Baby Stats - 12 months

Well, what would YOU do while waiting for the doctor to come in?!!

Colton's 1 year check-up

Appointment on: 6/7/2011

Age: 12 months and 22 days old (on date of blog entry)

Weight: 25 lbs. 14 oz. (75th – 90th percentile)

Length: 29 ½ inches (25th – 50th percentile)

Head Circumference: 47 ½ cm {18 ½ inches} (75th – 90th percentile)

Diaper: Size 4 –Pampers brand – Cruisers (during the day) and Pampers Extra Protection Size 4 (at bedtime)

Clothing: Wearing sizes 12-months and 18-months depending on the brand/type of outfit

Formula: NO MORE FORMULA - Whole milk it is! But, he WILL NOT drink it cold…it has to be warmed up. Same with juice…he loves it, but only if it’s warm, go figure?!

Amount: Introducing sippy cup, but he still thinks it’s a play toy…LOL! He's takes approx. four 8 oz. bottles a day with one of those being diluted juice (apple or white grape or pear)

Solid Food: He’s still not real big on texture so while we are introducing more solids, he is still eating Second Foods (#2). So far though, we do know he loves pancakes, biscuits, lima beans, English peas, graham crackers, fruit puffs, yogurt melts, and arrowroot cookies.

Sleeping Habits: Not much change here…He’s been sleeping through the night with an occasional wake up for a bit of bottle, but not very often. He is usually down for the night between 7:30 – 8:30 p.m. He gets anywhere from 10 to 12 hours at a stretch at night. He still takes an early morning nap (lasts anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour), a much longer afternoon nap (2 ½ to 3 hours), an early evening cat nap (about 30 minutes), and then he goes to bed for the night. As far as the tummy sleeping…nope, not his favorite anymore. Now he likes to be on his side or flat on his back.

What He's Doing/How He’s Progressing: We are FINALLY crawling and I mean it! He’s like a little race car once those “fours” get going!! He does not like for you to be out of his sight for a minute and you can hear him tearing up the floor making a bee line toward you, especially if it’s mommy he’s after. He is starting to experience just a twinge of stranger fear. He is reaching to pull himself up, but has not figured out the leg placement yet to make him actually get upright. We are totally convinced he is a little ham! He loves to entertain himself and those around him. He has the cutest laugh too. It sounds like a dolphin…eh, eh, eh, eh, eh! He LOVES music (from a toy, on the radio, on the television, if you sing to him, etc…). Whenever he hears a tune, he thumps his feet on the ground and lifts his hands in the air or grasps them in front of himself and rocks back and forth to the beat/sound! He is absolutely thrilled to sit on the ground and look out the front door (which is completely see-through safety glass). He points to the trees and birds and bugs and just blabs away. He is also a tongue roller! Seriously, this kid can fold his tongue completely in half and twirl it around. Talent I tell you, pure talent! (*see below) He says, “da-da” and “buh, bye” and has just started to say "ma-ma" and a whole plethora of other words that only he knows, but we don’t…LOL! He is still quite the babble baby for sure! He also has an opening of drawers and cabinets fixation so safety latches are now in full force! He does not like the word “no” and if you say it to him, he will look at you with astonishment and give a little grunt and then sometimes he’ll even start to cry…I mean after all, how dare we hurt his feelings?! You can forget about handing him off to someone he doesn't know if you are not within his eyesight. He has discovered how to do the flaps in the lift-a-flap books and squeals with delight when you read those to him and do the flaps. His hair grows out of one cowlick swirling circle in the back of his head which is so cute…hard to tame, but cute nonetheless. He has a total of 8 teeth with two more breaking through on the bottom on each side (the cuspids). The pacifier is still something he gravitates to. It is hysterical to see him grab it and pop it in his mouth. He also likes to let it dangle out of the side of his mouth like Groucho Marx. He still gets giddy with excitement every time he sees his loved ones (especially his big brother). If you are holding him when he sees another special somebody, he pumps his legs up and down and up and down. We call those his “happy feet”. People ask us if he is as cheerful and as pleasant as everyone witnesses of him? The answer that question (and if I can be totally honest) is “YES!” He is absolutely one of the happiest babes in the world and he fills our days and nights with more joy than imaginable!

* Note, the tongue roll (click on picture for a closer view)...

Vaccines He’s Received To Date: Hepatitis B, DTaP (Diptheria, Tetanus, Pertussis), Hib (Haemophilus Influenzae Type b), IPV (Polio), Prevnar/PCV 13 (Pneumococcal Conjugate), RotaTeq (Rotavirus), Flu, Varivax (chicken pox), and MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella)

If you want to read about, contrast/compare Colton's 9 month stats, click here.

Good News and Bad News

I had some surprisingly good news on Thursday.


One of the gals I have come to “know” (although we’d never met in real life) from a trying to conceive site I joined over 4 years ago, texted me and said that she and her family were driving through Montgomery on their way to their new house in Florida.


I texted back and asked if they had time to stop by my workplace on their way and she said, “Yes, we’ll be there in about 20 minutes.”


I was so excited because she is part of a group (there’s about 9 of us gals in total including myself) that I have grown so very close to online and the thought of being able to finally see her was almost too good to be true.


I couldn’t wait to give her a hug...IN PERSON!


What’s ironic is that she also has two boys and her oldest is my oldest son’s age and her youngest son is named, yep, you guessed it...Colton (just like my youngest) and his birthday is only one day before my Colton’s, but a year earlier.

Add more irony…her husband is in the Air Force and mine is too, but reserves, while her husband is full-time.


