ELEVEN months!

Happy Eleven Months to Nolan! Hard to believe there's only one more month til the big 1 year mark!

11 Months Old!

Big Boy!

  The floor photos didn't go so well this month. Nolan wanted nothing to do with laying on his back and wanted to immediately flip over to his stomach. I only got a few shots off (with him looking cranky) before he flipped each time! The chair photos were also a challenge as Nolan was trying to scoot off the chair constantly. Add a swivel/glide chair to the equation and it is scary! One more month to go :)

Cranky kid on his back

Progression

And now my favorite part - the out-takes! These are almost all in the chair since the floor shoot was so unsuccessful. Nolan was having a grand old time on the chair this month!

Don't jump!

Why are you so freaked out, mom?

So sneaky!

This is so fun!

You think this distraction is going to stop me from jumping off the chair?

Maybe I'll just throw it off the edge!

Wait, this thing is kinda cool...

Don't touch the monkey

Fake smile

Snack time

What's up George?

OMG!

His smile melts my heart.

And now the uphill battle shoot on the floor...

Miserable.

Muuuuch Better!

So much fun on my tummy

Now I'm happy!

11 Month Notables:

• Crawling: Not really - he's more of a butt scooter. He can get pretty far doing this (especially on smooth surfaces!) We definitely think he's strong enough to crawl on his stomach, but prefers to be sitting up while moving.
• Walking: He's getting SO CLOSE. He's pushing his walker with some speed and completely unassisted. He loves to switch from walker to walker (we have 2 - one was a hand-me-down). He can also walk pretty well with us holding just one of his hands. Check out the video below!

• Eating: We're incorporating a lot more "finger foods" now, and he's doing great. I have a lot less fear of him choking now as he's gotten better at chewing. His favorites are still carbs (bagels, puffs, rice rusks, mini wagon wheel pasta), but we've also started adding fruits and veggies. He loves peas, but isn't yet into bananas or blueberries. He also loves scrambled eggs! He is getting picky with his purees (he wants to be more independent and not be fed), but will still take them at daycare. The plan is to add more and more finger foods to get ready for him to switch totally to table food at 1.
• Sippy Cup: Nolan's getting to be a pro at the straw sippy cup. He's also gotten down the spout kind, but I think it's confusing for him to be given both since one he has to tip back and the other not. I think we'll stick to the straw since it's easier to transition away from the sippy cup that way (straws are always available in restaurants, etc).
• Teeth: Nolan's got 6 teeth now! Two on the bottom, front four on top. The tops are still coming in fully - it's so different to see his toothy smile (but adorable!) He's still drooling like crazy so I wouldn't be surprised if more are on their way.
• Ears: Nolan had an AWESOME stretch of consistent 12 hour nights for about 2 weeks after his ear surgery. Then he got a stomach bug and was kind enough to share it with us (thanks kid!) and then he got another ear infection. Luckily now we can treat it with ear drops, which are much easier to administer. We're still finishing up the round, but at least we know for sure when he gets one now due to his ear drainage and can treat it right away. He's been waking up super hungry as well, so he may be going through a growth spurt - we're trying to incorporate more calories in during the day so he can make it longer at night without being hungry.
• Favorite activities: Nolan is obsessed with doors right now. He will scoot over to any open door and close it. He gets very excited when he accomplishes this task. The only scary part is he sometimes grabs near the hinge and could easily crush his fingers so we constantly have to watch him and close nearby doors so he doesn't hurt himself. A fun activity is for me to hold him and let him swing doors closed. Along the same lines, he also loves being able to turn off the light switches. He is so amused when i let him flip the switch and the lights go off! As seen above, his favorite toy is his walker! He also loves anything he can shake to make noise (maracas, bells, etc).

Nolan's birthday party will be the weekend after Easter! It's so crazy that he's been with us for almost a year. I've been spending a lot of time looking back at photos/videos in preparing for the party, and it is really incredible how much a baby changes over such a short period of time. I'm very thankful I took the time away to maintain the blog so I can always look back at the different periods of Nolan's development. Any future children are doomed to be constantly compared ;)