12 Month Update (a few days late)

~Jack is close to walking. We have seen him take a step or two, and one day when he was made about 4. However, they have been isolated incidents. He also, just in the last few days, has been letting go of things to stand.

~ He can climb up entire staircases quickly (and over and over again)...

~ He can cruise all around the house - from the living room, through the hallway, through the kitchen, around the dining room and back to the kitchen.

~ He has finally figured out how to open cabinet doors and drawers.

~ He says mama and dada. He signs milk clear as day (and sometimes really emphatically) and points at things he wants clearly (sometimes across a room). We are pretty sure we taught him the sign for dog while visiting Rebel at Grandma Linda's house. He still hasn't figured out more yet. He just uses his finger to point at things he wants.

~ He recognizes more and more words. At the park yesterday another mom said something about waving to her child within earshot and he started to do so frantically and out of the blue.

~ He has started to eat a lot, in terms of quantity. He pretty much eats at least a little of anything we give him as long as he is hungry. That said, he is really a "cheesatarian" - he totally could live on cheese if we would let him. He has three meals a day and a snack. He eats bits of whatever we are eating for dinner.

~He finally is getting the hang of a sippy cup and often wants to drink out of cups/bottles that I am (I need to help him with this).

~ He (most of the time) waves hello and goodbye and sometimes says something that sounds like "hi."

~His 5th tooth is just about pushing through.

~His sleeping is a bit all over the place. I think he is trying out a 1 nap schedule - he seems to be taking his "morning nap" at lunchtime or early afternoon lately. That said, today he went down early. (Maybe that was the 1 hr+ at the park this morning!)

~ He gets super excited when we come home after a trip.

I will give a height/weight update soon - he has his 12 month appointment tomorrow. He seems to have grown a ton recently - I haven't adjusted to his new weight yet and it is tiring to carry him around suddenly.