Carson Anthony: 12 Months!!

My BABY is going to be a year old tomorrow.  12 months.  ONE YEAR.  I honestly cannot believe it.  I remember being pregnant and at the hospital like it was yesterday.  I hate when people say this but time really does FLY.  

Weight: Carson had his 12 month well visit this past Monday and weighed in at 21lbs 4oz!  That puts him in the 29th percentile.  Although he's down on the percentile charts, our pediatrician isn't worried in the least bit.  He's burning tons of calories by walking and moving constantly and he's still in a great place on the charts!  Unfortunately all that walking also means he ends up with bumps and bruises! :(

Height: At Carson's well visit he measured in at 29.5"!  I can't believe he's grown almost 10 inches in a year!    I'm so curious how tall he'll be when he's older.  Nick was pretty short until a major growth spurt after high school!

He looks so tall here!

Hair: Carson had yet another haircut - his FOURTH!  His hair is still super straight and a medium brown color.  I think eventually I might have to learn how to cut little boy hair!

Before, During, After!

Eyes: Carson's eyes seem to be done changing.  They're a pretty unique shade of brown/honey/hazel.  Depending on what he wears, they sometimes look green.  I love them because they're just like my eyes!

Diapers: Still size 4!  We are almost done with our diaper study that we signed up for and during that Carson tested out Huggies, Pampers, and Target brand!  I think we'll stick to buying Target brand because we haven't had any problems.

Clothes: Early this week I finally packed up most of Carson's 12 month clothes!  He still has a few things that fit but for the most part he's in 18 month clothes now!  I think the warm weather is finally going to stick around here in Ohio which is good because his 18 month wardrobe is primarily summer clothes!  Lots of rompers, shorts, t-shirts, and even a few muscle t's (so cute)!  He even has some 2 piece jams with SHORTS.  Big boy status!

I love plaid and polos on baby boys!

Eating: Carson is still a great eater.  After we got the go ahead for whole milk at his 12 month well visit, we tried it a couple times.  We were curious if he would love it, hate it, get a tummy ache, etc.  The first time he had the milk, he seemed pretty interested and drank about an ounce (we offered 2).  The second time he wanted NOTHING to do with it and spit it all out!  He is still nursing 4 times a day right now but I'm sure that will change once we start offering cow's milk more often.  I'm kicking myself for forgetting to ask about milk alternatives (soy, almond, coconut, etc.) at the pediatrician.  I'll have to call and ask soon!  Here is what Carson's typical menu looks like for a day:
Breakfast: Cheerios + yogurt/yogurt melts/fruit/cheese (sometimes he's fine with just Cheerios)
Snack: Puffs/crackers
Lunch: Oatmeal + Fruit
Snack: Puffs/Cereal/Cheese/Yogurt
Dinner: Grain (Toast w/ PB) + Veggie + Fruit + Dairy  (if he starts to get full we cut out the dairy)
I currently offer water at every meal and I'm planning to start offering milk with lunch and dinner.  Our pedi recommended 8oz a day for a minimum.

Carson hasn't really tried many new foods but he did try a veggie burger and loved it!  Some of his favorite foods include blueberries, broccoli, toast with peanut butter, and applesauce with cinnamon.  He loves his Cheerios and gets SUPER excited when I get the container out of the diaper bag!  He also really loves the pureed food pouches.  I originally bought some for our Florida vacation but now I always keep some on hand for when we're out running errands and it's time for a snack.  It's also an easy way to get some veggies in him!  He's been practicing using his spoon and he's really good at getting it to his mouth.  I haven't been brave enough to let him "scoop" the food from the container yet!  

"Hey, this isn't water!"

Sleeping:  Carson is sleeping as I type this!  He's been doing great and sleeps from 8:30/9 in the evening until about 8am the following day.  I seriously have NO complaints!  Our nightly routine hasn't changed much.  We turn on his classical music lullaby CD, give him his blankie & paci, and I sing him a song and kiss him goodnight.  About 95% of the time he's awake when I put him in the crib and he moves around trying to get comfy for 5-10 minutes.  It's so cute to watch him in the monitor!  He tosses his blanket around and sometimes just walks around!  As far as naps go, he's still going back and forth between 1 and 2.  It seems like he's trying to transition to one but I know I've been saying that for a while.  I'm ok with either, but it makes planning our day difficult when I don't know what to expect!

He still moves all around the crib at night.  His favorite position seems to be his tummy, but he also sleeps on his side and back.  Usually you'll find him cuddled up with his blankie!  

Nicknames: Not much has changed here!  We still have most of the same: Little Man, Mister Man, C, Cars, Snickerdoodle, Snickers, Sugar, Boog, Bubby, Buggy, etc.  

Favorite Toys: Carson still loves balls!  He loves to throw them, roll them, and just carry them around.  He also really enjoys his shape sorters (just like last month) and his wooden name puzzle.  I'm not gonna lie, he mostly loves chewing on the name puzzle.  I wasn't sure how safe the paint was so I had a friend of mine make us a wooden teething ring!  He also still loves his Laugh & Learn house (my $15 craigslist find)!  A while ago we won Ashley's North American Bear Co. giveaway.  We got a ton of cool stuff and Carson LOVES his pull along horse!  Carson also still loves his musical instruments.  He got them for Christmas from his Grammy and he loves "making music"!  They came in a nice little zipper pouch and we keep that pouch in his toy box.  Sometimes he'll go over and dig through the toys until he finds that pouch and then brings it over to me to open  up.  Adorable!  I'm so excited to give Carson his birthday gifts and see what he gets from friends/family!  I'm sure he'll have plenty of new favorite toys very soon!

Carson loves collecting things and carrying them around.  These letters are a favorite!

One of Carson's favorite games lately is to put things away.  Here are a few videos:

Milestones: Last month I mentioned how Carson was preferring walking to crawling.  Now, he does NOT crawl.  Like, ever.  I don't even know the last time I saw him crawl unless he was trying to get under something.  He also has FINALLY learned to clap!  I had been working with him on this for so so long and now he claps all the time.  It's so adorable!  

Carson still has 4 teeth, but the doctor said that she could feel 4-5 coming in (please help me)!  She said she felt some of the molars coming in, but it might be a few months still.  Hopefully we don't go through teething for a few months, ahhh!  

I was a little concerned about Carson's speech, but my pediatrician put me at ease.  She said it seems like his comprehension is great (even advanced) because he's able to follow many simple commands.  ("Clap your hands." "Wave bye-bye/hi." "Bring it to Mommy.", etc.)  She said that ideally they like to have one word that is said with intent by the time the child is 12 months, but she isn't concerned since he babbles all day long (he wouldn't stop talking at his appointment).  She said that when we come back for his 15 month appointment he should have 3 words that he uses with intent.  He DOES say "dada", "mama", "baba", and more but I have not considered them to be real words because he doesn't use them correctly all the time.  He'll say "Da!" when he sees Nick, but he also says that when Nick is nowhere to be seen.  Same with "Maaaama" and others.  I think he's close, he's just being stubborn! :P