Here we are - 1 month and 30 sleeps until Archie's first birthday (and coincidentally Christmas Day *whistles*)! A is now 335 days old and thriving - from pulling funny faces every time we laugh to slut-dropping to Taylor Swift's Shake It Off, he has quite the personality developing in his capitulum (thanks theasaurus.com). Here's the lowdown this month:

Weight: 24Ibs 7oz at 10 and a half months so I'm guessing only an oz or two more than that now, dropped just below the 50th percentile this month.

Sleep: A little bit up & down this month due to a monster cough and epic teething. He's been back in our room for the last couple of weeks as he's been more upset & restless than usual. He's been picking up a night feed again quite regularly as well and screams bloody murder until he gets it. I used to worry about the extra feeds but he always seems to drop them again once he's better and I know he needs the extra fluids right now. Bar that, he has been going back to sleep with no trouble whatsoever, he just needs some extra comfort whilst he's not feeling good. On the plus side, A is very good at going down for naps and at bedtime now - he has a routine of bed, bottle & books (just books for naps) and after a little cuddle and a song, he'll quite happily natter to himself until he goes off.

Naps haven't really been affected luckily. A's in a pretty set routine now of an hour and a half nap at 9:30am and 30-45 minutes at 2:30pm (although this has been lengthening to around an hour recently). He occasionally deviates (usually at nursery where he naps for quite long) but otherwise, everything remains normal.

Food: The biggest development right now is that A has decided he no longer wants purée and turns his nose up completely. He's now feeding himself 80% of the time which I've found so much easier (but messier!). He'll normally have weetabix/ready brek or fruit for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch (cream cheese & cucumber are a hit) with Cheerios or fruit and we're making lumpier dinners (chicken, sweet potato and apple mash-up this week) or giving him finger foods such as sweet potato chips and veg (green beans/broccoli). Archie's doing really well with food at the moment, he will try anything and everything we give him and sometimes he just won't stop. He definitely prefers being able to feed himself and will quite happily sit and eat lots of different things at mealtimes.

Still completely obsessed with whatever we happen to be eating and will death stare until you share with him, and then will begin to scream when said food is finished, ah! He'll try anything we offer him from jam on toast to ice-cream. Slight progression with the cup, he'll now sip but still isn't drinking a whole lot of water - still having 3 9oz bottles a day, but he seems to be gradually dropping the lunchtime bottle as he's been only drinking 5-6oz over the past week.

Sizes: Mostly 12-18 months, he still fits the odd 9-12 months outfit but they tend to be a bit snug now! He's on-the-go constantly, so seems to be slimming down a bit and naturally falling into the right size clothes for his age group, whereas a couple of months ago he was a size ahead.

Mood: A little grizzly recently with his awful cold and teething but otherwise he's been great. He has such a huge sense of humor, and if someone laughs at something he does, he will continue to do it to gauge their reaction. He's laughing alot more and full of smiles the majority of the time.

Being crowned King Archie by cousin KK

Likes: Drumming mugs (and most things, including other people's body parts) with spoons, making us laugh, pulling funny faces, holding objects in his mouth with no hands (weird?), opening cupboards and pulling out all contents just because, boogeying!, pressing the button on his 'Wheels on the Bus' book and dancing.. repeatedly, annoying cousin KK by ruining her creations, feeding the ducks (tried to get in with them), being tickled, taking morning selfies, wearing his Christmas vest & dancing to Christmas music! (too early?), playing Jellies on Mummy's iPad, banging his head playing under the table, standing against the clothes horse and shaking it so hard everything falls off, climbing out of the bath.

Dislikes: Waiting for a bottle EVER, when he's sharing our food and whatever we were eating has finished, when we don't share food, drinking water or anything from a cup, hitting walls when using his walker and not being able to turn around, seeing chocolate that he can't have.

Milestones:

• Archie took his first couple of steps this month! He's been standing and pulling himself up for a while now, but this month he's been walking along furniture and moving from one piece to another (as long as it's within reaching distance) and standing unaided for long periods of time (& dancing). Occasionally, he'll take 2-3 steps whilst doing this before dropping on his bum, but we're making lots of progress! He's also a whiz with his walker now, but hasn't mastered being able to turn it around yet. He hasn't been too fussed about walking (crawling is his preferred method of transport) but over the past week he's been trying more & more to get around without having to crawl so I'm excited to see him start walking properly.
• This month, A's top two teeth have popped through and they've been giving him lots of problems! I heard that the first were the worst, but not in Archie's case. I'd say these have been worse than the first two in regards to disrupting his sleep and causing him quite alot of bother.

• If we hold out a hand to Archie whilst he's holding something and say 'Ta', he'll put it into our hand. If he really doesn't want to give it to us though, the cheeky little monkey will pretend he's putting it in our hand and then quickly pull it back!
• A flipping loves to dance. I think it first started when we gave him a Wheels on the Bus book and every time he pressed the button to start the music he'd sit and flap his arms and bob along to it (repeatedly!). Ever since then, any time there's music he'll stand up and bob up and down, it's hilarious! He's mastered the slut-drop and loves wiggling his bum (he especially loves Shake It Off by Taylor Swift).
• Every now & then, Archie will surprise us by knowing exactly what he's doing and this month, he's been pointing to Daddy when he comes in from work and saying 'Dada', he's also been saying 'Mama' lots more this month and seems to know which is which, so I'd say those were his first 2 words!

Things I don't want to forget:

• We managed to get a picture of 5 generations of the family this month. Archie has a Great Great Nanny so it's amazing to get a picture of him with his Mummy, Nanny, Great Nan and Great Great Nanny!
• He's so naughty! The cheeky look on his face when you tell him no is hilarious (right now it is anyway), if he sees anything within reach that he shouldn't have, he will be over there within a second.
• Archie's been attached to his Winnie-the-Pooh comforter for a good few months now, but we were never sure how attached he was (as he would quite happily leave Winnie in the cot). Over the past few weeks, he's been taking him everywhere (as a lovey for nursery especially) and he knows exactly who he is. Every morning I get him out of his cot, he has Winnie grasped in his hand, and if we're in the same room and I ask him to go get his Winnie is, he'll straightaway toddle over to pick him up. It's so adorable that he loves him so much!
• A has been waving for a while but he's now a pro at it. He'll always wave goodbye and has started to wave at his favourite characters on TV and even at George Michael and his friends, such a friendly boy.

• Archie's brudda, Finley, was staying this weekend and Archie was being a bit of a naughty boy and bothering him. Whilst Fin was playing the xbox, A decided he wanted to repeatedly pull the controller out and turn it off. He laughed harder every time Finley had to get up and run over to him to put it back on thinking it was a game. I'm not sure how much fun Fin had but A absolutely giggled his bum off.
• Archie's been paying more attention to my Nan's dogs, Meggy & Ginny, over the past few months and seeing him play with them is becoming so much fun. Every time Archie chased after Meggy, she would lick all over his face and roll over in front of him resulting in loads of giggles.

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