James update

We are almost exactly one week away from James's first birthday, so I thought I'd take a minute to write about what he's up to these days...

• Teeth: he's got six teeth (5 fully in and 1 halfway in). They're huge. Much bigger than other baby teeth I've seen. And he's got a big space in between his two top teeth. All of which makes for a pretty funny, and charming in its own way, smile
• Babytude: Ric had to go back to the US for work and two days after he left, James developed what I've affectionately termed a "babytude." He basically started pitching fits when he wasn't getting what he wanted. Very interesting development, and one that I wasn't expecting for a few more months at least. So we've started disciplining him to try and nip it in the bud. He gets a babytude with Ana and I, but not Ric, so Ric is trying to teach James that's it's not ok to pitch a fit with Mommy or Ana. I'll say one thing for sure, the kid knows what he wants and doesn't want. And while it's not behavior that we condone of , it is kind of cool to see him becoming more of his own person
• Mysterious sickness: Last week, also while Ric was gone, James developed a weird rash that at first only came out when we put him in the bath. After my initial panic - Oh my gosh, he's allergic to water! - we talked to the doctor and when the spots didn't go away after 4 days or so, we took him in. Turns out he probably had a viral infection of some sort, which also explains his insanely high fever the other night (which we chalked up to teething at the time). The bumps have pretty much gone away on their own, so we're now back to normal
• Food: the good news about James turning one is that he can now eat pretty much anything that we eat. I made scrambled eggs for him last weekend and he LOVED them. We've also switched him to real cow's milk instead of formula, and he likes that as well. And peanut butter on toast... yum!
• Eating: in a related category, James is now trying to feed himself with a spoon. It's pretty funny and REALLY messy. Food everywhere. And as a non-messy person, this goes against every fiber in my body. But he loves it so we're letting him experiment as much as he wants. Mostly.
  
• 12 month checkup: while we were at the doctor, we did a quick 12 month checkup. James is right on track with his development (he's saying a few words, can use his "pincer" grip to pick things up, is trying to walk, can wave, etc). And he now weighs 22.5 pounds, which is in the 70th percentile
• Walking: he hasn't officially walked yet, but he can stand on his own without holding onto anything (until he realizes he's doing it and then gets scared and sits down), and he took a couple unassisted steps. He gets around so well by crawling (that kid is FAST!) that he's not overly motivated to start walking. But I think he'll be there in the next month or so. We're excited about that... and preparing to put gates up all over our new house