12 Months!!!

I cannot believe my sweet little man is ONE!  Friday, September 21st was Stafford's first birthday.  This past year with him has absolutely flown by!  I took off work that day so that I could spend the day with him AND get ready for his birthday bash (on Saturday)!  See below for a few stats:

Feeding: Last night I officially opened our last can of Nutramigen...WOO HOO! I was super excited to reach this milestone for several reasons: 1) that stuff is EXPENSIVE and 2) it STINKS...literally!  At Stafford's one year appointment, the doctor said we could start feeding him whole milk or mix it (half and half) with the formula that we have left.  Since we did have a can or two left, I've been mixing it and so far, so good.  He still seems to want his bottle in the morning and before bed so I plan on giving him whole milk in it for a little while...at least until he fully transitions into a sippy cup.  He's doing pretty well eating solids...we basically give him whatever we eat (within reason) for him to at least try.  Some things he likes, some he doesn't.  I'm starting to think my little guy is a big texture person meaning a funny texture = no way.  He loves all flavors of puffs, crunchie sticks and yogurt melts.  He is eating the Level 3 baby food for supper and seems to like most of those flavors as well...chicken noodle is his favorite!! 

Sleeping:  Stafford, on the whole, sleeps pretty well.  Lately, he's been sick so he hasn't been sleeping through the night.  When he's not sick, he's a great sleeper! We just installed a ceiling fan in his room and he loves to have that on, be bundled up in his sleep sack and watch his projector on the ceiling.  We haven't had to lower the crib all the way down, yet, but it's coming soon!  He alternates days in taking one vs. two naps...usually it's just one unless he's really sleepy!

Weight:  20 lbs, 1 ounce.  Little bitty thing but his doctor said he's growing like he should!

Height: 2 feet, 5 inches tall.

Clothes:  He is fully wearing 12 month clothes and even a few (small-sized) 18 months outfits.  Thankfully, it's still very warm down here so we are able to get away with some of those "summer" themed outfits that he has TONS of!  I don't think I projected correctly...oops!  He still wears 9-12 month jammies (from the Children's Place) since those tend to run a little on the bigger side.  Stafford is still in a size 3 diaper too.

Personality: Lots of it!  He is so sweet but now that he's crawling (YES!) he has gotten VERY independent.  He can be a bit cranky if we miss a nap or stay up to late but he quickly snaps out of it once he's fed and Mickey is on.  He is very curious and can win any staring contest known to man! He loves to be snuggled and rocked (sweet boy!) and he's big into sharing his puffs with you!

Fitness:  We are FINALLY crawling! This happened at about 11.5 months so we haven't been doing it long BUT Stafford has quickly learned how to get by you in a flash!  He is even starting to pull up on things and put one foot flat on the floor so I have a feeling he'll be standing on his own pretty soon. Stafford claps all of the time and likes turning off the light switch. He still loves to lay down and sit up, so he does this LOTS when he's supposed to be in his crib asleep!  Stafford has 4 teeth (two top and two bottom) in the front. 

Routine:  For now, we still have the same routine.  I think that's going to change a little once we do away with the bottle completely but that probably won't be for another couple of months.  Stafford has been sick (those nasty ear infections and runny nose won't go away!) so that messes up our routine some.  Thankfully, we're on the mend so hoping that won't be a factor anymore!



big boy!!

so silly!!

B-I-G Day Tomorrow!

BIG BIG BIG day tomorrow for the little guy above!! Hint: I'll be alternating between being a crying mess and a proud mama ALL day! :)  Where in the world has the time gone???

It's Football Time in Mississippi!!

AHHH!! My favorite time of year...football season, aka FALL! Technically, it's not even close to fall down here in Mississippi...it is still HOT HOT HOT but we're on our way there, slowly but surely. Last weekend was the first Ole Miss home game of 2012. With it being a long weekend (and my dad's birthday!) we headed to Oxford on Friday after work. There was much excitement in the air as we were heading into a new football era (FREEZE WARNING, anyone?!) and another Grove season. This wasn't Stafford's first time in the Grove being that we did take him last year to one or two WARM games but it was his first time to take it all in. He seemed a little confused by all of the activity at first but once he was able to spread out on his blanket and play, he was all good! We didn't take him to the game this time but we're planning on it in the future. These late night games throw a wrench in bedtime routines!

We extended our Labor Day Weekend by celebrating my Dad's birthday at Old Taylor. We had the best time even though there was a TWO HOUR wait! I hadn't been to Old Taylor in years and it was really the perfect restaurant for Stafford. Loud, lively and making a mess didn't hurt a thing!!

11 Months!!!

One month to go until we are O-N-E! This has been such a fast and rewarding 11 months. Stafford has been up to A LOT so here we go!

Feeding: We are still taking four, 7 ounce bottles of Nutramigen per day. We have graduated to the Step 3 Gerber baby foods (even though he still loves some of the Step 2 ones) and he's even eating some table foods now. We usually let him taste whatever we eat and if he likes it, add it to the list! Stafford loves yogurt melts and puffs. We pretty much eat those all day long! He loves an occasional Oreo or animal cracker, too! At school, he's eating their food for snacks, breakfast and lunch. Reed and I love getting his weekly menu to see what he's been trying...he is eating some fancy things! His teachers report that he is eating well so I guess this means that it is now time for me to start cooking!

Sleeping: Stafford is still a fantastic sleeper! He sleeps through the night and is still taking about two naps per day. He usually takes a short morning nap and a long (2-3 hour) nap in the afternoon. We have really started using Sleep Sacks at night (because he rolls around so much at night) and they're great! I highly recommend Sleep Sacks!

