Ugg! Month 11 has come and gone and I am just now getting to this! Henry turned 11 months old on 1/26 while we were visiting friends in Knoxville. I took these pictures as soon as we got back, and let me just say that it is getting harder and harder to get a good picture now that Henry is so active! If you could only see all the blurry pictures there were just to get these few decent ones you would be amazed! Henry thinks these chairs are trampolines or something now! This update will be brief, but I will do my best to hit the highlights yet again....
Eating-same as 10 months, plus more finger foods like goldfish,tortilla, beans, occasional chips, and willing to try casserole type food we are eating. He loved some potato soup I made. Overall, baby food is still kind of a task to get down him and, especially at night, he needs to be distracted to eat:) Steven is becoming a master at this! Yogurt, banana, and cheerios are still our go-to foods. He does not pick up food that I put on his tray unless it is a carb like puffs or cheerios. If it is "real" food he just picks and pokes at it with his little pointer finger. Hopefully he will latch onto real food soon! Sippy is getting easier, although he never chugs it or anything. The best thing about that has been that since he has learned the sippy he has also learned to eat from those baby food pouches which I LOVE! There are times when those just come in handy. He can even hold them if I get them started for him. He generally accepts them when they're offered.
Playing-oh, this boy can play! In addition to all the old "regular" stuff he plays with, one of his new favorite things to do is open drawers and pull everything out of them. The two drawers under the TV (DVD drawer and diaper drawer) are his favorites to empty! I have to remind myself that this is actually a skill he is learning, but the mess drives me bonkers! Henry also loves the bathroom....getting into the trash (sigh), unrolling the toilet paper (double sigh) and standing at the tub are wonderful for some reason. After I get ready in the morning we rush out of the house with the bathroom in shambles! He still "runs" away from us when we come to get him away from something he is not suppose to have (ie-Maggie's bowl). He will shake his head side to side like "no" and grin. He so knows what he is doing!
Speaking of the "no" headshake, that is a regular around here. He usually does it with a big grin on his face. At first, I think he liked the feel of it, but now I think he actually connects the word/meaning "no" with the motion. He occasionally does "yes", too, but not nearly as much as no.
Henry is proficient at signing more and all done. At the beginning of the month, he was repeating "uh-oh" but now he actually uses it appropriately when something is dropped! It is so neat to see him make this connection. He has also made the connection with "more" beyond just asking for food. He loves to listen to me sing in the car, and I was singing his favorite "Wheels on the Bus". When it was over I said all done, and he signed it. Then he started to fuss, and I asked him if he wanted more and he signed it with a big grin on his face. When it was over again, I didn't have to ask him the question, he just signed it for more without being prompted! Seems little to most, but it was so special for this momma! Of course I thought he was so smart:) I want to work on "please" now, especially for him to ask to be picked up, because right now he just crawls over, pulls up on our leg, and fusses.
Henry is crawling, pulling up, and cruising all the time. He lets go quite often and just stands, but when we try to hold his hands and walk with him, he is not interested. He just wants to plop down and crawl. He also doesn't like it that we are holding his hands and he fusses and pulls for us to let go (stinker). He stands at his push toys all the time, but never actually walks with them. Honestly, we don't push it too hard-I know that when he walks it will be a lot more work for me!:)
He imitates a lot of what we do now-a growl, a pop sound with our mouth, sticking tongue out, and zerbert noises, too! It is adorable, but hard to describe in words. He is so social and always waving at people and grinning when we are out, then putting his head down like he is embarrassed afterward, then repeating this over and over. The ladies love him! Last week at the grocery store a mom was talking to her kids saying, "Look at the baby!" and the little boy (about 4 years old) looked right at me and said, "Your baby is SO cute!" It was sweet since kids are so honest I knew he really meant it:) Another time at the grocery this month an older lady and Henry were making eyes at each other over and over and he was doing his shy grinning thing, and she just ate it up and afterward as she was walking out she said, "He just made my day! He is so sweet!" He also points at everything and uses his pointer finger all the time. He waves "bye-bye" as we leave school and waves all the way down the hall, and into the parking lot whether people are around to say goodbye to or not! I love his sweet little sociable, nosy personality.
His bedtime routine has a new element of being thrown around on our bed and flown around like an airplane by Daddy, then dropped on the soft bed. He laughs and laughs and it is super cute. Riles him all up, but he still conks out no problem after eating:)
Henry is loving books all the more this month, and he especially loves the ones where he can pull the flaps down himself. He also loves the touch and feel ones and knows right where to put his fingers to feel the fur, etc. of the animals in the book. I love reading with him.
On the negative, Henry definitely lets us know if he is not happy about something and throws a little "fit" when something is taken away from him that he wants. Also, if he wants Mama, no one else will do. He especially needs me first thing in the morning, and cries until Steven gives him to me. I know it won't last, so I try to just enjoy it:) Henry also squirms and fusses when he gets his diaper changed the majority of the time. He twists and it is so hard for me to change him! He doesn't love getting his clothes changed or his face wiped, either. Of course, when he has just woken up and is well rested this is much less dramatic than when he is tired.
Henry has had his first ear infection this month...bummer. It came 1/12 and we had to go back to the ped 2 days later for stronger meds. I hope this will not be a recurring issue.
Well, this is certainly not everything, but it will have to do for now. My "short" update is not so short after all!
We love you sweet boy! Your 11th month has been a ball! :)
