11 Months Old!!!

8/22/12

William, we cannot believe you are 11 months old! How is it even possible?!!? I just can't get over the fact in less than a month, you will be a whole year old!! You are just the most wonderful little person we could have ever imagined!!

We are still unsure of your weight/length since thankfully, we have not had to visit the doctor for a sick visit. We will know your exact stats next month!! 

You are still on a great schedule. You wake up around 7-8. You come downstairs and have yogurt and pancakes or strawberry, blueberry waffles, toast, etc. You LOVE breakfast. It is your favorite meal. You have your bottle around 9:15 and then play downstairs for a little while before going down for your nap. You usually sleep about two hours.

Lunch is the hardest meal. You don't seem to really LOVE anything we give you. You usually have some turkey or ham and a fruit and some cheese, or a quesadilla, or a grilled cheese, mac and cheese, etc. Sometimes you will stay have a baby food at lunch just to get some veggies or fruit in. You have another bottle around 1-1:30 and then go back down for a nap shortly after that. Depending on when you went to sleep, you sleep about 2 hours and it's usually time for your last bottle. You are not very interested in bottles anymore. I am hoping that means that the transition from formula to milk will be easy. You usually only drink about 2-3 oz at a time.

You have your last bottle around 5 and then play. We have dinner usually by 6:30. You typically just eat when we eat. If we are in a restaurant, you will usually get a grilled cheese. You have a bath (which you love to crawl and pull up in) around 7:30 or 8, and then we read to you and you are in your crib by 8:30. You are flexible enough that if we are late getting home at night, you don't freak out.

This month, you have gotten two more teeth!! One is your top right tooth. It looks so huge in your mouth!! It is completely out. Another one is on your left side...an incisor maybe? It isn't all the way out, but it is getting there! So that makes 4 total.

You wave all the time now. I love it!!!! You love to tell people "bye bye" by waving! Sometimes, you get really excited and do both hands! Haha!

You still love to clap!!! Especially when someone says, "Yaaaayyyyy" you really look around and smile and clap hard!!

You learned how to blow a kiss this month. You just put your little hand up to your mouth and throw it away. Sometimes you even say "Mwah!" Melt.my.heart. You also like to give kisses. They are messy but we love it. You just lean in to our faces with your open mouth and give us a big ol' kiss!! Sweet boy!

You started standing alone for several seconds. Sometimes you do it on your own; you just have a toy in one hand and then decide to let go of your toy box and hold the toy with both hands. You are so proud of yourself and start laughing and getting excited. You will also do it if we put you down and let go. Big boy!! 

We have seen a little separation anxiety this month as well. It passes quickly, thank goodness. Sometimes when I leave at lunch to go back to work, you whine a little and sometimes even cry. It also happens sometimes when I walk out of the room. You are so sweet!

You and Riley are seriously BFF. You have really interacted with her a lot this month. Your new thing is baiting her with your toy. You wave it right around and then she runs toward you and grabs it from you and runs off. You laugh hysterically when she does this. She is constantly coming over to you while you play. When she finally goes and tries to rest, you follow her and start messing with her again so she will get up and play. Thank goodness she is patient!!

You are mainly in 12 months clothes and pj's. Some 9 months pj's fit, but they are getting too short. You definitely seem to outgrow in length faster than width. You still are in a size 4 diaper.

You had your first haircut this month (7/23). You already need another one!! Your hair just springs out all of a sudden, we can't believe how much you have! You did great for your haircut. 

You hung out with Molly several times this month. Yall are so cute together now since you both crawl around and play. You even took a bath together this month!! We had a playdate with Noemie as well, and yall both bugged poor Riley to death in her kennel. We went to Greenville this month and met up with Shelley, Brandon, Sophia, and Conner. We had a fun day with them!! We had dinner with Becca too!! Tanya came home for lunch to visit you a few times! You love when she comes and you try to say her name!

You have tried more and more food this month. Sometimes, you love food one day and hate it the next day. It is so funny and sometimes frustrating. Just when we fill the pantry up with what you "like", you decide not to like it anymore haha! Pizza is a new favorite for this month.

You are "saying" a few words. You at least try. Ball, mama, dada, dog, diaper (you say "duuuup" whenever we bring one out), Nana, duck, book, thank you. Obviously you don't say them perfectly, sometimes you just mimic the syllables and use the first letter. It is still so sweet that you are trying!!

You still love the music table and little truck that Shelley gave you. A stuffed octopus entertains you in your bedroom. You will dig him out of a whole pile of toys. You still love Sophie the giraffe, especially in restaurants. You still love your paci for naps and bedtime, and sometimes in the car.

You are more interested in books lately. You love the "Llama, Llama" books and especially "Llama, Llama, Zippity Zoom". You laugh the whole time we read that one. As soon as you see a book, you start laughing. I am so glad you love to be read to! 

We are in full party planning mode for your party next month. Your birthday invitations went out this week and things have been arriving at the house daily in preparation!! We can't wait to celebrate your first year of life! What a blessing you are!

William, you are just perfect!! We love you so, so much!!! We could not have asked for a more easygoing baby. You are the perfect little companion and love to be out and about with us. We look so forward to experiencing so many new things with you as the years go by!!!

