Eleven Things About my Eleven-Month-Old!

It's been so long since I've posted. I tried to take a break from the computer over Christmas break and it was fabulous! And before that was final exams, plus a sick baby, plus getting ready to travel, so.... yeah.

Anyways, happy new year! My baby is eleven.months.old. As in, almost one year! How did this happen? So, to celebrate, here are 11 things about Samuel:

1. Sam loves his new high chair! It makes feeding him solids so much easier and a lot less stressful, so I've been doing better about making sure that he's getting the nutrients he needs. Yesterday he actually asked to get in it! (asked being a strong term. More like "avidly reached for it until I buckled him in and gave him some cheerios.") His favorite solid foods that he's tried are probably scrambled eggs and spaghetti. He likes the taste of bananas but struggles to pick them up on his own so they make him a little frustrated.
2. He is getting very good at stairs! We don't have any in our apartment, but he will crawl up any stairs he sees! This is a trick he learned over Christmas break and it's so cute to see how excited he gets about being able to navigate them himself.
3. He's responding more and more to what we say! It's so nice to know that he understands what we're saying. He can now give hugs and kisses (the wonderfully slobbery kind!), plays peekaboo, responds to "hands up," and knows if we say "feet first!" he needs to turn around and not try to dive headlong off of the couch or stairs.
4. Samuel loves positive reenforcement. If he's doing something that he thinks is difficult or cool, he'll look at other people for acknowledgment. Sometimes he'll even start clapping for himself if he wants applause. He does this most often when he is pushing his new walker or drinking from a straw. It is so sweet!
5. He dances! He never did it until I showed him a video of his sweet friend Lucy bobbing up and down to music. He looked at her like he was confused, but by the end of the video he had started swinging his arms from side to side. Now he'll often do that or sway side to side when we have music on, or kneel down and bounce.
6. He's a Tigger, like his daddy :) he always wants a horsey ride, or to jump on the couch, or in his bouncer, or in your arms, or anywhere really. He uses his carseat like a rocking horse when it's inside. He'll also sit up against a wall or the couch and bounce horizontally against it like I did when I was little. Isn't that funny? I don't think we purposefully taught him those things, or showed him how to do them. He just loves bouncing!
7. He says "Da!" a lot, followed by "na," "ha," and "ma." Because he says it infrequently, it makes it all the more special when he says "mama" and he usually does it in a somewhat appropriate context, which makes me so happy!
8. His silly teeth still won't come out! The two front ones on the bottom are so close that you can practically see them through his gums, and they're pushing up pretty far, but they just won't break through! I think it's getting pretty uncomfortable because Sam has been a lot more irritable and tired over the last few days than normal.
9. He loves climbing! He'll climb over or under the bars that attach the legs of our chairs together, tries to get up onto the couch, explores the underside of our coffee table, and even tries to find ways to use multiple objects as a staircase. A few days ago when I was doing some dishes I turned around and he had climbed from his carseat, to a chair, and was trying to get up onto the desk! That little guy is too smart for his own good, but I'm so proud!
10. One of his newest favorite "toys" are doors. He likes to go into my bedroom and push the door almost shut and then open it again over, and over, and over. He'll sometimes use the door to play peekaboo. He's so sweet! 
11. He also loves baths and showers. Both of his grandma's have very large sinks so he loved taking baths in them over the holidays. We're thinking of doing a bubble bath themed birthday party for him! :)

I am so grateful for my sweet little boy, and for the way that he brings so much joy to our lives! It is hard and tiring being a mom and doing school at the same time, but it is also so rewarding! I am also so grateful for Cameron who helps so much with Sam and the house as well as working and doing school full time. He is my hero, and I am so in love with him!

Thank you everyone for your kind thoughts, encouragement, and help. We love and appreciate you so much!