Weight: Stafford is currently 20 pounds, 3 ounces. (LITTLE BITTY THING)

Clothes: Stafford is wearing his 9 month clothes wonderfully but we are on the tail-end of those. He is more into his 12 month outfits now and wearing 12-18 month pj's. I have SEVERAL 12 month outfits that this little dude will not be wearing since I projected him to be in those around June or July. Actually, he could be wearing them since it stays hot here until October...don't judge if you see him in a sand pail or crab john-john next month! :)

Personality: TONS. That is really all that I can say. He is so sweet and loves to be "loved on." He has been dancing away lately so he's loving music! Those mean ole teeth are coming in so he has been a bit cranky the past few days but for the most part, he's always happy, smiling and jabbering away!! BIG TALKER! Wonder where he gets that from?!

Fitness: We are still trying to crawl and we're almost there! Stafford has been pulling himself from laying down to sitting up A TON lately. That is his new trick so he does it all the time. He will reach out for things (while on all fours) but fall just as he gets it. We're almost there! Pulling on everything and scooting all over the place!!

Routine: We are still in the same routine so far: Wake up by 7:30, School by 8:30, Home by 5:45, Dinner at 6:00, Bath at 6:30, Bottle at 7:00 and Play Time until 8:30. Our weekends, especially now that it's football season, get a little out of whack but for the most part we stay on track!!

Just Beachy

Two weeks ago the Stacy family and the Stafford family went on a little vacation to Orange Beach and OH WHAT FUN WE HAD!! Reed and I usually go down every year for about 5 days or so and this year we decided to invite my parents and sister to come along with us. They had never been to Orange Beach so they were all in...plus, spending 5 days and nights with Stafford was right up their alley! We had great weather with a few, short rain showers and it wasn't very crowded since early August usually means school starting back. We ate out every night: Louisiana Lagniappe, Lulu's, Grazie and our little hole-in-the-wall Mexican place. During the day we mostly stayed by the pool, on the beach or shopped. It was one of the fastest weeks of my life, I think!

Stafford did really well the whole week. He sampled Dippin' Dots and an Oreo (actually, lots of those!) for the first time. Mom bought him a little swimming pool to bring down to the beach with us so we filled that with ocean water and plopped him under an umbrella...he had a blast!! One thing I was super grateful for on this trip: my Ipad! We took it with us to dinner every night and it kept him thoroughly entertained throughout the evenings!! See below for some pics:

oreo experience...a little messy!!

waiting on dinner at Lulu's

Mom and Dad

Lyn and Reed

salt water tastes yucky!!!

he loves Dippin' Dots

Stacy family...minus Ace

Happy Happenings

As the summer months are winding down, we have found lots of ways to enjoy them! We have been busy bees lately: we've had vacations with family, play dates, a new car to test out, baby celebrations and more! See below for some of our happy happening pics!

10 Months!!

Ten months already!!! The double digits make me sad BUT we are, of course, thankful that our sweet boy is growing every single day.  He is such a joy to us and we really can't imagine our life without him.  Here we go:


Feeding:  Stafford takes four bottles of Nutramigen, has 1-2 fruits (baby food), 2 vegetables (baby food) and just about anything "off the table" (that he wants to try, that is) per day! He is such a good eater and will pretty much try anything.  We have found that he really likes refried beans (thanks to our many mexican nights!), chicken, baked beans, puffs, whipped cream and drinking water from a cup!  He has one tooth on the bottom with another one pushing through right now.  He has really gotten the hang of "chewing" and it is precious to watch him!

Sleeping:  Stafford got his sleeping skills from his momma! He is such a great sleeper.  He is still taking 1-2 naps per day (sometimes for 2+ hours each) and sleeps until around 7:15 every morning.  He still doesn't have a set bedtime but is falling asleep around 8:00 - 8:30 each night.  He sleeps through the night but has gotten in the habit of wiggling so much that he's at the complete opposite end of his crib every morning!!  Still, I don't complain about his sleep...he's a good sleeper and I'm thankful for that!

Weight:  Stafford's weight is about 20 pounds.  We were at the doctor's office about two weeks ago and they had him at 19 pounds, 4 ounces so I'm guessing he's right at 20 now.

Clothes:  Sweet thing has FINALLY graduated to 9-12 month pj's!  He does still have some 6-9's that fit but those were always on the larger side of the size chart.  He mostly wears 9 and 12 month outfits and a Size 1 sandal.  Sweet little feet!

Personality:  Still laid-back and generally an all-around happy baby.  He does have his moments, though! Teething is causing him to be a bit cranky and irritable on occasion and he DOES NOT like having something taken away from him...temper, temper!! On the whole, he's an excellent, easy baby.  Always smiling, talking and laughing!!

Fitness: Stafford has mastered sitting up, rolling all over the place, leaning forwards and backwards, catching himself when he starts falling over, etc. but no crawling yet.  He's getting there...he lays on his tummy and pushes up with his arms but ends up scooting himself backwards instead of going forwards.  He's crawling in reverse! He is so close and I know if I would just put him down some then he'd do it...I can't help it though! I love holding and kissing on my boy!!

Routine: We found out the hard way that routine is VERY important to this kiddo! A few weekends ago, we went to Oxford and got our routine all out of whack resulting in Mr. Crank. So, now we are going to be sticklers for it because Stafford was not a happy camper.  Everything is still the same: wake up at 7ish, get to school by 8:30, pick up at 5:00, supper and bathtime around 6ish, play time and bottle around 7:30 and winding it down at about 8.  ROUTINES ARE IMPORTANT if you don't want a cranky baby! :)

July 21, 2012

happy 10 months to you sweet boy!!!