Randoms

William's birthday hat came on Monday...he is not sure what to think of this...

Tuesday during lunch, we went to AC Moore and Tanya was showing her attitude!! ;) 

William is trying hard to get to Riley!

He LOVES when we dump the water on his head!! He just laughs and laughs as soon as he sees us filling up the bottle.

Wednesday morning, I worked from home so that Mama could go to her dr. appt. William helped me unload the dishwasher and I laid out some pots and he beat on them for a while, when he took a break from biting the spoon ;)

Then he got some kisses from Riley! LOL

Later that night, we shopped at Harris Teeter for a few groceries...

And he finished up the night with storytime with Daddy and his octopus. I won this book on a blog a couple weeks ago, it is so sweet!! It is called "I Love You All The Time".

Thos are some of our random happenings this week!! The 11 month post is coming soon!! ;)

Liebster

Whitney tagged me in her Liebster post! We met through Courtney via blogging. I remember Courtney talking about her when we lived together after our time at Peace, and then when I got into the blog world, I followed her blog from Courtney's. I love reading it!!! We have technically "met" in real life. We saw each other at Lone Cedar a few years ago, but both of us were too shy or unsure to say anything, ha!! So, we have yet to meet and talk in real life. Maybe soon!!! :)

Liebster is a German word meaning sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing, and welcome. This award is given to blogs with less than 200 followers. The Liebster Award is basically a "tag" by another blogger that shows her appreciation for your blog and gives you the opportunity to tell a little more about yourself, discover other bloggers you may be interested in following, and nominate other blogs that you love.

The rules:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.

2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you have tagged to answer.

3. Choose up to 11 people and link them in your post.

4. Go to their page and let them know.

5. Remember no tag backs!

11 Random Facts

1. Every single night before I go to bed, I go to William's room to check on him and make sure he is breathing and not too hot/cold. I stare at him and even sometimes pick him up for a minute. Robbie thinks I am borderline crazy. ;)

2.  I used to want to be a stay at home mom more than anything in the WORLD. Now, I am not so sure. Luckily, I have a very flexible job that allows for some working from home and a decent schedule so I still get plenty of time with that sweet boy. I still would like the freedom, but the extra money is nice!!

3.  I am very afraid of spiders. In fact, a la Miss Muffett, one just sat down beside me at work...on my desk. I proceeded to freak out and my co-worker thankfully ran into my cube to try and get it for me. We didn't find it and now I feel like it is crawling on me. Nice.

4.  I am obsessed with anything monogrammed. I have always loved it for myself. William has so many things with his name or his initials on it.

5. I listen to rap music. I think it surprises a lot of people, haha! People will get in my car and act really shocked.

6. I have lots of anxiety. Over stupid stuff too. Serious stuff, of course, but little things. Like this morning, I knew my Honda needed to go to the shop, sooo I was rehearsing the conversation I'd have with the shop people at 5:15 am. Right. I'm crazy.

7. My parents are divorced. Even though they have a decent relationship, there are little reminders all the time and it can be tough.

8. I am obsessed with pictures, ever since I was a small child. I have never really made albums though, I just leave them on my memory cards or phone forever.  My iPhone is FULL and I have to delete pictures in order to take more. It breaks.my.heart.

9.  I did not breastfeed. I do not think this makes me a terrible mother or William a neglected child.

10.  I love looking at houses. Sometimes I think I should have been a real estate agent. I do not enjoy like Parade of Homes, $1 million houses....only up to maybe $400,000 haha! I am constantly looking on FMRealty.com to see what we will ever be able to afford in a few years after we (hopefully) sell our townhouse.

11. My dream car is a brand new, Yukon XL Denali fully loaded. DREAM ON, right?!?!? LOL! I have wanted one FORever.

12. I was having such a hard time thinking of these, and now I just thought of another one that I probably shouldn't admit. I love the Kardashians. I love watching them. Kris Jenner is my fave. Let me duck and hide from all the boo's!! :)

Whitney's Questions for Me:

1. What does your husband do? (I wonder that about almost all the blogs I read!)

LOL! I wonder this all the time too! Especially when the wife stays at home and they are living in a NICE house and driving a loaded Tahoe, etc. LOL! Robbie is a manager at Bojangles. He has been there for 6 years. It is working for us right now...but he is open to other opportunities. Foodservice is a tough business, I grew up in it with my dad owning the distributing company, and now with Robbie on this end of it. Not much time for family. :(

2. What is your guiltiest pleasure when eating/snacking?

Hmm...probably bread or candy. LOL! I love bread, I could never do low-carb. And my favorite candy is Starburst. I don't even keep them in the house, since I just tear them up!!

3. If you could have any job, what would it be?

Wow, this one is tough. I really don't know. I really like my job now, it is pretty flexible and low-stress most of the time.

4. What traits annoy you in others?

Lying, snitching.

5. What time of day is hardest for you?

Hmm...probably the time from when I get home until we eat dinner. I hear a lot of people say that time is hard for them also. It's just a weird couple hours haha!!

