11/12 -- 1st birthday, here Lee comes!

DSLR is still on the fritz, so we have another batch of crappy iPhone photos for this month's post.

We've got one happy little guy on our hands, and soon he will be one year old! I can't even believe that. He's still refusing to walk, but he climbs up our two flights of stairs in about 20 seconds flat. We're pretty sure he's just stubborn and doesn't want to walk. Little stinker!

Talk about stubborn. Mr. Attitude is going to give us a run for our money as he gets older. We are 100% sure of that.

Lately he has been more snuggly and loving than ever before. He loves to lay down with us and give us big hugs and kisses. He also loves swim lessons. He is a pro and is learning to kick his little feet and splash around. The cutest thing (in my opinion) is when he goes underwater and then when he's turned around to face the wall he tries to climb out so that he can do it again. It's just so much fun to see him do new things and explore the world around him. He loves grass and being outside. He's not afraid of anything, so far as we can tell, but he has yet to take any major falls (no jinxes!).

He has 3 top teeth and two on the bottom. He's great at throwing a ball and it's officially one of his favorite things to do. That and riding on a wheel-less skateboard. 

He likes the sound of my voice and has been dancing lately when I sing or we listen to music. He also loves to dance with me (when I hold him in my arms and swing him around). I love, love, love dancing with him! We really hope that he likes music and instruments when he is older.

Hmm, what else is new? He's a major talker and we try to keep him talking whenever we are with him. It's hard in groups because socializing with adults takes priority, but when we're home, in the car, or on the go - like grocery shopping - we try to keep a conversation going with him. He knows a lot of words, but regularly uses only a few. We hear "mama", "nana", "dada", "papa", "num num", "more" ,"hi", "oh!", and "book" most frequently. We have also heard him say, "I love you" and "goodmorning" (which we practice every morning and in the car), "diaper", "Angie", and "block". We keep a little sticky note with a running list in his room, but it's up there and I'm down here, so I am not going to go get it. I think there are a couple more, but we can live without them for now. He likes to play silent baby when we're in larger groups, so you'd never know that this kid just gabs all day long.

He loves to be swung around like crazy, wheelbarrowed across the room, play telephone with his play phone (or a remote control), be pushed on his horse toy, to have us tap his mouth while he says "ahhhhhh!!!" and to read his books. He's just a one of a kind kid and we love him to death!!

We're down from three 8 oz bottles a day to three 4 oz bottles, but he has to eat a sizable amount more than we're used to. It's a challenge, but we're learning. He'll eat anything and everything, and right now his favorites are cottage cheese, yogurt, peas, and tofu with any kind of sauce on top.

We've made it 11 months without resorting to TV, and I'm very proud of that. Not sure when he will take an interest in it, but we're happy that we aren't quite there yet.

Happy 11 months to my little dude. We love him so!!

Kels