11 Months

More astonishing than Drew being 11 months old is the obvious fact that he will be 1 in less than a month.  It honestly does not feel possible that I have been a mom for almost a year.  I still don't feel like I know enough or am prepared enough to do this.  But every morning I walk into Drew's room and he gives me that sweet smile and stands up and puts his arms around my neck, I'm reminded that I don't have to know everything to do this right.

11 months is kind of anti-climatic in the fact department because I have no clue how much he weighs or how tall he is.  We don't own a scale so I can't even begin to guess what he weighs.  I do know that his size 3 diapers still fit and that is nice since we have quite a few on hand.  He is wearing 12 month (some 18 month) clothing and his 6-12 month clothes are getting young or flat out too small.  He hasn't thinned out but he doesn't look really chunky to me anymore.  Maybe that is because he is on the move or sound asleep....He rarely sits still anymore. He is crawling (fast), climbing, standing, cruising and pushing everywhere.  He can push his little reg wagon all over the house as long as it is in a straight line.  When he hits a wall/door/dog he stops and empties the wagon of all the toys while waiting on someone to turn it around.  He is still very interested in the air vents and we've only lost 1 ball and possibly 1 Old McDonald down the vent.  At least that is all we are aware of at the moment.  Speaking of balls, he loves any kind....basketball, football, ones that light up or have texture.  He can "throw" and "roll" (the 11 month old variety) and has actually engaged in a game of fetch with Maddie.  He also is loving anything with wheels.  Cars and trucks, big and small....he really digs 'em.  He likes his new drum from Louie and is starting to get the hang of what the drumsticks are for.  He tries to copy us when we do it but isn't super coordinated just yet.  He is starting a music class at the end of this month and I'm excited to see how that helps his development and coordination.  Really, Im just glad we have a fun activity to do together outside of the house that will (in the long run) be beneficial somehow.  As for Drew's "talking", it is what it is.  Babbling and sounds that probably mean something and are totally normal for his age.  No real words still, except for "Ba", "Ga", etc.  I think he understands WAY WAY more than we know because there are times when I'll say something to him and he responds correctly.  Crazy.  Of course there are also times where he "can't hear me at all" and totally ignores my request, "no" or whatever.  To say that I have a stubborn child on my hands is an understatement.  Thankfully that stubborn behavior is complemented with his very sweet and laid back personality.  We've experimented with food quite a bit this month and so far so good.  He handles textures fairly well and is getting better and better with finger foods.  The less the food is pureed, the longer it takes for him to chew and swallow so he gets bored quicker and doesn't want it.  I haven't figured out when to just stop with the baby food but I want to wait until he has more teeth before I give them up.  So far, his fav "real" foods are waffles, toast, ground beef, cheese, rice, yogurt, mandarin oranges, bananas, mango and pears. He loves the "green" puffs (kale, spinach, collards) and enjoys a small sippy cup of water after a meal.  He isn't walking yet, but acts like he doesn't really care.  I think he COULD, but isn't overly interested.  I'm not concerned as I know he will in time.  For now, I'll cherish the dirty knees on his pants knowing that he isn't growing up too fast.

All in all, its been a great month....Christmas, New Years, his Dad's birthday.  Today, for the first time in a LONG time, we are at home with NOTHING to do. Literally, nothing.  So nice.  Drew is playing, I'm blogging and David is cutting Maddie's hair.  I hope I can find some time on a regular basis to have "nothing" to do except reflect on how awesome our little boy is.