Jackson's 12 Month Update

Today's post is a little bittersweet for me because it'll be the last in depth month by month update I'll do for Jackson--I'll still plan to share monthly recaps but they won't be quite as detailed as the ones you're used to (this will also be Jax's last monthly laying down picture since he's becoming more mobile and less cooperative).

I think it's safe to say that my baby toddler had a wonderful time celebrating his 1st birthday! As I mentioned yesterday, we threw a big party for him on Saturday and were completely overwhelmed by the amount of love our little boy was shown. After a day full of playing with new toys, chasing friends around, and eating 1/4 of his smash cake, our boy crashed hard and slept for over 12 hours (#winning). For his actual birthday yesterday, we did lots of playing around the house and at Barnes & Noble, took a few items to the church, napped hard, and had the rest of his smash cake after supper--it was a pretty laid back day (and I must admit that I look forward to when he's a little older and gets excited about his birthday)!

Here's what our (now) 366 day old was up to last month:

Weight: 18 lbs. 10 oz.

Length: 29 1/4 inches

Nicknames: Jax, Cheeks, Baby, Jacksie

Wearing: 9 & 12 month (still size 3 diapers).

Sleep: Still co sleeping though I think he's trying to break free and sleep alone--he loves to sleep on his side or stomach (which I don't let him do in our bed for fear of suffocating) and pushes me away during the night. We attempted crib training one night when I was sicker than a dog with bronchitis and was given codeine cough syrup to help me sleep (I'm a really light sleeper but was worried that I'd be completely knocked out by the meds and wouldn't be nearly as aware of him during the night).. Long story short, I caved about 30 minutes in (while Brandon was taking a shower), brought him back into bed with us, skipped the codeine, and just took some Robitussin instead; I didn't sleep a wink that night because of my excessive coughing but was better soon after.. we'll try again this weekend!

Jax likes: Shaking his head no, Elmo, having "Happy Birthday" sang to him, all of his awesome new toys, other little kids, showing off, "cleaning," helping mommy & daddy around the house, bath time, climbing on top on things and scaring mommy to death, cats, pulling things out of drawers, the vacuum, giving kisses, watching the neighborhood squirrels, "no peeking" (basically our version of hide and seek), playing at the park, and MOPS.

Jax dislikes: Teething, having to lay on his back for diaper changes, when mommy or daddy go out to the garage without him, having his nose wiped, having to sit still during church, and falling.

Food: Jax is still a pretty good eater but is beginning to get a bit more picky.. His favorites right now are beans of any kind (black, green, lima, pinto, etc.), American cheese, breads, pasta (especially Mac and Cheese), chicken, cookies, carrots, Goldfish, Belvita Breakfast Biscuits, and crackers.

Mom & Dad's Favorite Things: How fun and happy he always is, his adorable toothy smile, when he shakes his head no, and the way he mimics us (he tries so hard to talk and makes the sounds of words like uh-oh, yay, and hi).

Teeth: Still the same 4 on the bottom with the two on top ready to make their appearance any day (you can see them starting to poke through his gums--ouch)! He's seemed like he's been feeling okay the last couple of days but was a mess last week with rosy cheeks, a runny nose, and low grade fever :(

Happenings: First Thanksgiving; meeting Santa for the first time; trip to Grammy & Grandpas for their office Christmas party; KS trip to meet & exchange gifts with Nana and Great Aunt Judy; "Auntie" Ash's college graduation party; visiting daddy's work for a pizza dinner and seeing Santa; celebrating Great Great Aunt Millie's 95th birthday; 1st birthday party; and turning one.

~Baby's 1st selfie--pretty self explanatory (and important).  

~After 10 days of Amoxicillin (complete with a terrible diaper rash & diarrhea) and eye drops, we FINALLY kicked the nasty sinus infection/pink eye that had been plaguing our little guy. After his doctors appointment, we went to King Soopers to pick up his prescription and eat cookies (pictured here).

 ~On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Brandon and my dad took Jackson to Home Depot with them and ran into Santa!! I'm so bummed I missed his first meeting with Jolly Old St. Nicholas but Brandon took plenty of photos and filled me in on every last detail. 

~Jax held on to Brandon for dear life the second time he met Santa..

~I can't wait to share more pictures from Jackson's birthday party--he had an absolute blast and had a great time chasing around/watching his buddy Gibson, sharing his toys with everyone, and being the center of attention! It was a wonderful day I'll never forget!

~This little boy just melts my heart!! I love watching him learn and grow--new this month is him playing "peek-a-boo" with us (by putting something over his face and them pulling it off), pointing to his nose on command, shaking his head "no", and cleaning (taking a towel, wipe, etc., and wiping things down with it).