11 Month Update

Ezzy at 11 months

All stretched out:  1 week // 4 months // 8 months // 11 months

Riding a coyote: 4 months vs. 11 months

Ezzy - Everyone told us when you were born that the first year goes so quickly, and they weren't lying. Your daddy and I can't believe you'll be a 1 year old in a month. That means you'll be a toddler! And you're getting so close to walking. There have been a few times you've tricked us into thinking you're ready to walk, but you're not quite there yet. We know it's right around the corner though, and I have a feeling that as soon as you get the hang of it, you're gonna take off running everywhere, because you've got so much energy kid. Even though you're still a cheerful baby that loves laughing and being silly, lately everywhere we go people make comments about how thoughtful and serious you look. You like to stare at people head on like you're taking it all in and making judgments and calculations. You're a lil thinker, for sure. Your dad and I love to watch you examine things because we can practically see the wheels turning in your head. And you pick up new skills so fast! One day you'll be frustrated that you can't do something, and two days later you have it mastered. Every day that your dad and I get to spend on this journey with you makes us feel like the luckiest people on the planet. We love you more than you'll ever know.

Some 11 month stats: According to my scale (which is always a little off from the one at the doctor's office) Ezzy weighs 20 lbs, up 1 pound from last month. Not sure how tall he is, he definitely seems taller than last month though, when he was 27 inches. He's mostly wearing 12 month clothes now. 

Our 11 month daily routine: Routine? What's that? As far as sleep goes, I've stopped counting how many hours I/we get because it's depressing. On a good night, Ezzy still wakes up twice. He'll usually start acting tired around 8 pm, but when I try to nurse him and get him to sleep he'll suddenly wake up and get his second wind. A lot of nights he'll also get a third wind, which means he's not going to sleep till 10. I always try to put him down for a morning nap, about two hours after he wakes up, but half the time he resists or just takes a really short 15 minute cat nap. On a good day he'll nap anywhere between 2 - 4 hours (total, sometimes split between two naps).

11 month eats: The doctor told me to limit Ezzy to nursing four times a day, but sometimes he'll nurse that many times in a single night. I've still just been feeding him on demand, which on average is 6 - 7 times a day. I've been trying to feed Ezzy more solids, but when it comes to eating his veggies he still prefers purees. I tried making a variation of these broccoli cheese bites, which Joe and I liked, but Ezzy acted like they were poison. He does like fruits though, especially watermelon, blueberries, and bananas. He also tried pears, oatmeal (not the baby powdered stuff), toast with jam, and french fries last month, which went over well with him. He's a big fan of those toddler puffs. Right now his meals look something like this:

Breakfast: waffle or toast with butter and jam + chunks of banana

Lunch: whole wheat quesadilla + blueberries

Dinner: fruit/veggie/grain puree + watermelon 

Some notable changes from last month:

• One week after Ezzy turned 10 months he started doing the army crawl. Less than a week after that he was full on crawling all over the place.   
• He loves playing "soccer" - aka, having us walk him around the house after a ball so he can kick it, or one of us holding him up while the other rolls the ball to him and he'll lift his leg in anticipation and kick it back to us. He actually has really good timing and aim. He's the next David Beckham! 
• For some reason he's taken shaking his head no and tilting his head to one side to a new level this past week. I'm pretty sure he's trying to show off for all the family we've been visiting lately.
• He's constantly pulling himself up to standing using the furniture. He doesn't quite know how to get back down though. 

Ezzy likes (in addition to his 10 month favorites):

• His Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle ball! It's definitely our best toy investment since the exersaucer. He loves kicking it, crawling after it and batting it around the house, sitting up and playing catch with us (he's getting good!)...that ball is hours of entertainment every day.
• He's still all about moving cars. We've changed our walking route so that we walk along a busy street and he's in heaven. Sometimes he'll even squeal with delight when we get to the street. It's the sweetest thing.
• Straws. He waves them around like a little wizard, or chews on them, which makes it look like he's smoking a pipe.
• Walking along the ottoman.
• Babbling. He's a little chatterbox. And he likes to punctuate he lengthy speeches with lots of hand gestures. I think he may be an orator one day. He'd be great at rallying the troops. 
• He's still big on the bouncing. That boy must have buns and legs of steel by now.
• Balloons. We just figured this out last night at his grocery store when he was batting an Easter balloon around and cracking up.
• Crawling.
• Leaning to one side with his head tilted and getting us to do it too, or shaking his head no.
• Being outdoors.

Ezzy dislikes:

• Not being the center of attention. He definitely has an only child mentality right now.
• Sleeping. We had the worst night yet a couple nights ago. He woke every hour, and around 4 am he decided he wanted to get up for good. Both Joe and I were up with him for about an hour before he went back to sleep. He was feeling under the weather that night, poor baby. 
• Not being able to get back on the floor once he's pulled himself up to standing.
• Cold waffles. He used to be all about those, but now he likes them warmed up with some butter. Can you blame him?
• Changing his diaper. I always tell him I'm the one that should be crying, since I'm doing all the work and he just has to lie there and he gets a fresh diaper out of the deal, but that doesn't ever cheer him up.
• Honestly he's just been crying a lot more lately. He got his first cold, which I thought was teething, but there's still no teeth, so apparently I was wrong (again). He had a fever for two days, and his nose is still a little stuffed up, but he's on the mend now.
• Overall, Ezzy is still a very good-natured baby. His bad moods don't last that long, and Joe and I know we are very lucky.

On the go!

"He's always up to something."

Just loungin'

A boy and his TMNT ball..

Kisses from Daddy.

Hugs from Mommy.