11 Months!

Dear Elliot,
Happy 11 months Baby Boy! Your infant days are quickly coming to an end and I am pretty much in shock that I am going to have a toddler next month.

There was simply no getting you to sit for a photo this month--you are all about the standing! 

You started standing on your own a week or two ago and are up to taking about two steps (unassisted) at a time. You'll start to walk toward whatever it you're after, and then be like "screw this, crawling's so much faster" and drop to your hands and knees. I have a feeling it's only a matter of days until you're full-on walking though. It's so crazy to think that last year at this time you were squirming around in my belly and now you are about to walk. 

Yep, my son rocks pink pants :)

You are loving doing more communicating, especially with your hands. You wave at everything (people and inanimate objects just the same), move your fingers around to "twinkle twinkle little star" and throw your fist up in the air when we say "victory!!" 

You say "mama" pretty consistently now and say "dadadada" for Dad. You do this funny "um um um" sound when you're eating something you really like that I'm pretty sure can be loosely translated to "yum." 

You give the cutest open-mouth, slobbery kisses, but they are reserved only for me (and occasionally your Glow Worm baby or your own reflection in the mirror). 

You are totally obsessed with books. You'll have a room full of toys and go straight for the books. You've started showing a preference for certain books and will push away titles you don't feel like listening to when we try to read them to you. Lately you have been especially into books with flaps you can open and close. Current favorites are Bugs in a Box, Actual Size and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

You really like being around other babies/kids. I started taking Tuesdays completely off of work so we have been doing lots of fun play dates with your BFF, Hunter. You also love going to ECFE (early childhood family education), aka "school" on Thursday nights. I just enrolled you in once a week (3 hours) day care at the local community center so you can have a bit of socialization time. You start Monday!

It's really the greatest joy I've ever felt getting to be your mama and watch you grow up. I hope you know how incredibly loved and cherished you are (not just by me and your dad--you really lucked out in the grandparent department too!)

I love you Bubs!

XOXO,

Mom

Ps. I have a couple new articles up at my About.com Baby Shoes site! If you are thinking about buying your baby their first pair of walking shoes soon, check out Buying Babies' First Walking Shoes; it has info on figuring out your child's shoe size, what to look for in a good fit and more.

Also, you all know I love finding a good bargain, so I wrote up a list of some of my favorite places to find quality baby shoes on a budget. Check it out here.

Lastly, here are some fun ways of incorporating baby shoes in photos!