11 Months old.....what?!?!

My baby is 11 months old today!!!

Do you know what that means?!?

In just four short weeks my baby boy will be ONE YEAR old.  

Be still my heart.

I just cannot believe its already been 11 months.  We are deep in the process of first birthday party planning, and I am loving it. My parents always threw amazing birthday parties for my sister and me, and I am so excited to get to try birthday party planning on for size.  What a blessing to celebrate the first year of my sweet baby boy's life!


In the meantime, we are busy celebrating his first 11 months and couldn't feel more blessed to have such a fantastic reason to celebrate today!

Dear Newbie,

You are ELEVEN months old today!  ELEVEN!  Already!  I am so excited for you today.  You have grown by leaps and bounds the past month, and it is such fun so watch our little boy grow and learn so much in such a short time.  You're bursting with new tricks and your personality has bloomed so much since last month!

*You are a BUSY boy!  You are all over everything all the time!  You like to snuggle first thing in the morning in Mama and Daddy's bed, and any time before naps, and during story time, but if we're not cozied down to read or in our PJ's, you are just a WILD MAN!  You wiggle and crawl and climb all over anything you can find.  You love playing with your toys and pulling out books and flipping through them.  You are just into everything and always on the go!

*You like playing with Opie- you laugh at him all the time, and you are ALWAYS crawling over to his kennel and screeching at him.  Lately you two have played together a lot.  You like to feed him your Cheerios, and you've got the head of an owl- always twisting around to figure out where your buddy went.  It is so fun to watch you and your puppy! You came with me to let Opie out on his leash yesterday and you grabbed the leash with me and held it while Opie ran around the yard.  It was precious!  You wanted to walk your dog, and you were so proud when we all came back inside.

*You are a big eater.  You LOVE meats and veggies and fruits and yogurt- Cheerios and Puffs too!  Just about anything we put in front of you, you are excited about...until about half way through.  That's when we have to get creative to get you to polish off your meal.  I think you just get tired of looking at us with a spoon!  We have to get crafty and sneak bites into your mouth while you are busy yapping at Opie, and we always have to navigate around your flailing arms, but one way or another, you usually end up finishing your food at each meal. =)

*You quit nursing this month and switched over to formula.  You are not the biggest fan! I think you're just too busy to sit and swig on a bottle.  Just a few more weeks and you'll be moving on to bigger and better beverages like cow's milk and juice and maybe milkshakes.  Just kidding.  But you would love a milkshake! I am looking forward to introducing you to the wonders of the culinary world as you get older....milkshakes, mac & cheese, CHICKEN STRIPS!!!  You are going to be in hog heaven.

*You are a great napper now.  You take one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  They vary in length- anywhere from 30 minutes to three hours, but you are really good about falling asleep on your own and singing quietly to yourself or looking through books in your crib as you calm down before you fall asleep.  It is
 the sweetest thing to listen to over the monitor. =) You're still not sleeping solidly through the night, but occasionally you do, and that makes Mama and Daddy SO happy.  Usually you're up fussing around 2 or 3 for a while, then you go back down and wake up around 7 or so.

*When we ask, "[Newbie], how big are you?" You reach your hands up in the air and tuck your chin to your chest and grin while we say, "SO BIG!" It is an absolute riot because you are so proud to stretch those arms so high in the air, and you know you'll get a rise out of us when you do it, so you like to pull this trick out a lot...in fact, sometimes you'll just be playing on your own when we'll see you stick 'em up and look over your shoulder to make sure we do our part and say, "SO BIG!"

 *You are in size 12 month clothes, but you're flirting with 18 months.  I think you'll be in a combo of 12 month and 18 month outfits this spring and summer.  Your little feet have grown so much that you finally fit into some of the fun shoes we have stashed away for you.  Pretty soon you'll need to wear something other than your Robeez puppy dogs, so its a good thing your little feet have grown into some of your big boy shoes!

 

*Your personality has really come out over the past few weeks.  You are such a happy kiddo, and you LOVE to be with your people. =)  You squawk and squawk if we're out of the room or busy doing something, and you won't stop until we come over and give you some attention....Daddy says you get this from your mama. =)  You love to make us laugh and to spend time playing together.  And you have so much fun with your friends and your aunt and uncle and grandparents.  It is so fun to watch your understanding and enjoyment of relationships grow as you get bigger.  You are definitely a people person!

*You love to swim and to take baths- anything that gives you an excuse to splash in the water and scream at the top of your lungs!  You are going to LOVE swimming this summer...we are eye-balling swimming pools for you already!

*You stand up on your own, and you love to walk along the perimeter of the room, using the couch and anything else in your path to help you keep your balance.  We think you are going to take off across the room any day now!

*You've learned how to lounge.  You kick back on the couch or in your high chair or in our laps and lean your head back and cross your feet.  It is absolutely adorable, and what I believe to be the perfect excuse to plan a trip down to Florida so you can try it out on a lawn chair on the beach. =)

* You are still a HUGE talker.  You say "Mama", "Dada", "Gaga" and a whole bunch of other stuff we're not real sure of yet.  We'll have to hire a translator soon if you don't start articulating a little bit more. =)  We love hearing you talk!  It is so much fun to hear all of your words and sounds.  Daddy and I could listen to you all day.  You talk with such enthusiasm- it makes us smile each time, and we bust a belly laugh if you start yelling when you get excited.  Yesterday we were at Panera having lunch with G-Mama and Aunt Corndog, and while a nice gentleman next to us talked to you, you screamed your happy scream at the TOP OF YOUR LUNGS.  We let it fly that time, but then our cousins came up to chat and you let out another happy scream!  We had to scoop you up and head out because Panera isn't a restaurant where you can scream at the top of your lungs and get away with it for long.  But we laughed all the way out the door.  You are such a ham!  You know just how to get Daddy and I laughing, and we are so blessed to have such a joyful little boy!

Newbie, Daddy and I love you SO much!  You have gotten SO BIG and we have loved every single moment of the past 11 months since your birth day. God has gifted us with such a sweet treasure in you, and we adore that you are such a joyful little wild man!  We're excited to see how you continue to grow as you explore your world.  Watching you experience things for the first time is such a treat!  We can't wait to get you outside to play this spring.  I think you are going to be quite the little outdoorsman. =) We love you, Sweetheart, and we pray that your little heart would continue to grow to know and love the Lord and to follow hard after Him!

Love love love you for ever and for always, no matter what,

Mama