11 months

This little guy is 11 months old today!  Just one month from now my baby won't be a baby anymore.  We ended this month much like we started it, teething and with a cold.  His top right tooth is so close to popping through that it looks like it has already in some of the pictures.  He will surely be able to get a good bite out of his smash cake next month.

The bathroom scale says this chunky guy weighs 21 1/2 lbs, give or take three. (Love that!)

Da, I'll trade you this sign for those Boogie Wipes!

While we are just as drooly and goopy as we were last month, a few other things have changed.  Our NB is getting rather ambitious.  He has finally in the last week or so commenced to crawling on hands and knees most of the time.

Ah, beach ball,  you are my favorite ball of all!

For the record, most of that bum is fluff.

He still drops to his belly on occasion if he is really in a hurry (though he is faster on his hands and knees, you can't seem to convince him of that).  He is also crawling up the stairs like he is on training for something big.  I guess he is, but walking seems really far off for him still.  Since LO was so late walking almost no one has asked if I think NB will walk by his birthday.

Check out this new tongue move.  NB is doing it all the time lately.

These might be NB's first shoes.  They are size 3 1/2 though, so if he doesn't need them soon, this might be the most love they get.

Nice for both of us that the pressure is off.  While he seems many months away from walking, he seems to be interested in climbing.  He very often pulls to stand and then lifts his foot up high in the air trying to place it on some ledge or object that is up off the ground.  I guess he wanted to stand for so long that, now that he finally can, he is looking for loftier goals.

We are seeing more glimpses of personality from NB lately.  He is able to play in more complicated ways such as sending a ball down a toy slide or rolling to ball back and forth with me.  Of course he has started the classic game of dropping his toy and saying "uh-oh!."  He suckered some strangers into several rounds of that this week.  LO is doing a great job of taking turns when NB shows interest in his less-loved toys such that we have had brief moments off all three of us playing together.  Those have been very sweet.  NB has also shown some signs of wanting to tease LO with LO's own toys.

Thanks Papa for giving my brother this ball...I love to steal it.

LO does this to NB a fair amount and he just moves on to something else.  In the last week though NB has offered LO's toy to him and then snatched it away before LO could grab it.  The look on his face as he did it was one of supreme amusement.  Frankly I thoroughly enjoyed the irony of the situation.  Point number two for the underdog!  LO has been patient with this move so far, but I'd be a fool to indulge it much longer.  Something tells me LO will enjoy NB being disciplined for it if it continues.  The dynamic between these brothers gets trickier by the day.

NB's other big move this month was to the big bath tub.  He had one bath with his baby tub down in the big tub before we gave it up altogether.  He is just a little apprehensive in the big tub when we rinse his hair, but otherwise has done really well with the move.  DH and I are very excited to only be wearing half the bathwater now and to not have to mop the kitchen floor with the rest.  Now if we can just get enough of a routine in the big tub to let us have both boys together.

First time in the big tub.  NB has been so interested in the big tub that I think he is excited to finally be there.

There aren't many more new things to mention about NB this month.  His still babbles up a storm with da-das, uh-ohs, and the occasional ma-ma.  He might be getting a little more specific in his use of those.  He often pats the window and says "dada" like we encourage him and LO to do when DH leaves for work.  He also breaks into "dada" when he hears DH's voice, but he uses it at seemingly unrelated times as well.  He does mimic sounds LO and I make in ways that will sometimes sound like the actual word.  He has mimicked LO's hand movements too, especially when they are sitting together in the car.  NB uses a few signs sporadically, so I have wondered if he thinks LO is signing when he is waving his hands around and NB does the same.

As we creep ever closer to NB's first birthday I find myself already grappling mentally to hold on to some baby moments that I know are fleeting.  NB remains such a sweet, laid back baby boy, but his eagerness to move and climb and glimpses of impish humor promise to take over soon.  For that and several other reasons, I have a little project that I plan to unveil tomorrow.  For now, though, I want to close with just a few sweet things I love about my baby boy right now. 

Da, thanks for saving me from pictures.  I'd rather snuggle with you any time.

I love that you love to clap,
I love that you sometimes bounce to music.
I love that you rest your hand in the middle of my chest when you nurse.
I love when you rest your head in the crook of my arm when you nurse.
I love that you pat my soft, scarred belly so excitedly when we are getting ready to nurse.  You gave me that belly and you are the only reason I could love it.
I love the minutes I have with you in my arms just before I lay you to sleep.  You rest your head on my shoulder and suck your thumb. In as I carry you to your crib, if I kiss your cheek, or brush my cheek against yours, you giggle every time. If you don't rest your head on my shoulder, you give my chin a big slobbery kiss which makes me laugh instead.

Have fun this next month little guy.  I plan to savor it as much as we can.