baby update: welcome to toddlerhood

monthage: 12. welcome to one year aka toddlerhood! honestly, it's been the longest year of my life but also the shortest. being a mom has been so rewarding and fulfilling but not easy for a second. in fact, i look back to a year ago and want to cry. one of my best friends just recently had a baby and it makes me shudder to go back to those newborn days. hating them is an understatement. it's basically the only reason i don't have another baby right now. but in all, there were many more wonderful moments then there were horrible.

poundage: 23ish

teethage: a solid 7 - and he loves to bite.

how he eats: landon has recently loved to eat using a fork and spoon. he knows it's used to pierce food and shovel it into his mouth- and he tries and occasionally succeeds. his favorite foods are bananas, pears or any kind of fruit. he knows what oreos are [thanks justin] and likes them- along with any other kind of treat. he likes his daily yogurt and broccoli. honestly it is really hard to get him to eat enough to fill up his tummy- and now that he knows the baby sign for food he walks around constantly asking to eat. mostly he sits in his chair and throws food at us. it's quite fun.

how he sleeps: i am so glad he is finally sleeping through the night- so 9 to 7. with maybe an hour-two naps during the day so i can't complain. in fact, thinking about another baby and missing out on sleep makes me feel faint.

what he loves: he loves to THROW! seriously- rocks, hard toys, sippy cups, forks, anything he gets his paws on. and he doesn't just throw at anything, he likes to specifically throw at people. so that's a major joy in our life. he loves to read books. he doesn't like to play alone- hardly at all- so when i do find him playing alone it's when he's in his room reading. he can now turn pages without ripping them but will rip flip-books all the time. he loves to collect and sort things- piling them into jars and such. he's not much of a fan of tv but when it does, he likes baby einstein above all else. he loves his mama which is nice. loves his bottle which isn't- i'm slowly trying to phase it out. along with formula. i gave him whole milk and he doesn't mind it much which is nice. a lot cheaper then formula! he loves animals, especially dogs- and loves animal sounds. he's recently started to love pulling his wagon or anything around. and above all else, he LOVES BEING OUTSIDE! in fact, he'd spend every second of every day outside if he could. he's particularly fond of the taste of rocks- even found some little ones [minuscule really] in his diaper. best mom of the year right here. he also loves the fan they use in the primary room. he'll stand in front of it with his mouth open and close his eyes in pure joy- so cute. he loves walking to the mailbox and knows the keys go in it. he is a super fan of his car- like climbing in and out of it and falling all different ways from it- thankfully he is a super tough boy. and lately he's really love his blankets- we snuggle with them at bedtime but during the day he'll go around the house and collect blankets- its so funny!

what he hates: not getting his way, being inside. sharing toys- for reals. when his friends come over and he will grab whatever they are playing with because he knows that's his. he hates it when we try to feed him. he hates sitting still or being confined to a space- like the pews in church. holding my hand or letting me guide him somewhere when we walk.

what he can do: he can do baby signs for food, milk, more and all done. he can wave bye bye. he knows what words are- like mom and dad, milk [like "where's your milk?" and he'll find his bottle], book, bath, bed. he really is one smart cookie. he can take off the outlet covers like no ones business- in fact he thinks its game. and then he'll try to stick them back in them. he knows that's what its for- including other electric plugs like for the ipod. he knows how to take off lids and that they go back on [he can't quite put them back on]. he can work the fork pretty good and grab food with the spoon. he's not a very vocal kid but will whine mamamamamamamaa when he wants something from me.

what we're working on: being soft- to our friends, to the trees, to anything he tries to hit/jam with objects. not throwing fits- because this dude seriously has HUGE fits when he doesn't get his way. also learning on folding our arms, which he has zero interest in. he's not much of a shadower.

what we're looking forward to: the holidays will be super fun! we have his halloween costume locked and loaded- just have to get mom and dads underway. weaning off the bottle will not be fun but necessary- any suggestions? just go cold turkey?