11 Months

Happy 11 Months Joe!!

 

Weight - 19 lbs 7 oz (27th Percentile)

Height - 29 in (35th Percentile) 

How is it possible that in only a month Joe will be 1 year old?  Where did the time go?

The one thing I've noticed is that with Joe things have flown by so much faster because

between him and Owen there's a lot going on.  With Owen I could sit and watch his every

move with nothing else to distract me.  But this time around I have two little guys to keep me

occupied so things seem to pass by quicker.  I still make sure to savor every sweet smile, 

little milestone and fun memory...life simply moves a little faster this time.  

 
Speaking of fast, I'm not sure how he does it, but Joe is the fastest army crawler I have ever
seen.  He has some serious upper body strength.  Our house is in full childproof mode again
because he gets around everywhere and he does it at a lightning quick speed.  The days of
setting him in the living room to play while I work in the kitchen are long gone.  But I'm ok
with that.  Sure it's a little more effort keeping a watchful eye on him, but it's so
much fun watching him grow and learn new things.

     His newest skill is walking while we hold his hands.  He wanted no part of it for the
longest time.  I used to grab his hands to see if he wanted to try some steps, and he would
stand with his feet firmly planted on the ground.  Now he is getting a little more adventurous
and is having fun with it.  He has also started waving.  He sticks his arm straight out in front
of him and opens and closes his fist almost like he's grabbing at the air.  It's really sweet.
But his favorite new thing to do is pull up on the bottom stair.  He LOVES it.  It doesn't
matter if we are in the living room or in the basement, he will find the stairs.  He crawls over
to them, holds onto the first stair and pulls himself up so he is on his knees.  Then he
bounces up and down on his knees, smiles and hides his face on the stair every so often, then gets back up to his knees and continues his bouncing.

The one thing that has stayed consistent is he is still the happiest little baby.  Not that I really
thought it was going to change...at least I hoped it wouldn't.  He is so relaxed and content.
Whether it's running errands, going for walks or having play dates, he's happy just being
there.  It makes my life so much easier and having a little guy who is so happy is almost infectious.  How can I not be happy when I have this little face smiling up at me all the time?

His little smile is getting even cuter with all of the new teeth he's getting.  He has two on the
top and three on the bottom.  It's hilarious because his top two teeth have a decent sized
gap in between them so Ryan and I call them his Michael Strahan teeth.  I'm sure they'll
grow together with time, but right now they are super cute.  The only problem with him
getting new teeth is they seem to make him a little uncomfortable.  He gets a little cranky at
times, but those times are few and far between.  Most of the time time I have my smiley
baby looking up at me with those cute Michael Strahan teeth.

Aside from his smiles, this is one of my other favorite faces he makes.  He's so intrigued with his new top teeth that he keeps rubbing them together with the bottom three

just to make sure they are still there.  It's almost as cute as his smiles.

His biggest smiles and laughs though are still saved for Owen.  That is one of the new
experiences with the second baby...being able to watch him interact with an older sibling.
He gets so happy and laughs at the most random things that Owen does.  Last night I was
nursing him in his room before bed.  At the same time Ryan was reading Owen a bedtime
story in his room.  Joe heard Ryan and Owen and kept turning his head towards the door
 with this huge smile like "Hey guys...I'm in here."  Figuring he was not going to focus on
eating until it was quiet, I took him in to listen along.  

The four of us quietly sat on the chair in Owen's room and Ryan began to read.  I'm not sure what triggered it, but all of a sudden Joe started laughing.  And not just a little laugh, but a big belly laugh where he actually had to stop and catch his breath.  Ryan would read, 
Joe would crack up, and then Ryan would stop because we were all laughing.  
We'd quiet down, then Ryan would start reading again.  Like it was on queue, Joe
would start giggling in my arms.  Once Owen realized Joe was laughing, he decided
to make silly movements to keep him going.  Yes I know you're not supposed to rile your
kids up before bed, but it's times like those that leave me feeling so happy.  There is nothing
better than seeing the two of them get along so well and have so much fun together. 

And while we're on the topic of bedtime, let's talk about Joe's sudden urge to wake
up at 4:00 AM.  I thought we had finally turned a corner, but it seems he had a different
idea.  Thankfully he wakes up, I feed him, and he goes right back to sleep until about
6:30AM.  The problem is Owen has been waking up at 5:15AM.  So before I can even get
back to sleep from feeding Joe, I hear Owen wake up.  Ryan is great and gets up with him
but it still makes it really hard for me to get any sleep once I'm up with Joe at 4:00AM.
Needless to say I'll be happy when this little phase runs its course.  Until then, the Starbucks
employees can count me in as a regular.  I always thought it was cool when I saw people
walk in and the cashier already knew what they were going to order.  Well, that is now 
Ryan and I.  Either of us can walk in and they'll ask, "Would you like your Americanos?"
I guess you can say we've finally made it big in the Starbucks world.

The other thing that is hit or miss with Joe is his eating.  We've started finger foods and he
does great with a lot of things, namely starches.  Pancakes, waffles, crackers, toast...if it's
a carbohydrate, chances are good this kid will eat it.  He also loves dairy.  Yogurt and
cheese are two things he will gobble right up.  The things he won't even touch however are
chunks of fruits and vegetables.  Actually, I take that back.  He will touch them to pick them
up and drop them right off the side of his high chair tray onto the floor.  I'm not sure if it's the
wet, slimy feeling or what, but he wants nothing to do with them.  My two successes are with
roasted sweet potatoes and strawberries.  Other than that we haven't been so lucky.  I've tried pears, peaches, carrots, butternut squash, peas, green beans, blueberries & avocado, all with no luck.  Hopefully in time he will grow to love fruit as much as his big brother does. 

 The one thing he already does take after his brother with however is how vocal he is.
I remember Owen used to babble a lot and Joe is the same way.  He's started saying "mama"...YAY!!  He's been saying "dada" for a few weeks now, but I think he actually knows
what it means now and says it with purpose.  I can only imagine the conversations he and
Owen are going to have when the time comes.

This past month he seems like he has grown up so much and I can hardly even believe that
his first birthday is just a few short weeks away.

Happy 11 Months my little Joe!!