11 months

Andy turned 11 months old on May 20.  It is unbelievable that he'll be one in just a few weeks! Some highlights this month:

• Andy moves everywhere, very quickly, and gets into absolutely everything.  It's been an adventure trying to "baby proof" our house.  He crawls quickly, but definitely prefers to stand and use furniture to walk around.  Still no steps on his own, but we feel like he's close!  His favorite things to get into are our books and DVDs.  He pulls the DVDs out every single day.  He also loves to unplug the wallflowers in the bedrooms.  He also likes to turn the knob on the dishwasher.  He likes to open and shut doors; I'm nervous we're going to get some smashed fingers sometime soon. 

My *favorite* thing to do is to clean this up.  Every single day.

• He loves to be held.  (Too much!  My back hurts all the time from lugging around this chunk!)  He pulls himself up using my legs, forcing me to hold him.  He cries if I don't pick him up.  
• Not sure how much he weighs.  But he's in all 18 month clothes now.  
• He loves to play peek-a-boo!  He is starting to initiate it, which is adorable.  He also likes to "surprise" me by climbing up the back of my legs; he always starts giggling when I "find" him.  
• He loves to be chased!  I'll get on the ground and crawl over to him and he starts trying to "run" away and starts laughing.  Too cute. 
• He has two teeth.  One of the top teeth is on its way.  
• Has this squeal that is absolutely ear-piercing.  He's not mad or anything--I think he just likes the sound of it.  It makes it really hard to go out in public.  We're trying to teach him not to do it; it's not working.  
• He had his first trip to the beach!  We spent a weekend in Galveston with some friends.  He loved everything about it--the sand, the water.  He was absolutely elated for a solid hour the first time we went.  Like he just couldn't believe something so wonderful existed.  

• Andy's really struggled with eating.  I knew he should be better at finger foods, but I didn't realize how behind he was until Andy's little friends (who are a few months younger than he is) were eating finger foods easily.  Most of the time Andy gags on anything that's not perfectly pureed and he has no desire to self-feed.  Long story short, we've been talking to the pediatrician, and she's having us offer him whatever soft food we're eating and if he hasn't picked it up by his first birthday, he'll have to work with a therapist.  We think he's improving some days, but other days it seems like he's taken a few steps back.  One day he liked puffs--the next he didn't.  He liked yogurt melts for a few days and now wants nothing to do with them.  He liked turkey and cheese on Sunday, but was not having any of it yesterday.  Guess we'll just keep trying!  On the plus side, he's very good at eating his baby food.  He's nursing 3-4 times a day and eating three baby food meals--fruit for breakfast, cereal for lunch, and a veggie or protein/veggie for dinner.  We give him yogurt for a snack sometimes too, which he likes.  We're going to start weaning soon; Cam and I are going on a cruise at the beginning of July, so hopefully it goes smoothly.  I'm nervous because Andy hasn't quite figured out sippy cups...

"I hate food! Stop trying to make me eat it!"

He did like my green smoothie one morning!  He had an adorable green mustache.  

• We have made progress in the sleeping front!  We decided Andy was ready to "cry it out."  (We tried it a few months ago and saw no progress after a solid month of crying.)  A few weeks ago, we decided we weren't going into his room until 6AM at the earliest.  (He had been waking up 1-2 times per night.)  It took him a few days of crying to get used to it, but now he sleeps until somewhere between 4-5:45 AM.  Of course we wish he slept later, but we're not complaining.  Hopefully he catches on soon that I'm not coming in until 6 no matter what!  He's a stubborn little guy.  Wonder where he got that from?  
• Sad news on the helmet front.  We thought he'd be getting it off today at the latest.  But it's looking like we might see some more improvement if we do it another month.  We're still trying to make a decision, but it's looking like he'll be wearing it a little longer.  
• He loves to read stories!  He especially loves the books that have the flaps he can lift up.  (Though he wants to rip them off.) His favorite book right now is a farm flap book.  He always laughs when he finds the horse underneath the flap.  
• He loves animals!  He loves seeing dogs and birds on our walks.  He gets very excited. 
• He loves to play with his little bud Charlie.  They pretty much just follow each other around.  It's pretty cute.  (Though Andy is definitely the bully!) 
• He loves  pat-a-cake, itsy bitsy spider, if you're happy and you know it, and this little piggy.  
• Andy loves the pool!  

We love our little boy and his darling personality!  He brightens everything up and we love him to pieces.  Some more pictures because he's just too cute!: 

Still a lover of the swings!

Loves the piano.  He always crawls over to it, stands up, and plays standing on his tippy toes. 

Sweet little guy at our Mothers Day Picnic.  

His current favorite toy!  It's a little walker, but he can't figure out how to walk with it.  He just likes the front!

Tearing up a magazine to pass time on our road trip.  Too fun!