11 months

You decided to celebrate turning 11 months old by waking up at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m. and throwing a fit when I tried to put you back to sleep (something that used to work). As a result, I was awake with you at 5:08 a.m. and could hardly believe that it was almost a year ago at that exact time that you were born. It was even harder to believe that I didn’t really mind the early wakeup call at all; it let me spend some extra time with you.

You started daycare this month, and it’s been a real mixed bag. I am back to work now on Monday-Wednesday-Friday, and will be back full time in April. You went to Cindy’s for just one hour on the first day. I cried my eyes out; you haven’t cried at all. You took to that first hour just fine, as you did to the two-hour stint on your next visit, the half-day after that and the full day when I started back to work. You seem to love it there. You like Cindy and you enjoy the new toys, the cats who will actually let you pet them (!!) and most of all, the camaraderie with the other kids. Cindy says you especially love lunchtime, when she pulls you up to her table in your highchair, and you are able to eat right alongside all the other kids (even happily munching on the same ham and potatoes that they eat). (We all know that if there’s food involved, you’re bound to be happy, right?? J) It’s kind of a mixed blessing for me. On the one hand, I love that you are so happy and comfortable there right off the bat. On the other, purely selfish hand, don’t you miss me even a little bit?

This week Cindy is away for March Break, and you have been staying at home with Grandma Dee, behaving just as well for her as you do for Cindy and me. You are Mr. Even Keel, never getting worked up about anything. Your grandma is loving this time with you, and I’m glad that you’re getting to know her better, too.

Our daytime routine has shifted a bit now because of my start back to work and your start to daycare. I get up early to go for a run or go to the gym, and I try to be home and ready for the day by the time you wake up at 7 a.m. The problem is that you have started waking up early now too… it’s the rare day that you actually sleep until then, and Chad has to try to keep you entertained until I come home to relieve him. You usually go to bed between 7:30 – 8 p.m. these days, and I try to leave the office as close to 4:30 as possible so that we can be home by 5 and have some playtime together.

This month you have been learning to do new things at a phenomenal rate. One month ago, on February 13th, you began to crawl. Ten days later, you started climbing the stairs when we went to visit my mom and dad. Both of these activities have kept you occupied for much of the month as you practise them over and over again. You are super speedy quick at getting into trouble, and we are slowly getting accustomed to being kept on our toes. In the last couple of weeks you have also learned how to wave bye-bye and how to clap your hands, both things that we have been trying to teach you for months – success at last! You have figured out that putting your Roll Arounds through the hole on the Jungle Treehouse will send them down the ramp and start the music. You know to pat the bunny in Pat the Bunny. You carry things around the house in your mouth as you crawl (did that one come from Captain??) And then there is the category of things you’ve learned how to do without any coaching from us at all, including some things we wish you had never discovered. Like taking a huge mouthful of milk from your sippy cup, holding it for a moment, and then letting it all dribble down your neck. Like throwing things from your highchair, and dropping things from it to feed Captain when you notice him below you. Like sticking your hands in the toilet. Arrgh.
This month we finally stopped squashing you into the baby tub, and started bathing you in the big tub. You love to be in there as it fills so you can play with the stream of water. Unfortunately, you also love the extra room to scoot around and try to stand up, both of which make me nervous! Another change I have noticed in you is that you seem much more confident than you used to be. You were never particularly clingy, but when we go out now you are much more likely to venture off on your own to investigate when something interests you; strangers don’t faze you as much; you interact more with other kids, rather than hanging back. You are also increasingly opinionated. Remember the trouble I had taking your picture with your teddy bear last month?… it was that much worse this time around, especially now that you’re crawling. I have tons of blurry snaps of you tossing the bear aside and high-tailing it out of the frame. This is how I wound up getting the shot: giving you something else to do (who’d have thought that having an extension cord to examine would help calm you down?) and sneaking the bear in when you weren’t looking.

One more month and we will have a one-year old. I am not as much in denial about that as I used to be. I may still get misty eyed when the day finally arrives, but not just out of sadness (and not just because I’m in tears of frustration trying to get one final photo of you and the bear); we’ll have one full, wonderful year under our belts. That’s definitely reason to celebrate.