Elevensies

The Manling reached the eleventh month yesterday. I am absolutely dumbfounded thinking about how he has changed over the course of the last year and that his birthday is 4 weeks away.

This month was interesting in many ways. Physically, the Manling stands for a few seconds at a time, "falling" to the floor to crawl away with softer and softer thumps. He will cruise along any stationary object, and when entranced by getting his little mitts on taboos items such as the remote control, cell phones, car key/alarm remote, or Xbox controller will sometimes stand on his own for up to 10 seconds at a time.

He has learned the signs for UP, and perhaps ALL DONE, but still hasn't shown me NURSE, CAT, EAT, WATER, or CUP. He has been eating lots of table foods, but will gag and choke and cough and finally vomit when he gets a slightly big chunk of any Stage 3 baby foods. It's almost as if he thinks it's a waste of his time to be eating the 3s: "give me the real stuff or don't bother." He shakes his head vigorously back and forth to indicate I should not feed him whatever tasty morsel I'm trying not to shove down his throat at the time, and also shakes his head like that while laughing like a little game where I'm assuming he likes the way his view changes rapidly. Sleeping has been great this month with most nights hitting the hay around 8ish and waking up once anywhere between 3:30 and 6:30 am, and falling back to sleep until about 9am.

Verbally, I think he pulls out MAMA and UH-OH with each meaning what they say, with DADA coming out very rarely. We've had a few poops and pees in his little potty when I've been so lucky as to put him on it when he has to go. He will sit on the pot for a few minutes at a time but I don't think he knows what he's really supposed to be doing there. We moved it out of his room and into the bathroom and let him watch us as we both go. Mark is of course even more thrilled he doesn't have a lock on the bathroom door now. Speaking of doors, the Manling's favorite activity is opening and shutting things: books, doors, windows, and the dog crate.,Climbing up stairs is also a fun activity for the little guy.

I went to the Denver Public Library's used book sale and got about 30+ videos, CDs, and board- and story-books to add to our collection. I think the Manling is behind in his verbal learning. I am very introverted and can go a whole day not pointing out things to him. He doesn't point whatsoever and I feel very guilty like I'm starving his little brain. I never really enjoyed reading baby books to him and pointing out every little object; I read A Series of Unfortunate Events to him for his bedtime stories.

He has reached the 48 week growth spurt/sleep regression and is being a pain in the butt lately: needy during the day, nursing every.waking.second, and night sleep has also been disrupted. But I know this too will pass, and relish each minute spent with my little Manling. Watching him explore this big wide world with a smile for everyone but still coming back to the safety of my arms is my most favorite thing ever.