11 Months Old

11, is it true? You are 11 months old now. I cannot believe that we are so close to your birthday! You are just growing up way to fast for your daddy and me. We are constantly amazed by the things that you do; you get smarter and smarter every day! You have started clapping your hands and saying, "Mama!"

You are eating more now, and I let you try all kinds of things (mostly healthy). You liked the cracker with chicken salad last week, the ice cream yesterday from Aunt Johnna’s birthday cake, the kiwi, fruit popsicle, grilled hamburger meat, toast and grits. I try to give you mostly food that you can feed yourself, and while that usually makes a huge mess, I am glad that I am respectfully feeding you. You have, however, started intentionally throwing your food on the floor when you don’t want it, and while I am glad that you are smart enough to know that once it is down there you d0n’t have to eat it, I would rather you just tell me that you are done. No, you aren’t talking much yet, but you do raise both of your hand when you want up (from the chair or from the floor). That is our own little baby sign. J

Speaking of talking, you can say mama, but as far as words go, that is about it. I’m working on it with you. I know that once you start, you won’t ever stop, so I am trying to enjoy this moment as much as I can. While you aren’t very verbal, you are excellent at communicating your feelings. You sign for milk all of the time. To you (right now) it means, “I want.” One day this past week, you woke up and I was just watching you to see if you were going back to sleep. You spotted me, looked right in my eyes, raised your little arm, and signed for milk. It warmed my heart so much! A similar event occurred one day when I got home this past week. You were sleeping in your mamaw’s arms; she handed you over to me, and you started to stir. You were not even awake, but you opened you sweet little eyes, saw me, and signed for milk. I nursed you back to sleep, and you had a great nap!

You have eight teeth now! Four on the top and four on the bottom!

You moved into your big boy carseat this month! It took Dad a while to get it in the car, but he finally did it.

You had a great time at Jack's birthday. You got to play with your little cousins!

You play peek-a-boo now. You will stand at the end of the sofa and squat down and then pop up again. When I say peek-a-boo, you get the biggest kick out of it.

You love to just play in general. You will make your rounds in the playroom playing with all of your toys. You like to pull them out of the drawers and play chest. You know how they work; you press the puppy’s foot to make him talk, you pull the lever to spin the car toy, you play basketball, you put the shaped blocks in the sorting cube. You can see me do it, and then you can copy me. You daddy and I love this about you.

You still love you books, and I am going to work hard to keep it that way. Right now, you love Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, your truck carry books, and all Mickey Mouse books.

Your new best friend is Red; you sleep with him every night. He is the perfect size for your little hands. You still love looking out the window, going outside, playing with your friends and loving on your mommy!

You took your first steps this past week. You walked from your grandma to your daddy. It was only about six steps, but it proves that you can do it. Other than that, you just won’t let go; that’s ok baby; you don’t have to let go until you are ready.