Eleven...

... is the number of months it takes for you to step back as a mom and realize 'Oh crap, my baby is really leaving.' It was the hardest time for me when Chaselyn hit that milestone, and it's hitting hard again. But this time, I still have a lot of my little fella left to love. Jacob is being nice to Mommy and not actually walking yet. We know he could if he just put his mind to it. But he'd rather speed crawl from one room to another in stealth mode. He thinks standing by himself is one of the most fun games to play. His record is about 10 seconds before he starts laughing and dives for my lap. We've also caught him free standing by some of his favorite pull up spots, but as soon as he realizes what he's doing he grabs back on to the prop or gets down and crawls after whatever distracted him enough to let go in the first place.

So, in that respect he's still a little guy (especially compared to Chaselyn who was walking at 10.5 months). But as far as his appetite goes, he's quite the mature little man. He still takes baby food (stage 3) for breakfast and lunch (primarily because he's still in the babies class at daycare). But for dinner, he wants the good stuff. Hot dogs, carrots, ravioli, pasta, beef, lunch meat, green beans, pretty much anything you put in front of him, he'll scarf down in a matter of minutes. Double fisting handfuls of tasty treats and over stuffing his mouth is a nightly show. Maybe he thinks if he doesn't eat it fast we're going to give him some more of that yucky baby food. I don't know, but the boy loves to feed himself.

Jacob likes to play with puzzles and by play I mean gnaw on them. He is also a fan of finding the most obscure, unsafe, tiny item in the house and stick it immediately into his mouth. He still loves electrical cords of all varieties. He has developed good climbing skills which serves him well when trying to be a danger to himself and everyone around him. His favorite place to go is into the bathroom. Usually he goes straight for the tub. I think he would stay in the bath all the time if we would let him, but we can't because he is the squirmiest, slipperiest little booger in the world. Only once has he succeeded in playing in the toilet. We also think he's intrigued by the awesome animal decor in the bathroom. Another favorite hang out is Chaselyn's room. There's all kinds of toys and stuff to get into. There's also a slide in there for a good time.

We're currently working on 'bye-bye'. He says 'Ma-ma-ma-ma' in his insistent angry voice and 'Da' in his sweetest little loving voice. It's not fair, but I'm the one he calls for comfort, so that gives me the warm fuzzies.

We still have some issues with sleeping and drinking. Thankfully he seems to be back to sleeping from about 8pm to 6:30am. He also has a morning and afternoon nap. When he's home, I try to make him stay awake until about 10:30 or so before his morning nap. That way, I can usually get 15-20 minutes of overlap time in his nap and Chaselyn's nap. On average he probably sleeps for about 1.25 hours. Afternoon nap is around 3:30pm and lasts about 1.5 hours. He still doesn't care for a bottle unless he is tired. I can usually find some way to get him about 20 oz. in a day, but that's generally lower than what he should have. We're working on switching to sippy cups and in only one short month, we'll be switching to the Moo juice.

This past month was full of fun and family. We kicked off the month with our trip to Indy to see friends. And last week we got a visit from Ducky & CrawDad for the first half of the week and a visit from Papa, Granny, and Aunt Rachel for the second half of the week. We made a trip to the zoo with each group. Jacob liked the fish the best. He had lots of play time with all of his fans and some good snuggles too.

Jacob,
It is happening, you are growing up. You are going to be one year old in just a few short weeks. It is amazing to watch you grow and develop. We appreciate every little new glimpse into your forming mind. Your smile absolutely melts our hearts and your beautiful blue eyes shine extra bright in the spring sunlight. We like to lay claim (and sometimes place blame) on each other saying 'That's my boy!' or 'That's your boy!' You are your Daddy's son in that you do not seem to enjoy sleep, you know just the right time to crack a smile to make Mommy more happy, and you just do those things that boys do. You are your Mommy's boy in that you love snacks and munchies, you demand attention from those who love you most, and you love to climb and explore even when it's not so safe. We love you for all of these reasons. And we hope that the more of us that we see in you, the more you take on the good qualities and forget the not so wonderful ones. We are looking forward to celebrating your 1st birthday and can't wait to follow along on your continuing adventure. 

We love you son!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy