12 months

It's official. Luke is 12 months old and this marks the last of my month-by-month posts. This year has flown by and it's hard for me to understand that this much time has actually passed already.

I remember the 3 am feedings thinking that they would never end. I remember when he could hardly stay awake for an hour at a time. I remember when it was cause to celebrate when he ate more than 3 ounces at a single feeding. I remember crying myself home from the pediatrician when I was told he wasn't gaining enough weight. I remember wishing that he wouldn't get bigger because I was afraid of what was coming.

Now I know he sleeps through the night and I know that he can eat like a maniac if he wants. We no longer have to worry about his weight gain because he's doing just fine in that department now. In fact, he's much taller and usually heavier than most kids his age. Every stage and every new thing he's done has been an adventure, whether it be good or bad. It has been an amazing learning and growing experience for not only Luke, but myself as well. I no longer fear what's coming, but look forward to seeing what happens next.

He's walking like a champ now and is becoming so much more independent. If he's able to do something on his own, you better believe he'd like to do it just that way: on his own. He's quickly becoming able to hold a fork, poke his food, and get the food to his mouth. He enjoys walking himself from the bathroom to his room at night after his bath. Luke has also figured out how to close his bedroom door. I'm sure I'll be regretting this ability in about 12 years when the door slams in my face, but for now, I think it's pretty cute.

Luke loves to explore and try to figure things out. He still loves to go under the table; only now he's walking under the table instead of crawling. He stared to put toys back into buckets and containers and gets a kick out of sharing his toys with people. He'll take the toy back fairly quickly, but he gets such joy out of giving something away in the first place.

Luke adores his dad. Keith and Luke play a mean game of "I'm gonna get you!" where Luke walks aways and Keith chases him. If Keith doesn't follow fast enough, Luke will slow down and start to peek behind himself, waiting for Keith. He still gets incredibly excited every day when Keith gets home from work. He's almost in a run to get to where his dad is.

He still likes to sing. Doesn't matter where we are or even if there isn't a song playing, he takes any opportunity to belt out a tune. He's also started to display more boy tendencies. He loves him a truck and will play with any kind of ball for hours. Maybe he just likes things that move because it seems the older he gets, the less he stops moving.

For all the good and the bad and everything in between, being this kid's parent is one of the best things I've ever done with my life. He is such a blessing and a joy in our lives and I thank my lucky stars each and every day I have him. My Luke.