6. Where do you vacation?

The Outer Banks, ever since I was a small child!! I cannot WAIT to take William to Disney World one day!

7. What room in your house is your favorite?

Hmm...this is hard since our whole downstairs is an open room...William's room is probably the cleanest and most put-together. I spent a lot of time decorating it and finding things for it, so it is probably my favorite!!

8. What magazines do you subscribe to or read?

I subscribe to US and Parents. I actually don't read either of them :/ No time!!

9. What is your favorite night out?

Dinner and a movie!!! :)

10. What do you collect?

Umm...smocked clothes?! LOL! I'm really not a collector of anything.

11. What is the last movie you saw?

Robbie and I bought the Hunger Games last night. We watched it when we got home...we loved it!

My questions for those I tag:

1. Do you think you will have any more children?

2.  What is your dream car?

3.  If you could vacation anywhere, where would it be?

4. Do you have any pets?

5. Where do you shop for children's clothes? (If somewhere in Raleigh, please let me know names!! ;))

6.  If you didn't stay at home, what kind of work would you do/be interested in?

7. What is your favorite TV show?

8. What does your husband do?

9. Do you find that friendships are harder to keep, the older you get?

10. Did you have a large or small wedding?

11.  What are some easy meals that you cook?

I am tagging Ashlee, Laura, Alisa, Ashley! I would love to read their responses, but I understand if it just can't get done! :)

Weekend Rewind

Friday, Robbie closed so he was with us in the morning. We relaxed and got ready while William napped then ran to Subway for lunch before he went to work. William and I shared my turkey sub. He loved it! The highlight of my day was checking the mail because his birthday outfit came in!!! It is so precious and actually fits pretty well. I can't believe he will be wearing it in just over a month! Wow. He spent the rest of the afternoon playing. He is in LOVE with Riley!! When he is in his Jumperoo and she goes running by, he just laughs and laughs until he can't breathe. Mama, William, Hannah, and I met Stephanie and her dad at the Mexican restaurant in Brier Creek after a brief Target run. He ate the entire cheese quesadilla, I could not believe it!! Thursday night and Friday night, William was just off at bedtime. I can't decide if it's because we got home later than usual, or his teeth are bothering him or what, but he just did not want to go to bed. We all took a turn going in and rocking him and he finally fell asleep after an HOUR AND A HALF!!

Saturday morning, Robbie went to work and Mama headed to Charlotte. William and I were on our own! We enjoyed grilled cheeses for lunch. :) Shortly after we had lunch, Ashley texted me and said she and Willie wanted to stop by. Molly and William were happy to see each other and played and played! They took a quick snack break when Ashley brought out the animal crackers! William went down for a nap around 3 since he just couldn't take it anymore, and Ashley and family left shortly after since Molly was breaking down also. Sara and Noemie arrived shortly after they left. William was still asleep, and Noemie was obsessed with trying to get Riley out of her cage, just like William! I finally woke him up so they could have some time together. They played and played. William went up against the wall and was patting it, and Noemie stood behind him like he was under arrest. We were dying laughing. It was so good to catch up with Sara again!! ;) For dinner, William and I rode to Bojangles and had a quick meal and visit with Robbie. He must have been over what was going on the past two nights, because he went right on to bed after his bath with no issues. Robbie got home around 8:30 and we ended up watching Roseanne's roast which was hilarious!!!

Sunday, Robbie closed again, so he was with us in the morning. I was dreading having dinner alone again, and just texted my friend Becca hoping she would be able to join us!! She said yes, that her husband was working at night too!! Yay! I was excited to see her since she has shared her big news of expecting also! :) I am so excited for them! William played around all morning before his nap. He learned to crawl into Riley's kennel and shut the door behind him. Robbie and I were laughing so hard. After his nap, Robbie fixed macaroni and cheese for lunch for us and then William played some more. My dad brought this I<3 NY romper back from his trip, and it looked comfy so William wore it for the first time. After Robbie left, he was all over the place. He sat down at the magazine rack and took out each magazine. Then he brought a few into the kitchen and ripped the pages out and started tasting a few. He is a mess. I'm sure you can tell which pictures are taken with my actual camera. The quality is so much better but it is just so EASY to use my iPhone!!! The video below is my favorite. He would hold out his toy and bait Riley and she would run by and grab the toy from him and run off. He just thought it was the funniest thing!! I can't believe how well they get along! We left the house around 4:30 and met Becca at Kohl's. I was still looking for some long sleeve shirts for him to be monogrammed, but they only started at 2T there. I got him some cute pj's, Mickey Mouse sippy cups, and 2 new Chaps shirts for fall. We went to Edwards Mill & Grill for dinner. It was delicious, as usual. I made the mistake of leaving William's paci at home. I realized it when we left, but didn't feel like taking him out of the car, un-arming the security system, and buckling him back in, haha. He did great at the restaurant without it, but in the car he was missing it. Ahhh...who knows if we will ever be able to take it away!!! He had a quick bath and went straight to bed again, thank goodness! I finally did the arduous task of filling out his baby book...from the beginning!!! It took forever and thank goodness for my blog because I had forgotten most of the details. Whew!