Month Twelve.

 This baby is one year old.

I can't believe how quickly this year went by.

We had a small family party for both Ryan's and Maylyn's birthdays. 

(Maylyn will get her own post.)

My parents flew up to Washington to surprise the kids.  They arrived late Friday while the kids were asleep so the kids woke up to Grandma and Papa on Saturday!

I would have loved to have gotten all Pinterest crazy while planning his party but let's be honest, ain't nobody got time for that!  Instead I made a small six inch round for his smash cake with some sprinkles and I took one of the Mickey Mouse paper plates, cut Mickey out, and stuck him in the cake!  Ryan loved it!

When it came time for cake Ryan was very tentative...

 ...so I pushed his hand in the cake.

 And then the fun began.

Ryan loved all of his birthday gifts.  Our living room looks like Mickey Mouse exploded and then a tornado blew through. 

At his 12 month well visit he weighed 22 pounds 12 ounces (75%) he measured at 31 inches long (90%) and despite the fact that he looks like he has a big head it was only in the 45th percentile.

I waited for the go ahead from his doctor to start him on whole milk.  He was still nursing a lot so I started to cut back but the whole milk seemed to cause a lot of acid reflux so we switched to lactose free milk and he is doing a lot better with it.  I'm not sure what it was about the whole milk because he eats yogurt with no problem...something to ask his doctor I guess.  

Ryan finally started walking at 13 months.  And now nothing and nowhere is safe.  

He had his first trip to the emergency room too.  He woke up shaking, throwing up, and running a fever.  It was some kind of stomach virus that passed after a couple of days thankfully but he was looking pretty miserable.  It was sad.

It's been nearly two weeks now since Ryan stopped nursing.  I was SO ready to be done and very proud of myself for nursing him for 14 months.  Of course as soon as I stopped he caught a cold from his sister. (Thanks Maylyn!) He's become quite the big boy these days.  It was like as soon as he hit the 14 month mark he really grew up.  I'm almost afraid to blog about it because every time I do he suddenly reverts back but he's finally sleeping consistently.  We're talking 9-10 hours at night and two naps during the day that are usually around two hours.  Yay!! This mama is finally getting some sleep.  I'm pretty excited to introduce orange juice, caffeine, and all of those other things that I had to cut out while I was nursing.  

Ryan has quite the personality.  He loves to "talk" on the phone.  He'll put his play phone up to his ear and just jabber away.  I think he may be a little OCD.  He has this thing about doors.  They have to be closed.  If we leave the downstairs bathroom door open he will let us know to close it or try to close it himself.  You should have seen him at the grocery store last week.  We walked past an open door and he tried really hard to get out of my arms to go close it.

His current loves are Mickey, sweeping, going for walks in his stroller, and graham crackers.   Oh, and his mama.  He's gotten more affectionate with everyone else and loves to give hugs. I can't wait to see how he continues to grow!