12 months old

I figured since I have 11 months worth of photos with his month cards, I better do one with his 12 month card even if I am a few weeks late.

Wes had a good idea to get some of his 12 month photos on his new radio flyer. He loves this thing. I can't wait for the fall when it's cool enough outside that he can ride and ride in our driveway.

A little bit about Nate at 12 months:

He's still a fabulous eater. The kid loves everything. Especially whatever Wes and I are eating. His latest favorites are Cafe Rio salads, grilled cheese, all fresh fruit. His latest idea is that he should spoon feed himself which proves to be a little messy but we're working on teaching him how.

He loves straws. His latest favorite drink is a Capri Sun. He drinks the entire thing without even taking a breath. If I have a fountain drink or a drink with a straw at a restaurant, I've learned that he needs to have his own kiddie cup with a straw or else he'll throw a tantrum for my diet coke, which he isn't allowed to have.

He's been on whole milk for about a month now. Hooray for no more formula! He loves it and recently decided that he likes it cold in his sippy cup. (He usually gets it warm in a bottle). Next transition: no more bottles! Wish me luck.

He's not walking but he's standing a lot on his own. We're just waiting for his first step.

Nate's first word (other than mama and dada) was "hot". He loves telling me when things are hot. He'll tell me his food is hot, the ground is hot, the air is hot, the car is hot. His favorite is to point at a lit candle and tell me it's hot. He then proceeds to blow on whatever it is he thinks is hot. It's hilarious.

He is my little sponge, wanting to learn and learn every day. He's so curious. He's mister adventure. There's a group of girls in my ward that meet at a rec center pool every Thursday with water falls and areas for Nate to crawl around in the water. He loves it. I take him over to the waterfalls and he sticks his head right in and loves every minute of it. He also dunks his head on purpose as he crawls around. He loves the water.

He's also ALL boy. He loves being dirty. Loves a mess. Loves dirt. And is in to EVERYTHING.

He has definitely mastered throwing a tantrum but we love the little dude through his kicking and screaming. Sometimes it's actually quite humorous as he throws himself to the floor. One thing he started doing out of the blue is wanting to be held again. I thought we were past that stage. He stands up with his arms up in the air and tugs at our pant legs to be held. He's been very needy since we got back from all of our vacations. I'm hoping it's still a phase and not the new Nate.

One of my favorite things that Nate does is cuddle. He hasn't always been a cuddler but he's getting more and more snuggly as he gets older. He loves stuffed animals for this reason. He gives them a big hug and lays down!

His latest thing is that he loves things on his head. Sunglasses are his favorite but recently he's loved his goofy ears he got at Disneyland.

Nate wanted to help Wes put together the radio flyer . . .

So he can practice riding it . . .

I love this kid!