So here you have it…Kristen and me…up close and personal!

And here’s us with her oldest son, Dakota (her sweet Colton was a bit shy and opted to stay in the car).

We enjoyed standing there in the street next to their car and their moving truck, just chatting up a storm, when my cell phone (which had been vibrating in my pocket), did so again for the third time in a row and I finally decided to answer it.

It was my hubby who had been trying to contact me because the daycare called and said that Colton was running a fever and a rash had sprung up on his chest and groin area.

Well, needless to say, my child emergency ended our long-awaited chat and I had to hug Kristen once again and say good-bye as they headed on their way to their new home and I headed on my way to the daycare to pick up my babe.

Thankfully, the pediatrician’s office was able to squeeze me in.

Fever, check.

Rash, check.

Red throat, check.

Cough, check.

Strep test...positive, check!

So, there you have it…the bad news…Colton has strep throat, poor little guy.

He crashed when we got home from the doctor's office that afternoon.

Ever since then we’ve been treating him with antibiotic, fever reducer and Pedialyte (because he’d been throwing up) and today (Saturday) he’s starting to act a bit more like himself although he had a very rough, non-sleeping night last night.

The rash although, has spread to his arms and legs and it looks and feels like pink chicken skin. Hopefully, this will clear up in the upcoming week especially since we have is one year photo shoot on Saturday.

Thankfully, it doesn’t seem as if it’s itching him at all so that’s a blessing.

Speaking of blessings…my friend Ali, the mommy of baby Fitz, who I told you about here.

Well, she texted me yesterday and said that Fitz was being released from the hospital and they were headed home!

Please continue to keep them in your prayers as they get adjusted to being home as a family and having Fitz in their care.

Thanks!

And a great big HAPPY FATHER’S DAY to all the daddy’s, granddaddy's, stepdaddy's, and those who are like daddy's out there too!

Easter...In June!

Okay, so I'm just a little late posting these [insert embarrassment here], but as promised here are Easter pics...

Easter Goodies For The Boys!

Colton Seems Very Happy With His Basket!

R.J. Does Too!

A Bunny And A Duckie? WOW!

And A Book And A Hammer? No Way!

Oh, Wait, My Brother Got A Book As Well!

And A Whole Bunch Of Other Stuff Too!

But, Hey, I Got ANOTHER Book!

And I'm Just A Bit "Hungry" For BIBLE Knowledge!

What? No More Stuff? Hrumph!

That's Okay, I'll Just Play With My Basket Then!

My Family At Church...Celebrating What Easter Is REALLY All About!

Feels Like A Year, Oh, Wait, It has Been!

Well, like the title says...it feels like a year since I've been here and I sincerely apologize. I have really missed being able to post to my blog regularly, but I was kidding myself thinking I could do so once the legislative session got under way.

Honestly, there were weeks that I saw my office only once, maybe twice if I was lucky.

Although I love my job, thankfully, the 2011 Regular Session adjourned for good VERY late last Thursday night and I am hoping (and looking forward to) getting back into the swing of things here on my blog.

Back to that year thing...my sweet Colton turned the big O-N-E on the 5th of June! I absolutely cannot believe it!

Seriously, where in the world has the time gone?

I've always heard other moms say that when you have your second child things become more chaotic and the days seem to fly by even quicker than normal and boy, oh, boy is that ever true!

We had a HUGE birthday blow-out for my little man on his actual birthday and although the preparations wore this mommy out, it was well worth it! It was a great time and Colton was wonderful!

I hired someone to take pictures at the birthday party for me and I should have those back soon. I can't wait to see them and share them with you all.

And yes, yes, yes, I know I owe you all some Easter pics and I also have Colton's 12 month stats to do as well.

And I will deliver...promptly...tomorrow...LOL!

In the meantime, I want you to hop on over to my friend Ali's blog and check out her latest post.

She was due with her first child (a sweet baby boy named Fitz) at the end of this month, but she had him early (June 3rd).

Funny, her due date was a day before Colton's was last year (June 29th) and I had him early too (June 5th), which wound up being two days later than Fitz's birthday this year. Who woulda' thunk it?!

Anyway, Fitz is here (PRAISE GOD!), but he's been dealing with some issues due to a bilateral cleft lip an palate. He's not home yet, but he's been blowing the doctor's outta' the water with how well he's been doing with his feedings and overall health in general.

Just wait until you see him...he's just the most beautiful and precious babe! And my friend Ali, well, she's had the most positive and upbeat outlook about the whole birth, delivery and everything she and her hubby, John, have dealt with since sweet little Fitz got here. I always knew she'd be an awesome Mom (she's an awesome friend and person too) and by golly, she's proving it for sure. Fitz is a luckly little fellow...he's definitely surronded by a whole lotta' love!

If you could, please keep Fitz, Ali, John and the rest of the family in your prayers. I know it would mean alot to me and I definitely know it would mean even more to them.

And while we're on the subject of prayers, my other awesome friend, Lorrie, is in need of them too. You can read her story here.

After years and years of trying, which has included volumes of medications, several IUI's and IVF's, and a devastating miscarriage 2 years ago...she is ready to embark upon what we hope is her journey to motherhood with donor embryos.

She's ever so close to her FET (frozen embryo transfer) scheduled for June 23rd.

I am asking for some extra special prayers for Lorrie and her husband Tom as they prepare for the big day. If ever there was someone in this world who deserves to be a mommy, it is her.

Thanks my bloggy friends! You are the best and I know you will hold these ladies close to your heart in thought and prayer.

In the meantime, please drop in and say hello...I've missed you all!

Much Love!!!

~Tracey