12 month stats and life as normal

We finally had our 12 month checkup today at the peds. Here's the new stats:

Weight: 22 lbs 10 oz
Height: 31 inches

Some things that we're into lately....He is walking everywhere! Which means he is into everything as well. Childproofing has clearly not been perfected in our house, it's a work in progress. We have gotten completely off of formula and bottles, and now Steven drinks just whole milk from a sippy cup! I honestly thought that this day would never come, but I was a little sad when I was putting the bottles away. Steven is one of the funniest and happiest kids I think I know (I'm his mother, of course I'd say that :-)). He has been sleeping through the night and still taking two naps a day. He loves to play peekaboo, clap his hands, and he is starting to "hi-five"(which he thinks is pretty hilarious). He says "uh-oh" VERY clearly, and is now starting to say "thank you," mostly when you give him food. He'll say Mama sometimes, but usually only when he cries. He wakes up every morning in the best mood, playful and ready to go. He truly is a joy in our lives and  I cannot imagine life without him in it!

Steven and his cousin Lila checking out the digital picture frame. It's all pictures of Steven, and they LOVE to look at them!

Haha, Steven chasing his birthday balloons around. It was entertainment, but I'm not sure if it was more for my benefit or his.

Thanks for my sippy cup of juice, mom! I would like to note, this was the first and only time I opted to give him red juice, and the lid was not on correctly, and you know where this is going. :-(

He loves to climb into the wagon and just hang out, watch tv, or whatever. It's hilarious.

Cousin love. This was actually a very gentle touch, for once!

 Love this face!!!

Guess we should mention Gator...he is the major stressor in our lives! this is how he chooses to nap since we took the divider out of his crate.

MMMmm carrots! He was so funny eating these carrots!!

Life has been pretty normal lately. Same schedules, same old thing. Sounds pretty perfect to me!!!

Best First Halloween

Halloween was awesome this year! So different seeing it as a parent now...and we had a blast! We haven't dressed up at all for the last few years, and I never really felt I was missing anything. But it is soo much fun to dress up your own kid! I realized that this will most likely be the only year ever in his life that I can not only pick his costume, but he will not fight to take it off the whole time. That makes me so sad!

After church in the AM, we hit ZooBoo at the zoo (obviously) with Steve's sister and family, mom and dad, and cousins Marisa and Taylor. Cousin Lila (little miss cow in the pics) seemed to enjoy it way more than Steven...he barely woke up the entire time! We dressed our little man as a monkey, and he loved it! Ha! I bought this costume about a month before he was born, so I was so excited to finally get it on him. It was great and kept him wonderfully warm on the chilly day.

After we got home we passed out some candy to the neighborhood kiddos, which is the first time I've done this ever. I have always worked on Halloween or we've been out. It was fun to see so many kids! I cannot wait until we get to take Steven next year, who will be WALKING by then! Ah! It will be so different.

This has to be the cutest little monkey! I love it!

It was amazing that he did not seem to mind the headpiece...

Gram and Grandpa with the kiddos :-)

In the evening we went to a friends house to watch the Steelers game, hang out, and have some fun. Needless to say, the day completely wore this kiddo out because he slept SIX hours! That is a first! All in all, great first Halloween!

We heart Fridays

Friday is always a good day in our house. Right now (before I go to working weekends) it means that family time is starting! Also, Grammy comes and visits on Fridays with my niece Lila. All in all, it makes for a good day!! However, on this Friday...

This morning didn't start out great...I had my first major scare with him. Steve brought him to me this morning before he left, as usual, and we were relaxing in bed together when he started to do this gagging/choking thing. I have never seen him do this before, and he was literally purple and trying to cry. I rushed him to his room and was patting him on the back, trying to figure out what was wrong. It felt like an eternity before he got some sound out and actually started crying. He sounded congested then, so I sucked out his nose, which only made it worse. I finally got him to calm down, and then was able to nurse him as usual. Afterwards, he fell back to sleep and had a wonderful 3 hour nap. The rest of the day he acted totally normal!

I think sometimes with my background I may overreact to certain situations ( I was ready to call 911 and was going over CPR for infants in my head) but would any other mother do anything different? So scary...I hope that never happens again!

After this, we had a wonderful relaxing day, played with his cousin, hung out with Grammy, then had some daddy time later. So looking forward to a great weekend! Oh, and I got a jumpstart with his Halloween outfit!! Ha!

He was so sweet...fell asleep on his play mat! He is really starting to enjoy looking at everything.

My niece, Lila, was too cute. I put her in his Bumbo, and she loved it!!! Until...

She started to figure out how she could get out of it. She's a very smart and curious little girl!