11 Months

Oh my sweet boy,

Eleven months! We're nearly to one, and I can hardly believe my baby is growing into a little boy. It seems like just yesterday you slept in the crook of my arm, waking every few hours with a grunt, drowsing and nursing the day away. And now, look at you: crawling, cruising, waving, babbling, dancing, and more!

This past month has been a lot of fun, watching you learn new tricks with each passing week. You love to entertain us with every trick, blowing raspberries at the dinner table, waving bye-bye as we leave a room, throwing your sippy cup from the table, or bobbing your head to a tune.

We finished a good eleven-month run of nursing this week. You weaned like a champ, taking bottles easily and happily. First thing in the morning, you still wake up snuggly and warm, burying your face in my neck or shoulder as we walk from your room downstairs. In the past week you've started giving "kisses," and I can't get enough of those slobbery, sweet, open-mouth loves. I'm proud of making it this far, and though I will miss those tender cuddly moments I know that, for now, I can count on you returning time and again, throwing yourself into my arms, looking for a hug, reassurance, or just to check in.

Now that you've finished nursing we start each morning immediately with a meal. You are serious about food...grapes, tangerines, broccoli, green beans, bread, cheese, yogurt, crackers, milk, juice, blueberries, avocado, banana, turkey, chicken, potatoes, pizza--you will eat anything we put in front of you! Because you're moving all the time these days, you are eating A LOT of calories to fuel that busy body. This past month we watched in awe as you finished a Boppa-sized plate of roast beef, carrots, and potatoes. Amazing.

You are obsessed with anything on wheels. Maddie's mini cooper calls to you from the garage and you can't resist her siren song. When you've disappeared, I often find you standing up next to the car in the garage, beeping the horn, grunting at me as if to say, "Come on, Mom! Let's get rollin'!" You love to ride around on the tricycle next to Maddie on her bike. If we are playing with our friends you will explore and investigate every inch of their big kid bikes and scooters.

You are a bona fide explorer boy with no respect for natural boundaries. I can put two chairs side by side in order to prevent you from crawling into the side yard, only to return a few minutes later to find you halfway through the barrier, hips stuck in an impossibly small crack, grunting and rocking forward with fierce determination. You love to climb and can scale staircases almost faster than I can chase. The playground is all kinds of fun now that you can make your way to the tippity top.

Your sense of adventure matches your sister's and it is a joy (and sometimes a scare) to watch you follow after her, keeping up surprisingly well. I get these small glances into the years to come, seeing the two of you side by side, laughing and bouncing, and it makes my heart smile.

I know this month is going to fly by. We're in party planning mode now, preparing for a bash to top all bashes in honor of your first birthday. A racecar theme is especially appropriate considering you are always on the move. If I could figure out a way to put the brakes on, I would, just for a moment, to capture you at this stage, as in the above picture, frozen in time with that impossibly sweet smile, full head of silky soft hair, large hands, larger thighs, a "tubby" boy of unbelievable charm. Happy 11 months, Samuel Benjamin.

I love you.

Love,

Mama