The obligatory 12 month post

Yes, yes, I know it's late and you're tired of hearing about Ethan turning 1, but I gotta do it. Don't worry, there are pictures, so you're welcome to skip all my blabbering about things I want to be sure to remember and go straight to the pictures if you want.

Ethan had his 12 month appointment yesterday, so I thought I'd wait until now to do his update. He's now 30 inches long (50th-75th percentile) and weighs 20 pounds (10-25th percentile). He went down on his percentiles a bit, but the doc isn't worried, especially because he's so active and was sick last month.

Nowadays, he's all about getting into stuff. He crawls everywhere (that's right, I said crawls, no walking yet), and he goes FAST. He loves to climb things as well, and can now climb up onto the couch with us. He hasn't been using his walker toys as much anymore, but he still loves them. His favorite past time is to be outside. He's happy to just crawl back and forth on the deck, although sometimes he'll bring a toy out with him or chase a ball.

He's now saying a few things too. His first word was "bye" and that started awhile ago. Now, he says "Avery" quite often. It sounds more like "Ehhvvvvee," but he only says that combination of sounds when he's around the dog, so I know that's what he's saying. He says "mama" and "dada," but I'm still not quite sure he really knows them yet, although I know he recognizes and understands them. He'll also respond when I say "Where's your foot?" by sticking his right foot into the air with an adorably goofy smirk on his face. I love it.

Eating is still a challenge. He'll eat plenty of what he likes, he just doesn't like much. It's all about the textures for him. He expects everything to melt in his mouth, and if it doesn't, he sticks his tongue out and spits it out. So he still eats some purees and lots of soft stuff.

The goofy laugh is still going strong. He entertained quite a few nurses with that one yesterday. He also loves to do this excited deep breathing thing, which is pretty weird, but cute. Oh, and he pants like a dog too, just for fun. I have quite a ham on my hands.

I think that's about all for the memory book stuff, so I leave you with a year of Ethan. Best year of our lives so far. He's absolutely amazing, and it's hard to remember what life was like without him. My heart swells with love for him; it's indescribable, as I'm sure you all know.

One Month (I just didn't have the stickers yet)

A few more from the 12 month shoot, since this is his 12 month post and all:




Happy 12 months Monkey! I can't wait to see what surprises you have in store for us in the next year!