Porter at Twelve Months

The monthly photos for Porter's first year are complete and I cannot tell you how happy these collages make me. Symmetry! A healthy, growing baby! Bow ties and leg warmers! An entire year under our belts! I love collages these are my favorites right now, so please feast your eyes on this:

Floor:

Chair:


Yes, Porter's first birthday has come and gone and now I am going to attempt to update the inter webs on the past month in Porter-ville.

Biggest thing that must be mentioned first (with a significant amount of exclamation points and excitement)? HE IS CRAWLING!!! Sound the alarms, people, hallelujah. Yes, yes, many of you told me it would happen and I figured you were right (but also worried about him and couldn't picture him ever moving). Within the past month we've really been working with Porter in the four point position, in kneeling, and forcing more time on the floor and less time in our arms/high chair. And then on Monday (7.13.15) just a few days after his first birthday, we didn't celebrate the more common 'birthday milestone' of walking...but he did begin to crawl! And I can tell you that I was every bit as excited as I will be for his first steps (which I'm predicting won't happen until 18 months for my slow poke boy).

First crawling video here, and just a few days later he is already doing a better job of keeping his knees down and doing less of a Quasimodo-style crawl. He seems so proud of himself probably because he is feeding off our high-pitched squeals and clapping. I was totally going to ask for an Early Intervention evaluation at Porter's year appointment but I agree that it's not necessary now. Maybe he knew I was about to get serious with this mobility stuff and he didn't feel like dealing with extra appointments, so he obliged me this one time. He is just my little snail guy but hey, he is moving a bit now.

Not only is he crawling, but he can somehow move from laying down to sitting up on his own. This is something he has yet to do while I'm watching, but I have gone into his nursery many times in the past week to find him sitting up, chatting away. Guess we should finally lower that crib mattress, huh?

He is sort of trying to pull to stand if he can maneuver himself next to an appropriately positioned device, like dresser drawers or the ottoman. He can't get up all by himself yet but once in standing he can hang out there for some time. One day I caught him doing this very flexible yoga pose thing and then I died over his big tummy. He wants to badly to be up on those feet!


Attempting a work out at a playground, unimpressed. But after I sat him down he got into this position alone.


Working on kneeling!


I put him in standing for this picture at the zoo, and then he totally toppled over and I was *that* mom holding my phone as my baby knocked his noodle.


So, a HUGE motor month for my little Portly Porter. And I still say that he is incredibly verbal to make up for his slow motor skills, and this month proved he is a chatterbox that won't quit. His new word is 'Uh-oh' used appropriately, usually when he throws food on the ground. He will also shake his head 'no' vigorously when doing this trick, as always, and he'll say 'uh-oh' if anyone else drops something, too. He is obsessed with balloons (like, intensely obsessed) and will point at them and exclaim, 'Ba!' I think he is honestly trying to say 'ball' sometimes, and he won't let up until we all acknowledge these balloons in our home (post-birthday party). He'll say 'ba-ba' for 'bye-bye' sometimes and 'buh' when he itches his baby buns in the bath. Something about having no diaper on his backside makes this kid go nuts with scratching back there, possibly just to see me tell him 'no' over and over again. He is such a goof. Also: I said 'GoGo' while my mom and I were hanging with Porter during swimming lessons and Porter looked at her and said 'Go-Go'. I kid you not. As you can imagine, my mom nearly croaked.



He's also into the 'gah' sound and 'ma' and 'da'. He will call Henry 'gah-gah' and sometimes me 'mama' but mostly he just likes to make noises non-stop, with inflection like he is telling us elaborate stories. If I ask him, 'Where is daddy?' he will look around and just wave at anything he sees, even when Nate is at work. It's kind of my favorite but I guess I should actually reserve that question for when Nate is home and able to wave back to our boy. I think pointing is Porter's favorite thing, though. He will point at everything--picture frames, his tree decals on his wall, ceiling fans, food---and then ask, 'Bah?' Mostly I think he wants to know if he can put any of those items in his mouth.

