11 Months

Technically this is from your 12 month shoot, but we were really
halfway between. I took some shots with Walter, but at the moment
it appears our camera did not survive the move.

Hi Handsome!!

You turned 11 months the day we moved into our brand new house, and I'm still in denial that you will be a year old in just a couple of weeks. It feels like yesterday that I was very impatiently waiting for you to get here. And yet, it's hard to imagine there was ever life without you. I know that every mother feels this way, but I can't imagine that any mommy could love her baby as much as I love you. You light up my life from the second you bounce out of your crib in the morning to the moment I walk out of your room at night. And as much as I'm ready for a quick break and a good night's sleep, I can't wait to get you up again the next day.

When I described you as "bouncing out of bed" in the mornings, I wasn't exaggerating. You are a little ball of energy, jumping up and down when I come to get you in the morning, and jumping up and down as you wind down before falling asleep. You love to explore and experience everything. And you have a great memory. Mom sometimes wishes it wasn't so good. We had a mirror in our bedroom at the Stewart's that had a loose frame. You would crawl over to the mirror as soon as you got into the room, say hi to the baby you saw, and proceed to pull at the frame. I had to start putting the laundry basket in the way so you couldn't get to it.

You also know what you want and when you want it. You've started pointing when you want to go somewhere, and you get SO EXCITED when you see me coming over with your bottle. Your little arms stretch out, and your mouth is wide open ready to pop it in before your hands have fully grasped it. You still LOVE water, or anything in a cup, and occasionally I find myself wondering what you're squawking about in your highchair until I realize that you've seen your cup and you want a drink!!

Your two little bottom teeth finally popped out, and your little dimple and toothy grin are just too much! There's at least one tooth poking through on top, so it won't be long before there are more.

You are standing often now, sometimes you'll stand for long periods of time, not even realizing that's what you're doing. Other times I can tell you're definitely thinking about it and actively practicing your stability.

You talk all the time, but still don't have any actual words. However, I KNOW You can say "mama" because your final attempt to charm me into holding you when you're stuck in a shopping cart or crawling on the floor is to say (or shout), "MAMAMAMA!!"

You came to the house for a final walk through and made sure all was up to your standards; the stairs were easy to navigate, the pantry shelves were in order, and the loft was a great place to crawl around!

You still love the dogs, and I will miss watching you interact with them. You discovered you can actually feed them now, and that was a highly entertaining way to pass the time in your highchair. The dogs did not mind one bit!

You're starting to enjoy things like slides and toys at the park, although you spend most of the time watching what the other kids are doing trying to figure out how to join in. You're also much more interested in going UP the slide, rather than down.

A waterfall in "the boneyard" at Animal Kingdom. It took a bit
but once you decided you wanted to play in the water
 you didn't want to stop.

I love that you are becoming much more interactive, even if you can't say exactly how you feel in words. You are full of smiles and laughs, and are constantly charming everyone you meet. Mimi used to call me her little bit of fluff and sparkle, and I'm catching a glimpse of what she may have meant as I look at you shine. How blessed we are to have your beautiful little spirit in our family.

Devin and "Auntie Dava"

xoxox,

Mom and Dad