One-Year Check-Up

I took Ethan in for his one-year check up at the doctor today.  He was a great patient who had both his doctor and nurse giggling with him at his baby babble.  He even showed the doctor how he can say "hot"...she was impressed with his ability to make the "h"-sound.  He passed his exam with flying colors and even handled the shots pretty well.  He had to get four...one in each leg and one in each arm.  We both got flu shots so hopefully we'll avoid that nasty bug this winter!  While he has remained around the 50th percentile for height, he has dropped to the 25th percentile for weight, only gaining about 1.5 pounds in the last 3 months.  The doctor wasn't concerned about this, though, which is good.  Apparently, lots of babies drop a little when they get super active (and Ethan is definitely active).  She said we might see him go down a little more before his next visit at 15 months as well but that we should keep offering him food until he rejects it and add some snacks between mealtimes to replace nursing.  Hopefully he will start eating chunkier foods soon, too!

Here are some other updates:

• He is cruising.  He likes to walk behind his walker (he can't turn it around yet, though) and from furniture piece to furniture piece.  He sometimes walks while holding our hands but isn't confident when he does this.   We've seen him try to stand a few times but it only lasts a few seconds before he falls.  
• He can say "hi", "hot", "dat" and "dada".  Sometime he squeaks out a "mom" but he makes me work very hard for it.  He babbles other syllables all the time.  
• He can sign for "milk" and clap his hands.  We've seen him do the "clean-up" sign once and he has also started to wave "hi" and "bye" sometimes.  He also puts his hand on his head when someone says "oh no!".  
• Ethan weighs 20 lbs, 11.5 ounces. 
• He is 29.75 inches long. 
• His head circumference is 45.75 centimeters.  
• Ethan loves to head-butt things, especially his mommy and daddy while playing.  
• His favorite books are Dr. Seuss books.  
• His favorite new toy is the ball his Grandma and Grandpa Wade gave him for his birthday.  He likes to head-butt it too.  

• He has been in 6 states:  Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.  
• He has been to 2 National Parks:  The Grand Canyon and the Great Smoky Mountains.  He's also been to lots of National Monuments in Arizona.  
• He has 4 teeth (2 on top and 2 on bottom).  
• He likes to feed himself cut up carrots, bananas, avocados, green beans, and peas and crumbled ground beef.  He loves whole milk and yogurt with some fruit mixed in.  
• He has started to put shapes in his shape sorter (I just have to show him where they go).  
• He is a great shopping companion...he flirts with all the salespeople!  
• His bedtime is around 7:00 and he sleeps 11-12 hours a night.  He sleeps with a stuffed giraffe rattle (to keep him occupied when he wakes up in the morning).  
• He has 2 naps a day (on most days, anyway)...one around 9:00 and one around 3:00 -- he will nap anywhere from 1-2 hours each time.  
• Cayne and I still sneak into his room every night to check on our sleeping baby just like we did when he was a newborn.  We are giddy parents and can't help but smile when we see our little pumpkin snuggled up in bed looking so cute.  Sometimes we accidentally wake him up and have to go running out of his room before he sees us and thinks it's time to play, though!