Milestones: 12 Months Old

At 12 Months, Austin is:

Weight: 20.2 lbs
Height: 29.5 inches

He had his well baby check today and did great! He only cried from the shots for less than a minute and then he was fine. I was expecting him to weigh much more than he does because he feels like 30lbs when I carry him around everywhere. The doctor said he is on the small side for an American baby but measures perfectly average on the world wide growth chart. Now that he is no longer breastfeeding he should start catching up pretty soon. Apparently most American babies are formula fed and since formula has more calories, they grow bigger sooner than the rest of the world.

Playing in the waiting room at the doctor's office.

He is learning how to walk with the first pair of shoes he got for his birthday, but basically he just takes them off and runs around barefoot. He talks up a storm and we are starting to understand what he is saying! The cutest is when he walks around pointing and saying, "Ooooh, what's that?" I'm guessing we say that a lot to him? If not, I have no idea where he learned that phrase. He has also learned to say "go" when he wants to get out of the house, thank you (sometimes) when you give him a cracker, and every once in a while he will say "Amen" at the end of a prayer. These are added to his previous vocabulary of: Done (whenever he is done eating), Mama, Dada, Bye-bye, and Hi.

We are loving that he has started entertaining himself throughout the day with his toys and isn't constantly looking to us for entertainment. It gives us a little bit of breathing room and some time to actually get a conversation in! He loves when we sing the "There was a little house in the middle of the woods" song and does the actions (the best he can) on cue. He even pets his little imaginary bunny at the end! I am so proud of how smart he is. He loves dogs and gets really excited when he sees them on TV or in person. He has a little stuffed dog at home that he pets and cuddles with, it's so stinking cute! We went to visit Dad at work yesterday for lunch and I asked Austin, "Do you want to go see Dada?" He got super excited and started screaming, "Go! Dada!" As we were driving I could hear him in the back seat chanting, "dada, dada" like Josh taught him :). My heart always feels full and I am always wearing a smile with Austin around. He is our greatest joy!   

 

Fun moments over the past month:

Playing with his new fire station he got for his birthday from Aunt Amanda and Uncle Brian.

Taking a walk with Mom.

I love all of his little expressions!

Taking a little break from mass destruction.

He loves to go for walks and explore!

Everything is new for him. Even touching the leaves of plants is an exciting experience!

too cute!

He can't even sit still long enough to eat most of the time.

Helping Mom with the laundry.

Asking to read a book!

Hanging out with Daddy and the giant fish.

We have officially cancelled my gym membership and his daycare membership because he has been going through separation anxiety and cries uncontrollably until they kick him out.

My sleeping angel.

So silly!

We took a little trip to the library and bought a few books they had for sale! It was $1.50 well spent.

Playing at the splash pad! We wish we had half of his energy.

He loves to be outside! I just wish it wasn't so dang hot and miserable.

Wondering why our plants are dying....

Always climbing all over me.

Getting sprayed with water. He LOVES the splash pad and I LOVE his double chin in this picture!

Now that he is no longer breastfeeding, he always has a bottle in his mouth.

We moved the baby gate up a few stairs so he can practice going up and down the safe way.

The birthday man on his actual birthday!

We got a treadmill and Austin had a lot of fun playing with the big box it came in.

Aunt Gena's Visit

My Aunt Gena lives in Florida, so we don't get to see her much. The good news is she makes a yearly visit (usually in the summer) and this time she got to meet Austin! I love all of my Aunts and Uncles and they are just as wonderful to Austin as they were to me as a child (and still are). Aunts Heidi and Gena stopped by our house twice over the past two weeks to talk, play, go out for lunch, and give Austin his birthday presents! He is one spoiled little boy! I loved sitting on the floor together, talking and catching up on life. Meanwhile, Austin ran around us playing and making messes. Gena was especially adorable with Austin (probably because she never gets to see him) and it was obvious that he loves her too.

Aunt Heidi and cousin Chandler showing Austin how to play with his new toys!

He hasn't quite figured out that the crane has a magnet and can pick up the blocks yet. For now he just runs around dragging the crane behind him.

Aunt Gena filming our little birthday party.

Thank you Heidi and Gena for the adorable gifts!

LOVES!!!

We wish Aunt Gena lived closer to us!

Someone wasn't cooperating very well for pictures....

The day before Gena went back home we had a big party! It was a BBQ, Karaoke, Pool Party and I can't remember a time when I had more fun with my family. There was a ton of food and loud music. Everywhere you turned there were people laughing, talking, singing, or swimming. I think Karaoke was the hit of the night. We are all close and nobody felt shy or stupid. There was a LOT of laughing going on because basically everybody made fools of themselves but it was hilarious and nobody was judging ;). While people were eating and singing inside, others were outside swimming. My Mom got Austin in his swimsuit and we took him out to the pool for a little while. He had a great time and was obsessed with chewing on the foam noodle. Have I mentioned that our son must have been a dog in another life? If you have been keeping up with us over the past year, you understand why that statement is so true!

As the night started getting late, I sadly had to bring Austin home. He was so sleepy but there was no way he was going to sleep with all the action going on! Josh had left earlier because he had to go to work the next morning. We said our goodbyes and gave Gena lots of loves since it will probably be another year before we get to party with her again :(. As I was driving home with a sleeping baby in the back seat I got some quiet time to ponder and think about things. Basically what I came up with is this: My family is crazy, but they are fun. My life hasn't been typical, but it has been an adventure. There have been times when I wished I had a more "normal" family and life, but where is the excitement in that? We are blessed. We are so blessed.

Uncle Brian and Aunt Amanda weren't able to make it to Austin's birthday party so he got to open his presents at their house! I think he was more interested in their dog though....

Brian BBQ'ing some good food!

Swimming with Grandma P. and Aunt Gena.

Even Great Grandma W. came outside to be a part of our little swimming party! Austin loved chewing on that foam noodle.

This little guy got pretty tired towards the end of the night. He has never stayed up that late before but we were having too much fun to want to go home!

Sadie and Brian rocking it with Karaoke!

They were so funny to watch!

Their captive audience.

I am so grateful for the wonderful women in my life who give me strength and are a constant source of love and joy.

Cousins Came to Play!

Tony's family stopped by for a quick visit as they headed off to California. Austin was in heaven to have his friends back! He loved having them to play with in Utah and was very disappointed when we got home and he realized he was back to being an only child again. Ryland and Lexi love him to pieces and I have so much fun watching them take care of him for me ;). They were only able to stay for one night so we made good use of the little time we had by playing at the pool, getting late night take out from Zupa's, and having a fun little sleep over in the living room. Josh played Monopoly with the older kids while I watched the younger kids play in the living room with Austin and all of his new birthday toys until it was way past his bed time. We were sad to see them leave the next morning because it will be another year before we see them again :(. Or maybe we will just have to take a trip to Texas sometime soon!

Ryland, Lexi, and Austin were inseparable.

Playing with the shower.

The girls kept trying to get Austin to come take a shower.

Taking turns playing in the floatie.

There's nothing better than the sound of kids screaming, laughing, and having a great time!

Josh, Tony, Jaxson, and Ally playing volleyball with the beach ball.

Even little Whitley got to play!

After everyone had showered and the Dad's left to get us some food, we played on the floor!

Austin loves little Whitley but doesn't know how to be gentle yet. He didn't understand why she started crying after he lovingly poked her in the eye.

Love these cuties so much!