[T.A.C. 11 months old]

Well, we all made it through the 10 month sleep regression (some of us just barely). Little man is now 11 months old, and almost ONE!

He still delights in sticking his tongue between his lips when he's thinking or working extra hard on something. He's crawls at light speed for an open bathroom door, for his big brother, or if he's being "chased" by any of us. He loves to laugh at mom, dad, Lee, Angie and Axel. Still a huge fan of jumping in his crib, and now on Lee's trampoline and on top of his push and pull walker toy (an elephant on wheels with a bouncy seat). He's usually getting into some mischief. 

Cruising 24/7 now and working toward walking. We keep finding him standing on his own without holding on to anything. As soon as he sees that you've noticed he flashes a HUGE smile, and then plops onto his butt. Must concentrate fully on the task at hand, ha!

Still zero teeth. Still eating everything in sight. Still drinking his bottles. That'll end soon. We'll see how it goes transitioning to milk and only his sippy cup. 

Sleeps through the night FINALLY!!!!, unless he has skipped a meal during the day (usually that happens if we have been on the go all day). In that case, he wakes for a bottle and goes back to sleep. Lately, he's been sleeping 7:30 or 8pm to anywhere betwen 8:30 and 10am. Still napping like a champ during the day.  

So what have I learned from this little guy? 

He's taught me to be more patient, more loving, more willing to slow down and enjoy the moment. He's taught me to be a better mother for him and for Leeland. He's helped me learn that perfection isn't everything. Sometimes just showing up is enough. You do your best, but you don't have to be the best. Yes, a baby has taught me this. 

All children are different. They have their own personalities. They grow and change and do things at their own speeds. Thomas and I have had our own journey together, totally separate from my journey as a mom with Lee. As these worlds begin to intersect more and more I am becoming a happier person with more love to give to those around me. Not even sure where I'm going with this. Just happy to say that Thomas is my little guy. I hope he loves me as much as I love him. He does seem to need his mom a little more than Lee ever did at this age. I've come to realize that is a gift, not a burden. I just love him so much. I am really enjoying watching him grow and change, especially the last couple of months. He is just everything!

Enjoys talking, talking, talking. He will say just about anything if you say it enough times. His list of words has grown. Here's what I can think of at this moment, which of course is not a very long list:

Dada, mama, brother, Batman, No, No!, Uh oh!, So big!, rawwwrr!, hi, baba (bottle), ball, stop!, Angie, Geegee (my grandma), num num (foooooood!).

Likes to clap, raise his arms for so big, skate around the house on daddy's skateboard, play "catch" with papa Ed, play peek a boo, and 1, 2, 3 BOO!, be chased and to swim, swim, swim. He's a water baby for sure, and loves the ocean as passionately as his mom does! We played in the sand and surf for Nana's birthday a couple weeks ago until our bodies were all but coated in sand. It was a blast!

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Tom wouldn't sit still for this month's photos, so these are basically blurry screenshots of a wild morning. Enjoy the photo of the back arch tantrum. Little stinker!!

Kels