One Month to Go?!?

Today is December 11, 2008, which means that in exactly one month, my baby boy will turn 1!! How did eleven months fly by so quickly? It just doesn't seem possible that Whit is about to be...gulp...a toddler! Every time I look at him, I marvel at how much he has changed and how he is turning into a little boy instead of a baby, but still...one year old sounds so grown up. I'm not sure if I am ready for it. I guess I have another month to prepare! The plans for Whit's first birthday party are in full swing, and that is one thing I am getting very excited about. It is going to be a Sesame Street theme, and we will have an Elmo shaped cake, Cookie Monster cookies, and all sorts of other S.S. themed goodies. I really need to get out my invitations ASAP. That is on the agenda for today, actually.

So, in this month before you turn one, Whit, here is what you are up to these days:

1. You are the fastest crawler ever!

2. You only walk when you are holding onto furniture, and you take a couple of steps with me when I hold your hand, but you do not seem at all eager to take steps on your own. That is fine with me; I will not rush you.

3. You are a babbling machine. You say mama and dada to Scott and me, but you also say a lot of lalala and babababa, too.

4. You love clapping when people enter a room or when you see someone else clapping. You get a huge smile on your face when you clap.

5. You give "high 5's" and "low 5's" all the time.

6. You love "reading" your books, but when I try to pull you into my lap to read to you, you usually only want to stay for a few minutes before crawling off to your next adventure.

7. Your favorite toy is still your Fisher-Price Learning Home. You love to turn on and off the lights, open and shut the window, ring the doorbell, and check the mailbox for mail in your little house.

8. You love going grocery shopping and looking at all of the lights and people around. You also love receiving samples of cheese!

9. You love "big person" food exclusively; there is no jarred baby food for you anymore. You especially love chicken nuggets, goldfish, dried strawberries and bananas, (he likes dried ones over fresh for some reason) yogurt, any kind of cheese, blueberry muffins, NutraGrain bars, meat sauce, ravioli, and waffles

10. You almost always fall asleep very easily at 7pm on the dot and wake up between 6:15am-7am. I wish you slept in, but you are always ready for your day to begin early!

11. You still enjoy "my milk" about 4 times a day. This will be very hard for both of us to give up, I think.

12. You enjoy playing with your friends at our two playgroups and at our Gymboree classes, but sometimes you pull the babies' hair, poke them, and make them cry. Then you smile a huge smile. We are working on that.

I could continue, but I guess the list is long enough for now. Happy 11 month birthday, Whitster! I love you more than words can express!