...Our Growing Family...: TWELVE Months!!

ONE YEAR. One Whole Year Old!!!

As every month, Aiden has learned so much and has grown so much this past month. It is CRAZY to think he is already a year old. I feel like he just joined our family, though at the same time, it feels like he's been with us for so much longer.

I know that Aiden has been twelve months old for a couple weeks now. This post and everything in it is based only on things up to twelve months old, so it does not include more recent happenings.

Weight - 21 lbs, 9 oz (30th %tile)
Length - 30 inches long (50th %tile)
Head Circum. - 47 cm (70th %tile)
I feel like Aiden is so tiny! Compared to Camden who was always in the 99th %tile for everything. I know he's not tiny, but he's always felt like it to me!

Crazy...a picture where he looks like Mommy (it's because the mouth is covered, so you see the eyes really stand out - the one thing he gets from me!)

Favorite Things

Peaches - When we are at the grocery store and walk by the table of peaches, Aiden will get really loud and reach for them. He LOVES peaches! I used to think we would "share" a peach - that I could dice up half for him and eat the rest myself. No. He eats it so fast that I don't get a chance! He'll eat the whole thing and want more.
Tomatoes - Another thing he will see and beg to have. He will eat them until we stop giving him more!
Making funny sounds. He makes this throaty sound that is hard to explain - you breathe in and make this groaning noise in your throat. He and Camden will do it back and forth. Then one day in the grocery store, we passed a kid in a cart who did it - and Aiden did it back to him as we walked passed. The mother and I each whipped around, surprised, and could only laugh about it. Aiden also makes this wheezing sound (on purpose) - just because it sounds funny, I guess. He does it sporadically, usually when he's playing on his own, but it's hilarious to hear. He also makes this fake laugh that will make you crack up! He'll do it out of nowhere - just because he thinks of it or something - and it is obviously fake and loud.
Peek-a-boo. He discovered he could play this game on his own. You can say "Where's Aiden?" and he'll cover his face with his hat, blanket, toy, whatever he has and then he'll pull it down and grin. He won't do it to anyone else and gets kind of bored if you do it, but he loves to do it to himself!
Camden's room. If we put him down in his room, he makes a beeline for the door and straight into Camden's room. I don't think we even need the gate on the stairs (which is right next to his door) because he's clueless to the stairs since Camden's room is the other direction! He always goes right to the bookshelf for Camden's legos that are out... He doesn't hit at them or try to eat them; he just picks up the small pieces and looks at them. It is definitely the place he wants to be.
Guess How Much I Love You. If we put him down in his room (anytime he doesn't go towards Camden's room...), he will go right for this book. He will pass up any toys or other books just for this one thing. And he'll sit there and flip through it over and over. This is the book we often read to him before bedtime, but he likes it even if it's not time for bed. He really does seem to be crazy about it! The copy is a hardcover with paper pages...and it was Camden's when he was a baby. Not wanting to risk it getting ripped, we bought Aiden a cardboard version that he could play with when we're not reading to him. At the book store, we put it in his hands and his face lit up and he grinned and grinned!
Bunny. Aiden has this soft, floppy bunny that he's been napping and going to sleep with since he was a few months old, but he never seemed to pay it too much attention. He's not a very cuddly baby, but this past month, he's really taken to hugging and kissing on his Bunny. He'll grab it and shove it into his face and just bury his face into it. We'll ask, "Where's Bunny?" and he'll look all around and grab it. Sometimes when he gets up from his nap, he'll reach back in for Bunny - which he'll hug and then throw back into the crib. He'll flop Bunny all around while going to sleep. Sometimes he'll throw him down (like when he doesn't want it to be naptime - b/c Bunny's presence also indicates it's sleepytime...) but then he might cry after it after throwing it (sometimes). He's become very affectionate with Bunny, though, and it's adorable (not so much when he hugs and then quickly throws it...)
Music! Wow does he love music. I really just have cds that I had when Camden was younger, so we're not on top of the new stuff. We play the cds in our dvd player and have to turn the tv on to have the sound - so a blue screen shows. When I ask if he wants to hear music, he gets very excited and goes over to the tv and stands by it; that's what he thinks the tv is for (because we still do not have him watch tv). When the music is on, he will just dance and dance.
Snack cups... You know, the ones that hold in the puffs/cheerios but they can stick their hands into to get the food, but if they're turned upside down, nothing spills out (one brand is the snack trap). They're fairly new, I think. He loves being able to get his snacks out of there on his own. He usually grabs a whole handful and spills half of them before he reaches his mouth, so we still get a mess, but they're still great!
Grabbing things from bags or the grocery cart while out grocery shopping - and throwing them. It doesn't matter how many of his favorite things I bring for him to play with/drink/eat. I have to watch where I put things in the cart because they might end up flung out and onto the floor if I'm not careful!
Nesting/stacking - Bowls, toys inside objects that open - he loves to put things into other things, and out again, and back in.

