11 month letter

Dear Jackson,

You are 11 months old. Almost a year old. Are you still considered a baby? I know you have to grow up, but you will always be my baby.

A few days ago, you sprouted your first top tooth. I think others will come along soon. You've had some angst lately, and have been screaming a lot for no particular reason it seems, but maybe its those pesky teeth. Let's blame them.

Your favorite thing to do this month is to climb on things. Hoist your body up by grabbing hold of the toy box, reaching up to the edge of the coffee table and using your upper body strength to get up on your knees, discovering the entertainment center and all of the neat shelves that hold electronics with buttons for you to push (we've since rearranged things a bit).

You still prefer to get around my low-crawling- dragging your little body across the floor using your arms and bunching your legs up. You are like an inch worm. With the way you are starting to pull up on things, I think you might likely skip crawling up on all fours and go from low-crawling to walking. Although, your sister didnt walk until 15 months, and I think it will still be quite some time before you get so brave.

You are a BIG eater. You start the day off with a toasted blueberry waffle, and then a Yo Baby yogurt. Sometimes you have a graham cracker for a mid-morning snack and then a bowl of rice cereal and mashed banana for lunch. Finger snacks and possibly yogurt after your nap, and then cereal and a veggie at dinner time. You nurse still, but not for any great length of time. You might not really care to continue nursing, but Jaxy- I am not done yet.

You've decided that your day needs to start earlier than it did a month ago. You prefer to get up between 7-7:30am, and no amount of convincing gets you back to sleep. So we get up. Around noon, you usually realize that getting up earlier means getting tired earlier in the day, but nooo nooo Little Man! We fight thru the eye rubbing and you go down for your afternoon nap at 1pm, just like your sister. Mama enjoys that quiet time.

After sleeping in a playpen for the past 3 months, your crib arrived recently and you adjusted well to being back in it. I think you are still curious as to what kind of containment device it is, but sometimes in the morning you wake up all cheery, and spend some time talking to yourself and rolling around in your bed. So, you must like it.

You are able to sit up unattended now. You dont prop yourself up from a laying position into a sitting position, instead you grab onto something higher up, pull yourself onto your knees, and then plop your bottom down. You have your own way about you.

I am going to relish this last month of you being a baby. My little Jaxy boo, pumpkin bottom, bo-berry biscuits, Jaxy Man (as Emma calls you).

I love you,

Mama

(11 month photo shoot tomorrow)