oh i am sorry for never writing your proper 9 month update blog. i have a great excuse... you never stop moving! yes, so because of the fact that you never stop moving, i don't have the mental capacity to write out all the amazing things you've done and have been doing. but today, daddy is at a meeting and i have finally pushed myself to write this out. so here i am. hi!
i love you!
you are 11 months old! holy cow. you're nearly a year old. just a few weeks and we will be celebrating your birth, reminiscing on the joys that God gave us by giving us you. i will not even try to cover up how much my heart is breaking that you are not so little anymore. this year went way too fast. i honestly can't keep up with everything and yet, you keep growing and i keep learning. i keep growing and you keep learning. your daddy does the same. what a miraculous life it is that we've been given. what a brilliant God we serve.
at 11 months you do the following:
- crawl! CRAWL! CRAWL! yes, you crawl all over creation. i cannot get you to sit still unless giving you a bite of something or enticing you with an extra cool toy. notice that i stress the words 'extra cool'. an ordinary toy will not get you to sit still long enough.
- you say daddy, baba, dada, lala, and ma. can you do me a solid and start calling me mama! it would do my heart so well.
- you pull yourself to standing and couch surf all over. you do not need help standing; however, you think that you do. you're growing in your confidence. once you amp that up a bit, you will be walking and running! then i'll really be in trouble.
- you eat EVERYTHING! pancakes, chicken, meatloaf, eggs, cheese, yogurt, spaghetti, lasagna, broccoli, spinach, beans, avocado, rice, etc. oddly enough, the only thing you do not like is sweet potatoes! i am pretty surprised because most kids love them. oh well, maybe one day you will.
- you have 5 teeth (the 5th one will be through any day so i'm counting it). your smile is ridiculously precious and it makes my heart smile with such delight.
- you sleep through the night. THANK YOU!
- you dance and prefer certain songs.
- you sing in the car.
- you sleep with the blanket that was your mommy's when she was little and with the gorilla your tu-tu/grandma mo sent you.
- you walk when holding onto my fingers
- you play games with daddy.
- you love your cousins!
as you can see... you're growing and developing amazingly. i cannot wait to see what you learn next!
now for the not so great things... when you were 10 months, we had a few yucky times. first you got a crazy diaper rash that lasted for over a week. you were miserable and myself and daddy were so sad! thankfully, we got it under control. PHEW! then a few days after that, you got your first fever and cold, which turned into a sinus infection. i apologize for cursing you with sinus infections. hopefully, that will be the last one for a while and it does not turn into a persistent thing. you had to take antibiotics to finally take control of the yuck that was in your face. then you were back to your old self. hooray!
or so i thought.
this past week, a few days shy of your 11 month birthday, you decided you wanted to have a nursing strike. yes, for nearly 4 days, you did not want to nurse from me. you would drink mama-milk from a cup or a bottle. you would eat regular food. but you would scream and cry if i tried to put you to the breast. this was absolutely devastating to me. i cried. i became a very ugly person and was definitely feeling some pretty terrible feelings. i am sorry for being so heinous. it was a dark time in my life and i learned a lot from it... and i still don't know why you chose to stop nursing. but just as fast as you stopped nursing, you started back up again. and i cried tears of joy. nursing you is such a special bond that we share. it's ours and i relish all the time i get to snuggle you close, feel your breath on me, and just soak you in. it is such a nice break in the day when i get to nurse you. i love it. i love you! so thank you for going back to the breast. i'm so glad our nursing relationship isn't over yet. i really wasn't quite ready and i didn't know if you were or not. thankfully, you're not done either.
that leads up to today. you're 11 months and 3 days old. we are gearing up to go on our trip to california in a few weeks. we will celebrate your birthday there with the family you get to meet out there. then we will celebrate your birthday just with mommy and daddy. then we will celebrate your birthday with all your friends and family after thanksgiving! its going to be a full and awesome month. we love you so much and are so excited to watch you grow.
i guess that's all i've got for now. this letter has already gotten way too long. i love you more than life itself. you're the best gift that God ever gave to me; after the gift of salvation and after the gift of your daddy. but you'll learn why i say that when you're older. until next time - when you've turned one! i love you.
love,
mommy.
