11 Months!

Dear Trey,
We're one month away from your first birthday, and it's so hard for me to deal with that!  While it's hard to remember what things were like before you joined our family, I can't believe a whole year has almost passed us by.  This last month has sure been a busy one for you!  Keeping up with all of the new things you do has been a challenge, and while Daddy and I are thrilled to see all that you have learned, it reminds us how quickly you are growing into a little boy.

You haven't been to the doctor in a while, so I'm not sure how much you weigh or how tall you are right now, but you're still wearing size 3 diapers and are wearing 12-18 month clothes.  You have a few long sleeved t-shirts you wear, and I think you look so much more grown up when you're not wearing a onesie.  I have NO idea what size shoe you wear because you don't have any shoes! :-)

On the 6th, you all of a sudden decided you were done with nursing.  It was a bit of a challenge at first because you didn't seem to want to drink from a sippy cup, but after a few days of working on it, you were a pro.  Other than a couple of times when you seemed to want to nurse just out of habit and would get a little upset, you handled the whole thing without missing a beat.  That's more than I can say, but after crying a few times, I think I have recovered. :-)  You're still not drinking quite as much milk as you did before, but I think you're getting plenty of liquids, and you're for sure getting plenty to eat!  You wake up around 7:15 and eat breakfast a little before 8:00.  Usually, you finish off a good serving of oatmeal with a jar of fruit and about 5 ounces of milk.  At lunch, you eat a veggie or fruit mixed with rice or oatmeal, and then around 6:00, you eat some sort of veggie with rice.  You keep your sippy cup pretty close to you through the day and are drinking around 20 ounces total.

This week, you have also discovered the Gerber Crunchies and absolutely love the Veggie Dip flavor.  I am impressed with how much better you are doing with texture and solid foods.  Once in a while, they get stuck in just the wrong spot, but that's happening less and less often.  It's funny watching you eat because you know to chomp up front where your teeth are!  I'm hoping that means you'll be able to eat some of your cake next month! :-)  Yogurt and graham crackers are also on your list of favorites, and anytime you see me or Daddy with food, you are right there beside us.  In fact, you got a hold of my box of Wheat Thins the other day and dumped them out on the tile in front of the door, and you and Callie were enjoying a snack!  I'm glad you can handle real food better now because you really really like feeding yourself.  Hopefully you'll learn to enjoy all kinds of yummy foods as you get bigger!

You have six teeth now.  Two on the bottom, and four on top.  I think the two outside teeth on the top must be bothering you this week because you haven't been sleeping very well. :-(  And apparently giving you teething tablets in the middle of the night is some kind of torture. 

Our day starts around 7:15, but instead of taking your early nap, you just take two naps now.  The first is around 10:30 or 11:00, and then you go down for another nap around 3:00.  They're both around an hour and a half, and you usually wake up very happy!  If you're cranky when you wake up, usually that means you need to go back to sleep for a little longer.  You're still on the same night schedule: dinner, bath at 7:00, read and play in your room, and bedtime at 8:00.  Except for this week when you've been waking up for several hours in the middle of the night, you have been doing a good job of sleeping through the night.  Hopefully once these teeth stop bothering you, you'll go back to your normal sleeping so everyone else can sleep, too! :-)

You're definitely a professional at this walking business, and I find myself having to tell you to slow down because you're trying to run!  Even socks on the tile floor don't pose much a problem for you anymore, and your reflexes and balance are getting much better.  You don't have to have anything to hold onto to stand up.  You either just stand right up or put your hands on the ground, straighten your legs, and get up that way.  This week, you started spinning around in circles when you hear music play.  After about one, maybe two spins, you lose your balance and fall over, but it's pretty funny!  You have also started bending over at your waist and putting your head on the floor.  I'm not sure what you're trying to do though!

One of my favorite things from this month is that you've started to give me kisses at bedtime.  Last Friday, I was rocking you to sleep, and you lifted your head up, so I kissed you.  You put your head back down and popped back up right away and wouldn't lay back down until I kissed you again.  I bet we did that ten times. :-)  You've given me kisses a few other times through the day, but most of the time, you give them out at bedtime.  Even Daddy got a kiss the other night when he rocked you to sleep (he can do that now since you're not nursing!) and got one before Mommy put you to bed last night. 

You are such an easy going little guy.  If I need to get something done, you are very good at entertaining yourself.  You don't play with any one thing for a long time, but kind of mosey around finding things to investigate.  The kitchen is one of your favorite places to play because you can toss around all kinds of plastic containers and lids or bang around in the pots and pans.  You've started bringing your little purple phone to me and will hold it up to my ear so that I'll pretend to talk on it.  I love how you are learning to play and interact!

The thing that amazes me the most this month is how much you are starting to understand what we say to you.  Last Friday, you responded to the word "drink" for the first time.  I asked you, "Where's your drink?" and you walked over to where it was on the window sill and took a drink.  I tried it again later and set you down in the hallway and asked where your cup was.  You looked around and spotted it in your bedroom floor, and took off to get it.  When you picked it up, you turned around with the biggest grin on your face and came running back to me.  Other phrases/directions you understand are:

• Bring me your book.
• Where's Mommy's phone?
• kitty

You have started talking a lot, and most of it is just jabbering, but once in a while, something familiar pops out!

• uh oh
• wassis (What's this?)
• kitty
• you even try to meow like a kitty!

Even with all of these things, I'm sure there are things I'm forgetting.  I've started keeping a journal where I can jot things through the day so that I don't forget because you are just changing so much.  I'm looking forward to putting things together for your party next month, and although I know I will cry, I can't wait to celebrate your first year of life with all of our family!

I love you,
Momma