Other tricks: Porter loves to dance and play on his toy drums (on an Elmo book) and his toy guitar. Dancing, talking video here. He is just so verbal and so happy, I can't stop taking videos to remember this boy before he is speaking in full sentences. He's also entered the phase of playing with pots and pans, putting small toys inside of containers, and showing off his new-found mobility to head right towards electric cords. Of course. He loves to hand us toys, then take them back, and hand them to us once more. Very into sharing lately! Playing peekaboo or making very loud sounds for him will cause incredible belly laughs from our boy, so it's something we do often, duh.

He will give open mouthed kisses on command and prefers me to talk into his mouth while we smooch. Weird, I know, but also adorable.


He loves swings, water (especially splashing in the water), and is on a mission to eat dirt specks nobody notices until he is partially consuming them. He also loves his siblings like woah. Listening to Porter laugh at Truman and Cecelia is a highlight of being a mom to three. Both of his older siblings adore Porter and seem very protective over him already, and they like to keep him spoiled by giving him whatever he wants. This is a common theme in their relationship with their baby brother: if Porter fusses for a toy he can't reach, they will give it to him. I have no idea why he didn't want to crawl until twelve months, do you?

(swinging twins)


(that belly though)


(gentle!)


(the man child is nearly bigger than his sister)


Also, my favorite type of baby face---->The Scrunch!


Sleep: Porter wakes up in the middle of the night one time, about 50% of our recent nights. Usually this happens around 3-4 am and he will go back to sleep if I give him a bottle. I really need to stop this habit though, since we are going to get rid of bottles in favor of the sippy cup soon. Bedtime is around 7:30 and he will usually wake for the day around 6:30, and I'm going to blame the night time wake ups on teething. He is due for another tooth, still with the same six he had last month, or maybe he wakes up because he is working so hard on becoming mobile during the day. WHO KNOWS. Naps happen around 9 and 1, usually totaling about 3 hours between the two of them. I also make him skip his morning nap most of the days we are home together during the week and he does alright with that, just napping once for about 3 hours instead.

(Okay, sorry, but THIS FACE!!!)


(Brothers playing outside)


(He used to fit inside of my belly. Does this boggle anyone else's mind??)

Eating: Someone is seriously becoming a picky eater! He loves cheese pizza, any and all carbs (especially bread, cheesy puffs, and pretzels), and Greek yogurt. He is not a fan of most fruits anymore (unless freeze dried) and will let you know by spitting everything out and then tossing it on the floor. We gave him peanut butter for the first time this month and he loves it! Which is great because we are a big PB family, very happy he doesn't seem to be allergic. Really hoping he returns to his previous ways of eating a variety of foods---again, might just blame teething for this one.

See, he isn't smiling 24/7:


(Pizza=happiness, except when you are Cecelia and nothing is right with the world)


(yogurt boy)


(McDonalds with the three kiddos--Porter is pleased as punch).

We are still doing bottles and have just started doing 50/50 for whole milk and formula. He usually gets 3-4 bottles a day, either a 4 oz or a 6 oz bottle each time. We have done sippy cups with the 50/50 mix and it HAS to be warm for him to give it a shot. Usually he will have a bottle when he wakes up, again before his second nap, and before bed with an occasional one thrown in there after his second nap. The pediatrician said that 12-20 oz of milk at this age is good so we will just try to wean off bottles, onto sippy cups, and give him one with each meal and a snack. Will see how that goes, I suppose.

Stats: I just had his one year appointment, and Porter is now 22lbs 11oz (72%), and 30" long (52%). He is in all 18 or even 24 month clothes, because the 18s are getting pretty snug. Size 4 diapers. Size awesome gut.


(I mean, how do I even describe this face?)


(Teeth! And not a fan of being held upright by big brother)


(Big fan of bubbles)


A few firsts...
(First carousel ride, was not scared at all despite his stunned look here. Also, death grip on my phone)


(First time feeding the giraffes with Gogo in town).


Oh Porter, we just love you so much. One year old and you somehow keep getting better. He might not be our first rodeo, and we aren't allowed to have favorites, but this child is simply magic.


First birthday party success.


These three kids, man. Can't believe they are ours sometimes. Porter really does complete this family, it's true.


Fave.


Gah.


Love you so much, buddy!! Happy one year!