Buddy, you're getting awfully, awfully close to a year old. I could cry thinking about it.
We've had a lot of changes around here lately, the biggest one being that we bought a new house!
For now, we still live in our happy little two bedroom brick house. The one with the big side yard, the owl decals over your crib, the one where we brought you home from the hospital and sat your little orange car seat down in the living room. I can promise you that I'm going to cry big, ugly buckets of tears when we have to take down the owl decals in your nursery. Even though you won't remember this house, I will remember all those baby snuggles and sleepless nights that we had here.
But you're getting bigger, and we could use more space, and we finally found a place that's perfect for us. It's in a super wonderful neighborhood, it's a short walk to the greenway and the park, it backs up to acres and acres of woods, and it has so much room. Right now, your daddy is working night and day to get it remodeled and we've only had the deed for two weeks. It's a come a long way! No more paneling, closed off pocket doors, 1960s cabinets and countertops, or gross smelly carpet.
Let's get back to our usual check-ins though -
Height: 29.5 (I think? I haven't taken you for a check up in almost 6 months now!)
Weight: Right around 20 pounds - you just keep getting taller and skinnier
Clothes - You're so skinny that you can usually wear 12 month pants, and you can wear a few 12 month shirts...but your overall height means that one piece anything usually has to be 18 months.
You have 5 teeth - the front two on the bottom and top, and one to the left of your top front tooth. The other one is so, so close and you've been slobbering like crazy every day to try to get it out, but it hasn't officially appeared yet.
I don't think I would say you actually *crawl* as most people would define it - but you finally got mobile! You put one knee on the ground but pull the other one up and scoot forward with your front foot on the ground. It's the funniest thing I've ever seen, but you're fast. Particularly when you think you can make a break for the dog food bowl.
You know how to clap and will do it if I ask you or if you see other people doing it. You also really like to play with your play house toy that plays music, and you'll clap along to it. The ABC song is your special favorite.
You hate sleeping. Hate it. Only want to do it if you can lie right beside your mama. We sleep perhaps 2 hours at a time most nights. It's pretty rough, buddy. People always say "Oh you should have another!" and my response is always "When this one still doesn't sleep?! Ever?!" You also hate the car seat, and if you have to ride in it alone, I hear loud screaming and crying and complaining. I finally figured out last week that I could rig up the iPad with an episode of Sesame Street and that will keep you happy about 85% of the time. Thank you, Lord!
You took your very first steps all by yourself on February 1, when we went to the fire department banquet. Sitting still and listening to the mayor talk about the budget while you listening quietly was so not happening. So you and I walked around in the foyer near the bathrooms, and there was a huge mirrored wall. You absolutely LOVED looking at that handsome baby in the mirror, and I got two real steps out of you, no holding on involved.
Of course since then, it hasn't happened again. You took a pretty nasty spill a few days after that where you fell straight backwards and hit your head on the wood transition in our kitchen. It scared you (and the rest of us) half to death, so I think you've been slightly more cautious. But you will still stand on your own, especially if you don't realize you're doing it, like if you're clapping to music, or if you have a toy in your hand that you're really loving.
You still take food in spurts - some days I will give you something and you can't get enough of it, and you can't eat it fast enough. If I offer the same thing a few days later though, you look at me like I'm crazy for ever even considering that you might eat such horrifying nonsense! I can always get you to eat goldfish crackers, baby cheetos, and usually Ritz crackers. Everything else is hit and miss. You do love Nana's spaghetti sauce though, and chili is another particular favorite.
You have a little plastic bus that you straddle that you do a pretty good job of riding around the living room, although someone has to help you get on and off of it. You can walk behind a walker even if you aren't 100% wonderful at steering it around the furniture.
You say mama, dada, Ira, and nana with a lot of frequency, but that's about it. You make a lot of other noises and babble a lot. You like to crow and laugh.
We love you so much!
You took your first steps by yourself at the fire department banquet on February 2, 2014. We ended up out in the lobby because all you wanted to do was make crowing noises during the mayor's speech (which I did too, if I'm being honest...snore). They had big, full-wall mirrors by the bathroom and that cute baby in the mirror was enough incentive to get you to let go of me and take a few steps on your own! You have to be majorly tricked into doing it at this point though - there is no choosing to walk on your own at all.
You still love walks and will tolerate a very long one in any stroller we have. I think you like to be nosy about what's going on in the neighborhood.
Oh, and this picture. This picture reminds me of the terrible night we had the stomach bug. The dreaded, dreaded stomach bug that had you and me both up all night throwing up while Daddy was comfortably asleep at the fire department. Me and Brenda do not ever want to revisit that night.
You love cats. Most cats do not love you. Brad and Kim's cat, Chevy, is the only one who will get near you. You are very pleased about this.
The swing at Myers Park is still a big time favorite. Produces lots of squealing.
And while you were 11 months old, snOMG 2014 happened! We had about 5 inches of snow and no school for three glorious days. You and the weenie girls just wanted to be outside playing in it all day long.
You love snow. Even if you won't wear gloves and make me look like a bad mama. Gloves make you very angry.
Peggy is also the snow's biggest fan.
And Brenda. You enjoyed watching a lot of epic weenie battles.
We tested out the wagon in the snow...it is not a snow vehicle. That was tough on your mama. But then you didn't want to come inside.
So I strapped on my boots and a big sweatshirt and did some babywearing. That was a crowd pleaser.
Racecar carts at the grocery store: one of your new favorite things.
Babywearing: still one of your favorite things.
Playing drums on the air filter cover - another favorite.
As is chewing on packaging.
And observing kitties at Kitty City.
This face kills me!
So does this one.
I still love taking you to restaurants and watching you shove food into the giant piehole.
And oh, the wonder of Discovery Place Kids. We had so much fun! You thought it was the most glorious place you'd ever been.
I really want to find some of these shape blocks. They're another favorite.
See?
So much exploring.
Including an actual firetruck.
And a water table!
And a big squishy flower garden!
11 months old is lots and lots of fun.
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