Eleven!!!!

I can suddenly understand why parents tell you the age of their baby in months.  I always found it confusing - how am I supposed to know how old 16 months is without having to do some comparative math in my head?  Surely it is just easier to say "almost one and a half" or "he turned one last month."

But I don't want to say "one."  Please, don't make me tell you that my baby is a whole year old.  Can we just pretend, that by calling him an age in months alone, that he is still a little baby?  Please?

One sounds big.  Too big.  One sounds like soon we will have a walking, talking person on our hands.  And in our cupboards and climbing onto our chairs and getting his first black eye when that coffee table just gets in the way...

But not yet.  This month we still have a baby.  An eleven month old crawling, babbling baby.  A baby who claps as soon as he hears "if you're happy and you know it..."  Even when he is most decidedly not happy.  Even when he is actually screaming because he is so unhappy, he will still clap his hands.  

This month we have a baby whose favorite mode of transport is clinging to your fingers as you guide him around the house on two feet.  If you let go of him, he will balance on his own for approximately twenty seconds before bumping down onto his cute padded butt.  And if he is standing when he hears music or sees something that makes him especially happy, he'll bend his knees in a bouncy little dance and let out a cackle laugh that sounds a little like Woody the Wood Pecker.

Sorry kid, you're a little tall to fit under there now!

The precursor to walking.

Hey!  What's up there?

This month we have my parents visiting from Virginia.  We have Memay and Granpa to play with and to rescue us from our crib after naptime, when we are oh so happy to see them.  We have someone to share toast with us at breakfast time, and to give us a different present every day.  Phones and bikes and books and clothes.  Next time Memay and Granpa come to town, we're putting up a Christmas Tree. 

So until next month,

Love,
A Momma and her baby