Arlo: 12 months old

Happy 1st birthday to Arlo, and a big pat on the backs of Erik and myself for surviving our first year of parenthood!  Ha!  In all seriousness, in case you missed my last post, there was quite a bit of emotion surrounding Arlo's first birthday, but once I got past the actual day I realized that while it's the end of his first year, it's also the beginning of a new one.  2014 was great in so many ways, but I am also very ready to welcome in the next phase of our lives and put the last one behind us.  Here is to first birthdays, a fresh start, and navigating the wonderful world of toddler-hood!

Sleeping:  Pretty much the same as last month.  He is cutting two top molars right now so we are still experiencing periodic nighttime wake-ups, but for the most part he sleeps though the night.  We had a nice little break between teething spurts and he slept peacefully all night long (10ish hours typically), but the last couple of weeks have been a little tough.  I think once these teeth completely surface we will be through the worst part of teething (or at least, this is what I tell myself and my dear husband who stresses a bit when Arlo is not feeling his best.)

A couple of weeks ago naps started to trend towards a one nap per day schedule.  This completely terrified me, as one nap is to get stuff done (laundry, cleaning, etc.) and the other nap was for "me time."  When he seemed to be dropping the afternoon nap I had to choose one or the other, and being that we like clean clothes and a somewhat tidy house my "me time" was pretty much non-existent.  However, during our trip to Tennessee he resumed the two nap a day schedule and has been pretty consistent ever since.  Fingers crossed it stays this way for a while longer!

Eating:  Arlo pretty much eats what we eat now, with the exception of spicy or obviously dangerous foods (nuts, raw crunchy veggies, or anything else that could be a choking hazard.)  He is quite skilled with feeding himself (finger foods) and the only times that we really spoon feed him is if we are eating soup or giving him his applesauce/sunflower butter/vitamin mixture that he absolutely loves.  The volume of food that this kid can put down is impressive, and he will eat a solid three meals per day, sometimes having an afternoon snack if he seems hungry again before dinner.  I can't really name the new foods that he has had this month because I forgot to keep track, but if it's included in the vegetable/fruit/grain/bean family there is a good chance that at this point he has probably tried it!  What I can tell you is that this is the month where we discovered his love for bread (oh yea, he is definitely our kid!)  If you have never tried Seeduction bread from Whole Foods, stop reading this post right now, run to your local store, and pick up a loaf.  Seriously, it's the absolute bomb.  It's yummy and organic and amazing slathered in Earth Balance buttery spread.  But I digress.

Arlo is currently drinking pretty well from the sippy cup, but being that he is still a bit messy he only gets water in the cup.  He takes three bottles per day, mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and before bed.  I am not in a big hurry to take away his bottle and know that like everything else, weaning him off of it will be a natural progression, happening when the time is right.

Weight and Length:  We had our pediatrician appointment two days ago, and both Erik and I were quite surprised at Arlo's measurements.  We had guessed prior to the appointment that he would probably be between 22-23 lbs, but he only weighed in at 20 lbs 5 ounces.  Maybe I need to start lifting weights or something - he is starting to feel really heavy to me!  Still, he gained over 2 lbs in the past three months, and went from the 23rd percentile to the 33rd percentile for weight.  As far as length goes, we knew he had been growing like a weed over the last few months.  We still were not prepared for his new measurement of 30.5 inches, bringing him from the 28th percentile to the 76th percentile!  And just when we thought his head size couldn't possibly measure any higher on the growth chart, he proves us wrong with a head circumference of 49cm, and is now in the 99th percentile (previously 98th percentile, so pretty much the same.)  So still the same long and lean kid with the giant noggin. 

Wearing:   12 month onesies, 18 month pajamas (the 12 mo are starting to get snug in the length department) and 12 month pants.  Thankfully by this age cloth diapers don't seem to be so bulky that he needs to wear larger pants, which is awesome.  I think I should also mention in this paragraph that Arlo has recently taken a dislike to wearing socks.  In the car seat, they are the first thing he grabs at, chewing on them for a moment before he tosses them aside.  He is a little more distracted at home, but if he pauses for so much as a second it's like he has a sudden realization that they are on his feet and off they go!


