The 12th Month

Every month of Reid's first year, I sat down to post pics and a give a little update about what he's been up to, how he's developed, and the milestones he's reached. It is bittersweet as I type of this one - the final post on his days as an infant.

Our little chunkster is starting to move out of his 18 month clothes and into 24 month ones. I think he is slimming down some, but he is still such a tall fella. He has big hands and feet for a baby his age too. His hands are already close in size to his sister's, and while Hadley is moving into a size 6 shoe, Reid is right behind her needing 5's to accommodate his thick toeser-woesers. He's gaining on Caleb too. At Reid's one year check-up he was 27 lbs 7.6 oz, just 8.5 lbs less than his four year old brother!

Improving his walking skills has been the main area of growth this month. After his big leap into walking last month, he slowed down for a week or so before really taking off again. Within the last week or two he's started walking all over the house. He doesn't rush, clinging from one thing and then on to another. Reid has such good control of himself. He is very purposeful and steady for his age in my opinion, though there's always a few tumbles at this age.

We have to stay on our toes with baby proofing as a result of this new found ability. Not only can he get around wherever he wants (unless there is a gate up or a door blocking him), he is also tall for his age and likes to reach for things on the table, counter, stove, etc. We have the kitchen blocked off so he can't access most things, but the table in our nook is always a place that requires monitoring since it is connected to our play area and there is no way to block it off. I've learned my lesson time and again as he's pulled cereal bowls, cups of water, or art supplies down when I was looking another direction. He is quick and sneaky.

We can't let him in the kitchen area for more than a minute or two before he's in to everything either - the dishwasher, drawers, cabinets, art supply tubs, you name it. Good thing we invested in those baby gates to keep him secure!

One set of kitchen tools I do let him play with are the plastic spoons and spatulas. Even Hadley and Caleb like to join in.

But, then he'll try to pull a stunt like the one below. Not only is he trying to climb the stairs these days, he's taken to trying to carry something with him. Needless to say, we always have to stay a step or two behind, shadowing this little booger on his adventures.

The stairs aren't the only thing he's climbing. He loves to hoist himself on anything he can. While he hasn't managed to get over it yet, he pulls his chunky self up on the gate multiple times a day usually begging for someone in the kitchen to pick him up. He's independent when he feels like it, but he still loves to ride my hip or cling to Dave's shoulder and doesn't want us far.

As he grows in his mobility, things like going outside to play become even more enjoyable though. He doesn't need to rely on Mommy or Daddy for everything anymore, giving him more freedom and lightening our load a bit.

Our little climber

Inside he stays busy too. Reid is old enough to play with a lot of the same toys as the other two kids. (Actually, the bin of baby toys hasn't gotten much use lately.) Sometimes this is a good thing because he is starting to play more with his siblings and keep himself entertained in new ways, but it also causes conflict when they are all wanting the same toy or one of us has to take something away that isn't baby friendly.

One of his favorite things to do lately is open and close doors. He can stay amused for the longest time just walking back and forth swinging a closet or bedroom door open and closed. We have to do a lot of guard duty to make sure those precious fingers don't get pinched!

For some reason, we tend to find him with this plastic wrench in hand a lot. It doesn't do anything special but he's fond of it for one reason or another.

For his birthday, it was really hard to find gifts for him or to tell people what to buy when they asked for ideas since he already has so many treasures in the playroom of Caleb's and Hadley's to explore. Surprisingly though, our friends and family came up with a lot of good ideas; I don't think we received any exact duplicates. His first present came a little before his birthday - this flashlight from one of my best friends, Jen. The bigger kids even tried to get their hands on it as this new addition became the coveted toy in the house that afternoon.

Other things to note about what he's doing or interested in at this stage? Here's a quick list to give a glimpse at this boy's milestones and preferences as he rounds out his first year:

He drank cow milk for the first time a few days ago, is pretty much refusing even the squeeze pouches of baby food at this point, has started to play with Mommy's hair a little like his brother does, loves to sleep with blankies, wakes up excessively at night, is really good at clapping and waving bye-bye, likes to dance any time he hears music (and is especially good at getting down to theme songs when they come on the TV), adores when his siblings give him attention, is really cuddly if you can ever get him to be still, gets super excited when NaNa walks in the door, eats every tiny thing he can find on the floor (especially carpet padding from under the rug or crumbs his siblings have dropped), can be feisty when he doesn't get what he wants, is super easy to make smile, and is just about as perfect as they come in his Mommy's eyes. 

That's my Reid.