12 Months

Philip is 1 year old!  My oh my, a year goes by so quickly!  It has been an awesome year for us as we became a family of three and celebrated all of the milestones that Philip reached. 

This past month has been active as usual.  Philip started standing up on his own without holding onto anything.  He also pushes the walker around the room on his own.  One day I even saw him attempt a step on his own. He fell immediately, but I am sure I saw a real step!  Speaking of steps, he loves to climb up the stairs.  In the past, he has gone up one or two steps at a time.  When my Dad came to town last month he climbed a full flight of stairs.  He hadn't attempted such a climb again until a couple weeks ago. Now he scales the stairway with ease and he usually lets out a little fuss when he reaches the top and realizes he has no more stairs to climb.

He started waking up one time a night instead of two.  He has slept through the night a few times, so I feel like we are getting close. I cut him down to one nap a day and I am so glad I did!  I was hoping he would keep napping twice a day for a while longer, but it wasn't working out. After a period of adjustment, he now normally naps 2-2.5 hours during the day and sleeps about 11 hours at night.

In the food department, we finally introduced yogurt.  I had shied away from it for a long time since he refused pureed baby food, but he loves it.  I found that it is a great way to hide vegetables, so I feel better about his veggie intake this month!  A few days before his birthday, we had a family party and he got his first taste of pizza and cake.  No surprise to find out he liked them both!  More details about the party in my next post.

Philip's Stats
Hair:  Brownish/reddish and starting to curl up around the ears
Eye Color: Still changing, but we think they are on their way to brown.  They are kind of hazel right now.
Weight: 22 lbs (45th percentile)
Height: 29 inches (25th percentile)
Head:  48 cm (90th percentile!)
Number of Teeth: Seven
Favorite Song:  Good Morning, Good Morning
Favorite Book: Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?
Favorite Toys: Blocks, Walker, Cars, Ball Popper
Favorite Foods: Puffs, yogurt, and fruit
Favorite Instrument: Guitar
Favorite Animal: Herbie the cat

He is Playful

Curious

Strong-Willed

A Mamma's Boy (loves his Daddy too)

Happy

Physical

Fun-Loving

Sweet

He is friendly to strangers, as long as they don't get too close.  And nobody but his Mom, Dad, or Grandpa is allowed to pick him up!

He is shy in unfamiliar situations.

He likes good-looking young girls, especially waitresses.  He is also a big fan of the ushers at church.

He loves to see images of Jesus and smiles like crazy every time we say the blessing before our meals.

He loves being outside, feeling the grass beneath his feet, and going on walks. 

His smile and laugh are absolutely contagious. I don't think there is any better sound in the world than a baby's laugh!

He has his Mom's eyes and his Dad's smile and he is absolutely beautiful if I do say so myself!

He is a gift and a treasure.  A blessing in our life!