Our Campbell Clan: Parker's First Birthday and 12-Month Snapshot

Wow, he's a year old already!

My Parker Pie is such a cutie and I'm so glad he's right in the center of my life. I've been so fortunate to be able to stay at home with this little guy for the first year of his life. The smiles and giggles I get from Parker everyday are priceless.

On his birthday, Grandma Barb and Grandpa Steve visited. We had pizza for dinner and cupcakes for dessert. We were anticipating Parker digging into his cupcake and making a fun mess, but he really didn't want anything to do with the cupcake, the candle or the singing of "Happy Birthday". Maybe he's saving all the excitement for his birthday party this coming weekend.

Parker's 12-month checkup was on Friday. He weighs 27 pounds, 1 ounce which is in the 92nd percentile for weight. At his 9-month checkup, he was 26 pounds, 3 ounces and in the 97th percentile. So with his mobility and less formula, he's slimming down just a bit. His height is 31 inches which is in the 50th percentile. The doctor said he will grow 5 inches from now until age 2. So if it's true that kids will grow up to be twice their height at age 2, Parker will be 6-foot tall as an adult!

**Side note: I checked Seth's and Isabelle's height records from when they turned 2. Seth should grow up to be 5 foot 10 inches, and Isabelle should grow to be 5 foot 6 inches. So we'll have the youngest boy be the tallest and the oldest girl be the shortest, and Seth in the middle!**

Also at Parker's 12-month checkup he got the chicken pox vaccine. Of course he wasn't happy about it, but he only cried for about 1 minute and was totally fine by the time we left the office. Yay for only 1 shot this time!

Favorite foods include bananas, yogurt, cereals, breads and crackers. We haven't really been too adventurous with giving him all kinds of foods. It's just more convenient to stick to the small snacks he can pick up on his own. He says "Ba" for banana, which also has a few other meanings depending on the context. Sometimes "Ba" means bottle and sometimes it means ball.

Parker can crawl up the stairs with no problem. He hasn't figured out how to get back down yet. He walks really quickly with his toy walker and can manuever it like a pro. We think he'll be walking on his own in a few weeks. We've seen him stand and hold an object for about 15 seconds at a time before he grabs to hold on to something for support. He still makes a mad dash for the cat food when he sees in on the floor and I'm sure he's eaten several pieces before we got to it. He's the only one of the kids who, as a baby, figured out how to open the toilet lids. Hopefully we won't find a toy in there! He still likes to play with the ball popper and the Weeble Wobbles. We set up Seth's Hot Wheels Criss Cross Crash track and Parker loves to watch the cars go round and round and he throws cars onto the track (maybe he thinks that's how they get on there). He still loves to be outside and we take him on walks when the weather isn't too cold or windy. He says "Ga" for "go outside".

Here are some photos from his birthday. Look for more to come after his party this weekend!