11 Months!

This month's photo shoot went a lot smoother than last month's! I was uber prepared this time with toys and distractions (though I still found myself coming up with last minute ideas, like putting a colorful bucket on my head and hitting it to make funny noises- oh the things you do for a good picture!), and Drew was just in a better mood overall. We did have a little temper tantrum moment when I tried to take my necklace away from him (I have a scratch to prove it), but I'm pleased with some of the cute shots I got. I feel like you can see some of his personality. :)

The necklace- his "precious"

Wow!

And one of the best ones....

I caught him standing on his own!
Well, sort of... A few seconds earlier and he would have been...
here he's just trying to sit down

My cute little boy is standing on his own a little more frequently now. He's taken a few tentative steps solo. It won't be long before he's walking! He's very cautious though, I think he gets that from mom (I never learned to do cartwheels because I was always too scared of getting hurt). He walks while holding our hands, but as soon as you start to wiggle a finger free, he sits down. Most of the time when he's walking he's barely using us for support so I know he has the muscles and coordination. But it's okay, he can take his time because once he's walking he's not really my "baby" anymore, but a "toddler"!!

My favorite thing this month is that he copies EVERYTHING we do. Some of my favorite copy-cats:

Sticking our tongues out

Shaking our heads side to side

Scrunching our noses to make the huffy puffy face

Putting our hands up and going "yay!"

He's also getting better at understanding what we're saying:

When you say "headbutt" he rubs his forehead on yours (it's mostly a cute father-son thing, but Drew will do it with other people too)

He's learning to tilt his forehead towards you when you say "can I have a kiss?"

When you say "peek a boo" he'll pull his blanket over his head then quickly pull it down. Or, if he doesn't have a blanket, he'll go find one.

A few other cute things he's doing:

When he drops his sippy cup on the floor repeatedly, which I've "reprimanded" him for, he looks at me and says "ow" (no?) and shakes his head (see the picture labeled "wow" above- that's pretty much the exact face)

He likes to hand you things- whether it be toys or food. The other day he grabbed my hand and turned it over, then placed his peas in it, only to take them out again to eat them!

It's funny how I miss my tiny baby so much, and yet I love him more and more every day as he grows more interactive and makes me smile with all the silly things he does. Happy 11 months Drew!