@ 12 months...

-Sitting up is now a piece of cake, and I'm way more interested in walking (holding on to someone's hands of course!) I can even stand for a long time when propped against the sofa or ottoman. A few times, I have pulled myself up there
-My style of creeping is called a 'combat crawl.' I use my right forearm hooked in front of me to pull myself forward while pushing off with my left foot. I've gotten really fast and can make it to the doggie dish before Mommy!
-When I first started creeping around the house, I would stay in the family room area. Eventually, I ventured into the dining room and kitchen. My favorite thing to do is find my way to the metal divider strip between the dining room and kitchen and bang on it over and over and over...
-I'm really enjoying being able to get around on my own, but with these new skills comes an awful lot of bumps and bruises. As I'm learning to transition from sitting to being on my tummy, I usually end up on my face instead! I have learned to put my hands out and catch myself most of the time though
-I had my follow-up appointment with the ophthalmologist on January 9th, and the ROP is gone! He said that I am a little farsighted, but that is normal for my "age." He mentioned that babies with PVL, which I have, usually have some paleness of their optic nerve, WHICH I DON'T! That is a great sign! He said I don't need to go back for anymore follow-up visits either
-My favorite animal sounds are the high-pitched ones, such as 'tweet tweet,' 'peep peep,' and 'squeak squeak.' They reduce me to giggles every time. The only one that I can say is, 'baa baa,' and it's for every animal
-I find myself patting a lot of things over and over and over. My knees, Mommy and Daddy's arms, and toys. But I don't pat the dog. Instead, I grab onto his fur and try to use him to stand up. I wonder why he stays up in Mommy and Daddy's bed all day now...
-Lots of people tell me how much I look like a "little man." The bank lady even gasped when she saw how much I had grown. At first I was offended, but then I realized since I am still in an infant carrier, she probably expected to see a wee tiny baby!
-I've learned to grunt and arch my back when Mommy is putting me in the highchair or carseat and I don't want to be in it. But it usually only works for a few seconds because she is stronger than me
-I'm still working on whistling and can pucker my lips and blow
-Mommy is working on getting me to eat lumpy foods. Who likes lumpy food??? She mixes gluey globs of homemade rice cereal into my nice, smooth applesauce and then tells me, "Mmm! It's good!" She's lost her mind! Usually I just let it sit on my tongue and make awful faces hoping she will get the point. But not projectile vomiting at having the slightest bit of texture in my food is definitely progress!
-Still no teeth, but that hasn't stopped me from trying to 'chew' my lumpy food.
-I'm trying my hardest not to eat the Puffs and yogurt drops that Mommy wants me to eat. You know, the ones that are supposed to dissolved in your mouth. She has tricked me a few times and put a small piece on the end of a spoon. She says I need to practice
-Mommy also tricks me into eating green veggies by giving me two spoonfuls of something yummy and then sneaking a spoonful of peas in there while my mouth is wide open hoping for more pears!
-I still prefer to play with 'non-toys' like the remote, cell phones, the tassles on my blanket, cups, bibs, empty bottles, the lids to cans of formula, and of course, the dog! And the dog's toys. I love him, but he just tolerates me being around. He doesn't know yet that we are destined to be bestest buddies!
-I've learned to crawl over to Mommy when my diaper is dirty, and she will change it
-When Mommy puts me in the crib awake, I can pull down the mesh bumper and peek out to make sure she isn't taking any of my toys!
-I have found my boy parts! Daddy is so proud. Mommy thought it was funny until I had a poopie diaper
-I've graduated to a bigger bathtub that I can sit up in. I love splashing and trying to get all of the bath toys in my arms at once. It tickles when Mommy puts lotion on me afterwards, and my hair is so long now that it gets spiky when wet
-If I'm put down on my hands and knees, I can hold that position for a few seconds and have even tried rocking back and forth a few times. But I have to plop down on my belly to get anywhere
-I can feed myself my bottles - one-handed!
-I've been waking up a few times each night for the past week or so. My body wants to practice crawling while I'm asleep! Then Mommy has to come in and fish me out of the corner of the crib that I've managed to wedge myself into. Not a fun experience for anyone involved!
-I tried to eat my shadow on the floor the other day but it kept moving
-My third RSV shot was on February 1st. I weighed 7.30 kg or 16 pounds, 1.49 ounces! No wonder Mommy says I feel heavy now when she picks me up
-There is a picture of me on the refrigerator that makes me smile. I want to grab it whenever we walk by. I am so cute!
-I have sneezed squash on Mommy twice! The first time, she said, "Wow, Shay, you made it through all of your food without wearing a bib and didn't get anything on you!" Then I sneezed, and got a lot on me. And Mommy. The second time, she must have seen it coming, because she put her hand out and caught the flying squash!
-Mommy has a freckle on her chest that I keep trying to take off
-I'm kind of starting to say M sounds. But I refuse to give Mommy the satisfaction of hearing "mama" just yet. See above for all the ways in which she torments me with food! Instead, I'm making a popping sound with my lips by opening and closing my mouth. I spend most of my days having Mommy walk me around the house while smacking my lips

I'm on the move!

My awesome hair after a bath

The glasses the eye doctor gave me after my appointment

Oh no, she didn't!

I found you in the kitchen!

Someone please get this piece of carrot off of my tongue right now!

We don't normally chew on the same toys...

Anybody see any teeth?