11 months

Our baby boy turned 11 months this past week! You have changed so much over the past month and it is so hard to believe that you will be one in less than 4 weeks. My sweet boy, you have definitely kept mommy and daddy busy since you have mastered crawling and are into everything. You keep us on our toes and at times it is exhausting, but we cannot imagine our lives without you and are enjoying watching you and your personality grow. Here's what you have been up to over the past month;

1. You still have a love for music. You light up when you hear your favorite songs and over the last month you have found an interest in dancing when you hear a catchy beat. You love to dance in your car seat and in the playroom when we have the radio playing. It is absolutely the cutest thing your daddy and I have ever seen.


2. You have learned to sign milk and know exactly what it means. We had a family lunch outing yesterday and as you watched your daddy mix your bottle you were signing milk with your cute little baby hands. You are so smart!


3. You have become quite the speedy crawler and love to play chase around mommy and daddy's bed. As soon as one of us says "I'm going to get you," you take off giggling. It is a nightly routine and you do not get tired of it.


4. You are starting to say "ma ma" a little more often than in the past, but not as often as I would like to hear it! Our favorite thing is listening to you say your name. It is so sweet. Every time you see a picture of yourself you smile and say "Da Did" It amazes us how much you know and understand.


5. You really enjoy eating finger foods. We are starting to give you more because you will no longer let us feed you. I am trying to think of things that you may enjoy that are not choking hazards; so far we have allowed organic mac n' cheese and peas. You really enjoy it, but I know I cannot feed this to you every night so we will be branching out a little more over the next few weeks. We did try to let you eat a grilled cheese sandwich at lunch yesterday, but you would not even touch it! Tonight you had fish sticks, mixed veggies and watermelon. I have to say this was a hit, especially the watermelon.







6. You still refuse to hold your own bottle. You are content with sitting in mommy and daddy's lap and not having to lift a finger. You will occasionally hold and drink your own sippy cup, but you give up on it very quickly. I am not sure how we are going to change this.

7. You definitely know and understand the word "no." It has been used a lot around here lately and you even associate it with shaking your head back and forth. As soon as one of us says "no David" you start shaking your head no. Sometimes you will even listen and stop what you were doing to cause the "no."

8. You are beginning to understand the reasoning behind some of your developmental toys. I was cleaning up the playroom a few weeks ago and caught you watching me in awe while I was stacking blocks and the putting up the wooden ring stacker that Grammy got you for Christmas. You then proceeded to want to do it yourself. Your daddy and I were once again amazed. You have really enjoyed the Usborne Touchy Feely Books "That's not my....." You immediately pick up on where the touchy-feely area is on each page and after reading them 2-3 times you have it memorized. You love them so much that we almost have the whole set. They are great!

9. You had your first trip to the emergency room this past month. I had just cleaned you up after snack time and I thought the tray to the highchair was locked. I stepped away to grab your bottle from the kitchen counter and looked over to see you reaching forward. The tray was not locked, I heard a snap and you went face forward with the tray. I have not experienced so much heartbreak in my life, but luckily you were okay and it only left you with a small bruise on your sweet head.

10. You have also had your first dose of antibiotics over the past month. You have managed to stay germ-sick free for almost a year, but somehow you got a staph infection on your little face last week.....scary. We think it is either from Little Gym class or the trip to the ER, but it was not fun. We are on day 3 of Bactrim and it is already looking 100% better....7 more days of antibiotic treatment left.....yuck!

11. Your little feet are getting closer and closer to walking. You love to pull yourself up on things and are braving letting go. This scares me to death because you cannot stand on your own just yet so usually it ends with a nose dive straight into the floor. Occasionally you will think about crying, usually if mommy is around, but typically you will just go on with what you were trying to accomplish in the first place.

So my little one, happy 11 months. You have been through a lot this past month but you are our resilient baby boy. Mommy and Daddy love you more than you can ever imagine and cannot wait to celebrate your first birthday here in a few weeks.