Happy 11 months, Baby Boy!

It's January 18th, and my precious baby boy is a mere 2 weeks (from tomorrow) away from turning a year old. For the sake of documentation, I'm still going to post his 11 month stats and pretend as though I have a time machine that will freeze the next two weeks and allow me to enjoy my baby just a wee bit longer, before he enters into the throws of toddler-hood.


I'll spare you all the mushy-gushy, weepy, can't-keep-your-eyes-dry, post...as that will come in due time. As in the morning of February 2nd, when I wake up misty-eyed by the fact that a)we survived the first year of parenthood; b)there's no going back and reliving those months of Nick being a sweet little cuddly lump of baby; and c)we will soon be handing over the keys to the blazer (because you better believe we'll still have that monstrosity in 15 years) and staying awake all night more due to sheer panic, than due to a crying baby. My heart is literally aching right now.


MOVING ON.

How old is Nick?: 11 and a half months. Cue pomp & circumstance because holy crap, he might as well be putting on a graduation cap in two weeks.

Stats: We had a silly bout with a fake ear infection (as in mommy thought he may have one, but turned out to be just teething combined with a slight cold), so we ventured to the doctor last week. They didn't measure length, but judging by the fact that every day his pants get shorter and shorter and we keep moving into the next clothing size (currently 18 months), dude is seriously getting taller. Which is good, because if he inherited my mom's height, most future sports careers would be null & void (no offense, mom ;). He did get weighed while at the doc's office, and butterball is 23lbs, 3.5oz. I can barely remember when he was a mere 7lbs, and I sat crying in the doctor's office about the fact that he just wouldn't put on weight while breastfeeding. Memories. He's wearing some 12 month clothes, but mostly 18 months. And still size 4 diapers...because we bought the box of 200+ at costco, and I refuse to let them go to waste. Although truth be told, I think he can wear the size 4's for quite a few months to come considering they're supposed to go up to like 32lbs.

Sleep: We've sort of given up on trying to figure out if he's a good sleeper or not. He'll go several days straight, sleeping all night through...as in 7:30pm - 7:30am. Not a peep. Then the next night, he'll wake up at 1:00am wanting nothing more than to just hang out with us. Or he'll make it to 5:00am, and decide "eh, I'm done sleeping for the night". Too bad we're usually still mid-REM cycle. On rough nights, we've resorted to bringing him into the bed with us. This usually entails me cuddling up with him as he waves his little arms and hands in the air as if conducting an invisible orchestra on the ceiling. While it's slightly irritating at 4 in the morning when my eyes are slightly fused shut, it's quite hilarious and adorable to think about the next day. And while I know co-sleeping can be frowned upon, I've resorted to the fact that it's what works for us on those off nights. And if I want to cuddle with my baby while he'll still let me...even if that means he's 4 years old, crawling into our bed for an hour snuggle before we all have to get up for the day, then so be it. He won't want to snuggle when he's 14, and at the rate he's growing up, I'll be damned if I'm gonna let these days get away from me. No regrets.

Milestones: Every day, Nick wakes up a new man. He's chattering more, though we're still not actually saying real words - other than mumma (he might be British) and da-da. He often makes some sort of sound when petting (or tormenting, rather) Whinnie, which I'm pretty sure is his way of saying Whinnie. He understands a lot of what we're saying, though his stubborn personality often proves otherwise (who the heck does he get that from?! Not his mom! ;) He now claps when you say the word "clap" as opposed to just clapping when he sees other people do so. He is very responsive to his name, and lights up whenever you say "Nick!" He knows the word "no", though he only seems to understand it's meaning when the babysitter says it. No joke - I've tried using a Dominican accent when trying to correct or reprimand him, but it doesn't work...he just smiles and keeps doing what he knows he shouldn't. He pulls up on everything, and will let go and stand for a few seconds before getting excited and either lunging forward at whomever is sitting nearby, or falling backwards onto his butt. If he has something to push, he'll walk around endlessly -- or until he runs into a piece of furniture and one of us has to turn him around. He LOVES to give kisses, and understands how to lean in, pucker up, and even say [some form of] muah! This is my FAVORITE "trick" of his, by far. Nothing better than baby kisses. He's in his big boy car seat, but still rear-facing. Not such a big fan of getting in and out of the car, but once we're moving, he's typically content with the ride. And he's figured out how to go up the stairs, so we're currently on the hunt for a good, secure baby gate that will fit our wide staircase posts.

Food/Appetite: He'll eat just about anything you put in front of him. He had cantaloupe for the first time right after Christmas, and while he seemed to really enjoy it, it all came back out on me, him, and the floor at daycare the very next day. Needless to say, we haven't tried melon again. He seriously hates eggs though. We've only tried them scrambled, and even added cheese, but after just a couple bites, he refuses to chew or swallow and ends up crying with a mouthful of mush. I'm pretty sure it's a texture thing, which I can completely understand. I have a serious texture issue. It does baffle me that he'll eat an entire bowl of oatmeal instead of scrambled eggs. He also loves veggies and fruits, but much prefers fresh fruit to the processed, slimy kind that comes in either cans or fruit cups. He has almost completely moved away from the bottle, using only a sippy cup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He's still getting a 6oz bottle with a little rice cereal mixed in at about 7pm, right before bed. I'm secretly dreading the day that we give up the bottle, because I love that last little cuddle time just between the two of us. The doctor said we could start him on whole or 2% milk and move away from the formula. I'm actually not quite sure how to do this...do we just replace all formula with milk? I need to do a little more studying on this one...

Otherwise, all is well in Nick's world. We celebrated a wonderful Christmas with family, and a nice quiet New Year's eve at home. Nick was showered with a ton of presents, and our living room looks more like a romper room. He still has yet to meet a stranger, and greets everybody with a big, closed-mouth smile (it's sort of his trademark), and open arms. He lights up when he sees my parents, and full out belly laughs when my dad merely puts his hands up as if to tickle Nick -- doesn't even need to follow through with the actual tickle -- the implication is enough to send him into hysterics. Every day he seems to become more and more of a little personality, and every day my life is more full than the day before...something I didn't even know was possible.

At times I can't believe it's only been a year that Nick has been in our lives, as I can hardly remember life before he existed. At other times, I can't believe it's been a full year since he was born, as it seems like just yesterday I was a crying mess bringing home a newborn baby that I had no idea what to do with. Being a mother is the most amazing, difficult, rewarding, heartbreaking, and fulfilling job in the world, and I am beyond blessed to be Nick's mother. I love that boy more than I'll ever be able to put into words. But I'm glad I have this little outlet to write it all down, because when he's grown and off building a family of his own, I'll be so glad to be able to look back on these memories and remember that little lump of baby, that quickly became a boy, who stole my heart -- and never gave it back.

**NOTE - pictures will be added in soon!