The Holbrook Family: 12 Months

Charlie continues to grow and change every day. Even through all of his ear infections, he has been a sweet, good-natured boy and we are so lucky to have him. Here are some notes on Charlie at twelve months:

Charlie can follow several simple instructions including: Brush your hair, wave bye-bye, give me a kiss, pet the dog, stretch, throw the ball, lay down, bang your head (That started when he hit his head on something and I tried to get him to laugh it off. Now he thinks it's funny when I say "bang your head" and he hits something against his head)
He doesn't speak much other than saying Mama and "ga". Ga is still usually directed at the dogs, but he points to a lot of things and says some variation of "ga". He can also make a "woof" sound for the dogs. Sometimes it sounds like he can say duck and Elmo, but I can't say for sure. He also makes a "vroom vroom" sound when playing with his cars or a steering wheel.
Charlie has become quite a good climber. He climbs up and down the stairs, on and off the couch, and up and down his slide. He also managed to climb on top of a kitchen chair in his playroom the other day. I was in the kitchen when he did it and walked in to see him standing on top of the chair.
We are getting closer to walking. Charlie stands up on his own consistently and he'll take one or two steps. He has taken more on occasion but I think 4 steps is the most he's taken at one time.
I think his one-year molars are coming in. Charlie is drooling A LOT and he will rub the side of his face sometimes like it hurts. But with his ear infections, it's hard to tell which is causing the pain.
When Charlie is frustrated or unhappy, he throws his head toward the ground like he's going to have a tantrum. But he gathers himself quickly and gets over it. So far when I say no, he stops what he's doing (unless he's playing in the dog water).
At Charlie's one-year check-up, he weighed 20 lb. 5 oz (11%) and was 28.75" (17%). His head measurement was in the 65%.
I also asked the doctor about Charlie's allergies. His face breaks out around his mouth when he eats tomatoes, cinnamon, eggs, peanut butter, and sometimes strawberries or citrus. It could just be a skin condition, or it could be true allergies. The Doctor suggested that we do a blood test (I believe it's this one: ImmunoCAP^® Specific IgE Blood Test) and that will tell us if we need to see an allergist.
We are officially finished breastfeeding. It's been 4 days since the last time I nursed Charlie. I'm kind of sad about it but I am really proud that we made it this long. I hated it for the first 6 months and almost quit on a daily basis. Then I loved it and dreading having to quit for the last 6 months. :) We switched from formula to milk and it's going well. He doesn't like the milk too cold but other than that he seems to like it just as much, if not more, than the formula.