Least Favorite Things
There really aren't any different, new least favorites from last month... Lots of the same (diaper changes, having things he wants taken away, not getting milk immediately when he really wants it...)

He will often stand now when he's not thinking about it - if he has something in his hand and forgets that the thing is not attached to something else. But when he realizes it, he will sit down and might get mad about it. Still doesn't like us trying to walk him by holding his hands, either.
Riding in the car for really long periods of time... We took a number of trips (to KY, to Hilton Head Island for a wedding, etc), and he is not a fan of long car rides. Or sleeping in the car. He might take one nap that lasts less than an hour, but even if we are on the road for 12 hours - that's all you get, folks! And for the next few days, he will fuss whenever you get him near that car seat. He will protest.
We found that, while Aiden likes frosting somewhat, it does not like him back. Therefore, I think it's safe to say this is not a favorite thing... If you recall, he had a very allergic reaction to the icing on his birthday cake, and we found ourselves in the Emergency Room instead of opening gifts and playing with friends. We go for testing this coming week.

12 month pics this month were harder because he is so much more mobile! We pulled out all the stops...books, snacks, a drink, toys... This is a picture of Aiden with his snack cup - and a handful of puffs being shoved into his mouth.

I think he found a few puffs he spilled onto the chair...

New developments this past month:

Climbing stairs. He showed no interest in working hard to get up the stairs for a while. Now that we have some, he would go to them and act as if he were trying to think it through, but then he would just give up without really trying. But while at Mammaw Melly and Pappaw Gene's, he got it in no time. They have a room that is just two steps down from the rest of the house, and he would go up them without skipping a beat! Time for gates at home now! When we got home, he actually went up the entire set of stairs (with someone behind him, of course!) - and quickly.
Not sure where this fits in...it's not something he LIKES to do, but not necessarily a developmental thing, either... But Aiden constantly gags himself with his hands! (Sounds gross, I know, but it's really not.) He just plays with his fingers or hands or anything and will get it in his mouth to where he kind of gags himself. Nothing big, he just makes a sound. I don't think he's even aware of it because he never changes his behavior based on it. We just ignore it (and sometimes laugh quietly). It is kind of funny, actually.
Showing he understands more of what we say... For example, when putting him to bed, if he keeps getting up, we can say "lie down, Aiden," and he'll do it. Even if he grins and then jumps right back up... He does understand what we told him to do. We've been noticing more and more of that sort of behavior that shows he really does comprehend a lot.
We're not sure what this means, but whenever he's in his high chair and I tell him "no" about something, he'll turn and look at Daddy. We're not sure if he's just trying to read him to see if he agrees with Mommy or what, but it means something.
Still picking up those signs! He can now sign: milk, more, eat, drink, all done, and music. We're about to get some videos to teach us all some more. (Yes, this means he'll actually watch a little tv...but this is educational, and it's also for ME - b/c I need to learn more words and want to make sure I'm doing it right, and I'm a visual learner. Otherwise, I would just do it and teach him that way.)
Standing more on his own. Like I said before, he usually does this when he isn't too aware that he's actually not holding onto something, but he clearly can stand alone and for quite a long time, too. (He totally could walk if he wanted to; he has the balance down - just needs the desire/motivation.)