Likes and dislikes: 
Likes:  Being upside down, spinning in circles (in our arms), playing with Lucy, eating, "drumming" on anything and everything (including his drum set with a wooden spoon - he loves it!), the new recycling truck he got for his birthday, trying to catch the cats, climbing the stairs - alllll day every day, exploring new places, taking baths, light switches (knows how to turn them on and off - my fault and now hes obsessed), the dishwasher, remote controls, phones, and everything else he is not supposed to have.  Really, this kid likes pretty much everything and it takes either a hungry tummy, sore gums from teething, or a poopy diaper to turn him into a cranky pants.  But really, those things make me cranky too so I can't really blame him.

Dislikes:  Having his face washed after a meal, and getting dressed or his diaper changed when he doesn't
feel like laying down.  Stinker.  He isn't as afraid of the vacuum cleaners anymore, and will sit starting cautiously at the dustbuster when I use it.  I blame my reluctance to use any type of vacuum around him for his first six months of life for his fear of the machines.  Next kid I am strapping to my chest and vacuuming the whole house within his/her first week of life.  yea right.

New milestones and developments:

This month we started sign language with Arlo, and he has already shown signs of understanding it, as well as repeating it back to us.  We are currently focusing on the feeding signs - eat, drink, all done, and milk.  So far he has shown us (his version of) "all done," but only when we do it first.  He has also made up a sign for wanting to be spun around, and will randomly start shaking his head back and forth, wobbling it around at the same time, and grinning ear to ear.  I really need to get a video of this, it's so adorable.  When he is super excited he takes both hands and pats them forcefully on his chest, or kneels and waves them wildly up and down simultaneously.  He babbles frequently but hasn't really said "da da" again since he did last month.  However, he says "ma ma" all the time, especially when he's cranky.  Go figure!

On New Years Day, I felt his second top molar start to poke through his gums.  This brings us to a total of twelve teeth.  Crazy!  I can't get over his toothy grin and nothing warms my heart more than his sweet smile.

For Christmas this year, Santa brought Arlo this wooden zebra walker.  After getting over the overwhelming task of opening all his Christmas gifts (or rather, us opening them and him playing with the paper and bows) he started to explore the walker.  It didn't take him long to figure it out and start pushing it all over my parents house.  Now, just a week later he cruises around without any problem.  He walks really well holding onto our hand, the wall, or furniture, but has only taken a few steps unassisted.  Once he gets his balance a little steadier he will officially be living up to his toddler status - cruising around the house all on his own, and no doubt getting into trouble at an even faster pace!

Arlo has also started pointing to things, as if to say, "what is that? tell me the name of it!"  He can also point to things when we ask him to, and so far will point to Sophie in his Sophie the Giraffe book, a pink bunny in one of his magazines, Mama/Dada/Grandma/Grandpa's nose, and his own nose.  When we are reading a book and he points to things we always tell him the name of what he is pointing to.  He has also started to take interest in putting things "in their places."  I first noticed this a few weeks back when I drained the bathtub after his bath, and he immediately grabbed the drain plug and tried to put it back in the drain.  I mentioned the new recycling truck he got for his birthday, and he knows that the little cardboard paper/cans/bottles go in the side of the truck, and then empty out the back.  For Christmas, Aunt Megan bought him an elephant ball popper which shoots plastic balls in the air, and he knows to put the balls in the ears so they will pop back out. 

Finally, his newest skill (and perhaps the most adorable) is his dancing.  I am pretty sure he learned it from his girlfriend Lyra, as this little lady has got some rhythm and has been dancing for quite some time.  Arlo started to really show off his dancing skills during our Christmas trip to Tennessee.  My parents have two musical snowmen, one of which Arlo learned to turn on by pushing a button.  As soon as the music starts Arlo will start dancing, and if he is sitting down will rock back and forth.  He does this when we play music at home now too.  I think I may see a baby dance party in our future...

It has been so fun documenting this first year of Arlo's life.  I always look forward to writing these posts each month, and know that I will enjoy reading them years down the road.  I hope Arlo will someday read them, hopefully I am not embarrassing him too much.  As I mentioned previously, the current plan is to start writing these updates every three months going forward.  There will still be a lot of pictures no doubt, and anytime something monumental happens in Arlo's world I will be sure to announce it.  But as for these long, formal updates, they will be a bit less frequently.  Thank you for reading along though all the milestones, happy moments, and those times where I just needed to vent.  This has sure been one heck of a year, and I am glad to have you all here to support us as we experienced it.

Happy 12 months, Arlo!!