New Stats

Your one year check up was on Monday and here are your stats:
Weight: 22 pounds 10 ounces
Height: 30 3/4 inches

Your doctor was happy to see you walking, socializing, and imitating some speech sounds. She was a little concerned that you don't really have any real words. We decided that you definitely say "ba" for ball as you have done that many times and you say "booo" for a cow (and a few other animals) but that is really all you say. You babble quite a bit but you aren't calling daddy and me by name. We are working hard at this and I'm sure it will come.

Other noteworthy news: As of Monday you no longer drink anything from a bottle. For about a week you were only getting one bottle which was at night before bed. Last Monday night I decided to see what would happen if you didn't get a bottle. You didn't cry, you didn't have any difficulty falling asleep and you didn't wake up during the night. Yea! It is very exciting that you are moving to this very new stage. We have a new bedtime routine in which we have family worship time (you are now involved in this), you drink some milk from your cup while I sing to you, we brush your teeth and then you are off to bed. I can't believe what a big boy you are.

Party

Your birthday party was at Overton Park on Saturday, June 6. Several of your (our) sweet friends came and it was a really fun morning. You really enjoyed playing at the park. I think you had a really good birthday. We are so grateful for our friends and family who have shared your first year with us. There are so many people who prayed for you before you were born and through all the ups and downs in your first year. We are so blessed by you and we are looking forward to seeing what the next year holds.

First Birthday

My baby turned one year old today! I cannot believe that one year ago today I gave birth to the most beautiful baby boy. We were looking at your baby pictures today and remembering all the fun details of the day. I realized that I started blogging when you were 6 weeks old and I never really told your birth story. Here's the short version: On Wednesday, June 4 I went to my weekly doctor's appointment. You were due in exactly one week. My blood pressure was up and the doctor was worried about preclampsia. She felt that the best route was to induce so that we could get you out safely, otherwise she was going to put me on medicine and have me come back every other day to monitor my blood pressure. You were full term at that point so inducing was the best option. Grammy was at the doctor with me that day (thank goodness) so we went straight down to Labor and Delivery, I was hooked up and daddy was on his way to the hospital. Early the next morning, Thursday, June 5, I was given platocin to induce labor and you were on your way. I ate ice chips and popsicles all day (those were the best popsicles I ever had). I started feeling some contractions at about 11am and I was given an epidural. At about 4pm it was time for you to come and at 4:46 I saw your beautiful face.

Today was a fun day. We went to Cobb Lane to take your one year portraits and they turned out so cute. You are so precious. Grammy and Pops came over tonight for grilled out hamburgers and cupcakes. You opened your presents and LOVED being the center of attention.

"Booooo"

This is so cute. This is the face you make while saying "booo" when the following happens:
Me: "Jackson, what does a cow say?"
You: "Boooo"
Two days until your first birthday.

Baby Bottom

How cute is this:

You are so busy these days. You drive your car all over the house. You have recently learned how to stack your blocks, so you stack them up and knock them down. You roll your ball and read your books. You play your piano and you really enjoy tearing your play mat apart. But every now and then you make time to come and put your head on my shoulder or on my leg. You are so sweet!

First Word?

Being a speech therapist you would think I would know how to identify a real first word but I am a little hesitant. So for a couple of weeks now it seems as though you are imitating some of the things Daddy and I say. For example, one of your favorite books is about Elmo and bubbles. When we pull it out we say, "bubbles!" and you say "bubu, bubu". Also, you love to play with balls. We say, "ball" and you say "ba". Even though the 'b' sound is the most frequent sound you make, you are adding different vowels to say different words. So today I held up your ball and said, "Jackson, what is it?" and you said, "ba". Your first spontaneous word?!?! I will have to test you a few more times to make sure but it was accurate and meaningful...which adds up to your first real word!

A few other things: There is a Baby Einstein book that is really cute called "Mirror Me". On each page the characters are making different faces and there is a mirror so you can make the face back. You have started doing this! There is a cow puffing his cheeks and so you puff your cheeks. There is another character opening his mouth and you open your mouth and say "aahh". You understand and follow simple directions, like: "give it to me" and "come here". However, you still aren't clapping and you don't point to things that you want. You do point to pictures in books and to other things but you don't use pointing as a way to communicate.

I am finding your development fascinating. I am learning that real life is much different than the text books I had to study in school. There is a very large range for typical development and I try not to be anxious about things you aren't yet doing.

Countdown: 12 days until your first birthday! Here you are enjoying a sunny day in May:

Success!

You are drinking from the sippy cup! Yea! I admit that I have been a little apprehensive about it. And obviously we had some set backs with you being sick for so long. But over the past few days I have noticed that you are getting better and better at it. The cups with the soft spout have seemed to work best. You have been biting on them for awhile but today you were definitely sucking down some water.

Also, today for the first time you ate a meal that did not include any baby food! Wow! I didn't expect for that to happen so soon. I feel good about giving you baby food because I know how much you are getting and how much you need to be full. I have been a little more uncertain with table food but you are doing great. Your favorite foods seem to be: banana, strawberries, peas, carrots and bread. You like having a bagel or a waffle in the morning. You are growing up so fast!

Here's my sweet baby boy "reading" a book:

It's Official

Today is the day....you are officially walking! The other day you took four steps and today we counted 20! You walked half way across the room and you did it about a dozen times. We are very excited....and so are you! We were clapping and saying, "Yea!" and you starting waving both of your hands up and down and trying to say "Yea" with us. You got so excited you were yelling!

11 Months

You are 11 months old today. WOW! You are such a big boy. Here are a few things about you:

--You love to open and close cabinet doors. You will do it over and over again.
--Whenever you hear music play (from one of your toys) you start to "dance". You move your body up and down. It is really cute!
--You love to play with ANYTHING that comes out of my purse. You are so fascinated by it all.
--You are starting to be more consistent with waving. You will wave "hi" but not "bye". I think because you don't like to see people go. :)
--You love to give kisses (sometimes). You open up your mouth and lean over to my mouth and give me a big slobbery one!
--Your favorite table food is banana. We cut it up for you in little bites and you eat it up so fast.
--Your favorite animals are dogs and ducks. You love when we "woof" like a dog or "quack" like a duck.
--You still love books which I am so excited about. You have a basket full of them and you will sit and pull them out, open them up and look at the pictures.
--You LOVE to laugh. If Daddy and I are talking and start to laugh you will start laughing too!

You are so much fun at this age. I can't believe that you will be a year old in exactly one month!

Arms Up!

Fireman

Papa and Mimi (Kevin's parents) came into town to visit this weekend. They brought you a couple of presents and one in particular was a big hit. You had so much fun with this fireman's hat. You kept taking it off, burying your face in it and then putting it back on. You loved it! You squealed in delight.

I'm glad you were happy despite being sick. Your ears are draining, your nose is still running and tonight you had a low grade fever. You just finished your antibiotic so it obviously didn't work. I feel very helpless. Why do you keep getting sick and why don't you get better? I hate that the antibiotic didn't work because that means you will probably have to take a different one. I will just keep praying that you get better soon.