11 1/2 Months

Our little guy is eleven months old now. Actually, he is exactly two weeks shy of being a year old. This last year has just gone by at warp speed. With recently moving here and house projects galore, not to mention keeping up with his big brother and sister, we have been wrapped up in one thing after another. The funny thing is, despite going through the busiest time in our lives in the last year-and-a-half, we really both feel like we have cherished Andrew's babyhood and loved everything about it. The things that seemed like a big deal when Hannah and Hudson were babies just weren't even a big deal to us me with Andrew (Daddy is a cool cucumber and isn't bothered by much of anything). Some might say that we are just seasoned parents by now. I wouldn't. I just think we realize how fast these milestones fly by and have learned to better take in the small moments, the little things like the faces Andrew makes when he's concentrating, how he waves his arms, holds his breath, and holds his mouth wide open when he's really excited, the perseverance he has when learning new things, the way he will crawl across the whole room when  his "Let's Rock Elmo" is singing just to push him over and laugh.....every single time. We love how truly excited he gets when he sees Daddy home from work and how he whines until he picks him up, and then there's how happy he is to play with his brother and sister. I love how he squeezes me tight and lays his head on my shoulder when I pick him up from his crib after a nap and how he smiles really big and makes a funny face at me when he catches me watching him play. 

Those months of interrupted sleep and nursing/feeding woes were so worth it and I was sad to see them go because those middle-of-the-night feedings were so special to me, holding him close and settling him, knowing I was the only one who could do it. It was so bittersweet to see it end. But, as sleeping all night came so did other milestones, each one signaling his infanthood slipping away. It's so sad, yet I am so proud of every new accomplishment. 

And those milestones are just flying at us these days. 

He loves pushing cars, balls, or anything that will roll or slide across the floor. Many times, he will follow it crawling  along. 

Andrew is standing all the time now. It is his preferred way to play. On December 31st, he took his first two steps! A few days later he was up to six in a row. Now he's up to about eight in a row when he tries to make his way across the room. And that is often. He does not like for me to hold on to him anymore. Just a week ago he would only take steps on his own if I was sitting on the floor holding my hands out to him. Now, he wants to just take off on his own. He lets go all the time and tries to walk. I'm expecting he might be walking exclusively by his birthday. I guess we'll see how brave he is. He's pretty determined to do it. 

He's taking his first few steps!!!

He can also bend down and pick up things while he's standing and balance himself enough to stand right back up. It's pretty impressive. Of course that's the proud mama saying that.

He can throw a ball or toss just about anything really well. He loves to throw things! 

And, we're pretty sure he's going to be a lefty like his big brother. He always throws left-handed. 

It's so cute to see him crawl around the room pushing a ball, or car, or any other toy that will slide across the carpet. 

He loves his Daddy!

And he loves playing with anything that Hannah and Hudson leave out, like the scooter. 

One major praise we have is that he seems to have no food allergies!!!

I took him for testing the day after Christmas, and besides his lack of enthusiasm for being held down laying face down flat across my lap for fifteen very long minutes (while we waited for the allergens to react on his back), he did very well. He sure is an easy-going little guy.

I thought for sure he would react to eggs at least, since Hannah and Hudson both were allergic until about age three. But, there were no reactions at all. Praise the Lord there were no nut allergies either. I can't even explain how hard it is to have to deal with a nut allergy. There are so many products out there with nut warnings. Poor Hannah can't even have birthday cake, cookies, or any other treat made in store bakeries. I bake, a lot. I have prayed since the day I found out I was pregnant that he would not have a nut allergy and it seems my prayers were answered. I feel very excited and grateful. Now, the allergist wanted to do a blood test to confirm, but I didn't want to put him through getting his blood drawn for a negative test. So, I plan to try him with eggs before his birthday and keep him away from nuts until he is two or three to be sure.

While we were at the allergist he stood on the scale all by himself  for a weight. He weighs 27 pounds! It's no wonder I have arm pain. 

Just for my records:

He wears mostly 12-18 month clothes, a size 3 diaper, and a size 4.5 shoe. He is wearing some Pedipeds now that he is walking some, and they are too cute!

He still takes two naps, but I may try to cut him down to one soon. He took just one the other day and it was so nice to have three hours to get some things done while the boys were asleep! Right now, I have no time during the day when they are both asleep at the same time. 

He feeds himself Puffs really well and loves his sippy cup, especially with cold water, but he did not like the mashed potatoes with whole peas in them that I tried the other day. I also gave him some tiny chunks of fresh apple and he tolerated them, but spit them out. So, it looks like we'll be doing baby food for a little while longer. 

He still drinks formula out of a bottle- 28 ounces a day. He seems content with that. 

He goes to bed at 7:00 or 7:30 and wakes between 7:00 and 8:30 in the morning, mostly before eight. 

He's still a happy, laid-back, flexible, silly, adventurous boy, and we are looking forward to celebrating his birthday in two weeks!