11 months!

Well, we only have one more month until he's a year old! It still amazes me, every single day, how much he's grown. We went ahead and did holiday photos the other day, so I could order our cards. That was crazy: the cats kept photo-bombing us, he wouldn't hold still, and he wasn't feeling well in general! If you'll notice the cat under the tree in this one... ahem. Anyway, I'll probably get those mailed around the same time I get his birthday party invites sent out.

As for the not feeling well, he's been pretty upset since Friday. I don't know if it's because he has a tooth ready to cut through, or something else. It's really hard to see him like this though. And cleaning up the mess is... awful. I'll just say he's having digestive issues. I'm trying to keep him hydrated and soothed as best I can. If he isn't better by Thursday the pediatrician's office said to bring him in, so hopefully he'll be better before it comes to that.

When he isn't feeling well he gets super clingy, so I've been cuddling him a lot. It really breaks my heart when he's like this though, he'll only go to sleep snuggling me, while crying/whimpering. Even then it's usually an uneasy sleep. Poor kid.

Otherwise he's doing good. He's taken a few steps; I wouldn't say he's walking yet, but he's definitely experimenting with letting go and taking a step here and there. We're at two consecutive steps in a row before he tumbles down. He's also getting good at letting go and slowly getting down, instead of holding on for stability as he lowers himself from standing. So, gravity... he's learning.

He's interested in the tree, but he's not as interested as the cats. Yet. He mostly ignores it, but he's started trying to touch it. Of course, when he tries to grab it I sternly say, "No. Don't touch." and he promptly cries. Sigh. He has a very strong reaction to me telling him not to go somewhere or touch something, but it does mean he's learned what the words mean. I'd say he listens over half the time. The rest of the time he stops, looks over at me, grins really big, and crawls even faster into disobedience as if to say, "Catch me if you can, mommy!" So, I laugh as I chase him. Which probably sends mixed signals, but it is pretty hilarious.

He waves hello and bye-bye now... sometimes. Usually only to his daddy. I'd say 98% of the time. He's been on a daddy kick lately. He still clings to me a lot, cries when I leave his sight, but his face just lights up when he sees A. Sometimes he excitedly starts babbling and crawls after him as fast as he can. It's adorable.

We still haven't figured out sippy cups... but we'll get there eventually. He can sort of use his sippy, but he's more interested in playing with it. We tried the straw ones but that was even worse. I'm going to buy a couple different brands and experiment around. He's figured out how to use his bath toys to scoop up water and drink the tub water like a cup (sigh) but can't figure out a sippy... maybe I should just try a regular cup? Heh.

Oh, and the cats figured out he's a human. He catches them sometimes, and promptly tries to lick them. He's obsessed with licking the cats. It's. hilarious. Some of the cats are dumb enough to let him get them... I have to run interference (did I use that term right? I am not a sports person!). I do my best to discourage cat licking in this house. Anyway, he certainly keeps me on my toes