait for the day though because it's the cutest thing when little babies clap!  When we try to get him to clap, he clasps his hands together and bounces them up and down...still pretty cute!    He also knows how to give kisses now and it's super cute.  He'll give kisses to Mommy & Daddy as well as his stuffed animals and even characters in books.  Cutest thing ever.

Carson has a total of 4 teeth now...2 top and 2 bottom.  He's starting to really look like a toddler (I hate using that word when talking about my BABY) but it's really cute to see him grow up!  I love his little toothy grin!

Carson's speech continues to develop.  He babbles constantly and talks all day long.  He loves hearing his voice and likes to yell and shriek.  Last month I was thinking "mama" might be his first word, but now his word of choice is "dada" and it's hard to get him to say mama anymore!  He really gets stuck on a "word" and says it for everything.  Which is why I have decided that he doesn't officially have a first word yet.  His comprehension is still very strong and he can follow quite a few directions: "wave", "put it in the hole" (putting blocks away), "give it to me" (sharing toys/food), "come see Mama", "give me a kiss", etc.