11 months of pure joy

On Monday Colt turns 11 months old. Which means his first birthday is right around the corner. Completely out of character for me, I already have the date scheduled for this occasion AND am thinking about themes. It helps me avoid the pangs of sadness I feel about my baby growing up so fast!

This morning we had a grand ol' time with Colt and Daddy high-fiving. John says "Give me 5" and MOST of the time Colt will slap his hand and then start clapping because we go crazy with the "yays" and praise. But sometimes we say "Give me 5" and he immediately starts clapping without giving the 5 because he knows that's the routine.

SO. STINKIN'. CUTE.

So I've been thinking about that all day and it made me want to share a little about Colt at 11 months.

• He eats anything and everything, but has been particular about the amount in his mouth lately. We're finding spoonfuls of baked beans or corn means he'll spit it right out, but if we keep it to 2 or 3 pieces he'll go to town.
• He is a MASTER at peek-a-boo and "Where's Colt?". He loves to hold a blanket over his eyes and wait until we ask where he is. He starts to giggle then will pull it down so we can excitedly say "THERE he is!!". He will even do it with toys or wallets or anything around that he can "hide" behind.
• He's still doing the gangster crawl, with a healthy balance of bouncing on his bottom across the room to get around. He pulls up onto his knees, but still not a full standing position. But he SO wants to walk...
• He has found his voice...and uses it ALL THE TIME. He loves screaming just to scream, not because he's mad or anything. And he's babbling a lot like he's in a conversation. We love hearing him, and my favorite is that he talks in the car now so I feel like we're using that time for quality bonding while driving to daycare in the mornings!
• He has also discovered that if he doesn't like something, he can protest. He screams, whines a lot, and arches his back and stiffens up so we can't hold him without a fight. Fun times.
• He hates getting dressed, but we've found a middle ground of changing him on his changing table and there is less thrashing and gnashing of teeth. In fact, lately in the mornings he's been pretty quiet about it!
• Desperately needing shoes...he has one pair we always put him in for school because they stay on and are easy to move in. Our nephew, Mason, who is 8 years old saw them the other day and said "Whoa, did someone donate those shoes to you? They look really old and torn up." All I could do is laugh because he DOES need new shoes and I really DON'T want to shop for them! But, hey, if 8-year-olds are embarrassed for my son then I should be too!
• He loves opening and closing drawers and doors. We've had several smashed fingers but it doesn't deter him!
• We started using Huggies Overnight diapers and immediately stopped the overnight leaks. LOVE IT!
• He started sleeping in a cot at school instead of a crib, and apparently is sleeping much better that way. Break my heart that he's big enough to sleep on a cot!
• Still eating mostly baby food and some bottles. With only 2 teeth it's hard to make a meal out of table food! But we try to give him some at every meal...baby food is just so much easier!
• He has conversations with his teddy bear and hippo that sleep in his bed at night. Every morning we can hear him talking over the monitor, and we go in and his animals are lined up against the side of the crib while he is facing them and talking to them. He loves them and it's hard to leave them behind when it's time to get up!
• He's still doing awesome crafts and artwork in school. We have multiple prints of his hands and feet throughout the year turned into kitties, butterflies, caterpillars, bats, and ghosts. Can't wait to see what he does for Christmas!
• He can eat an entire ice cream bar or ice cream cone by himself. Boy loves ice cream...just like his Daddy!

I'm sure I'll think of more as we go, but for now those are the things that make me smile.