Dear Grayson,

Today, you are eleven months old. I cannot believe you are so close to being O-N-E. You are still so much a baby, but worlds apart from your 5 pound self a little less than a year ago.

This month, you’ve been continuing to work hard at eating and gaining weight, and I think it’s working. You are getting close to 17 pounds and most of your 6 month clothes are about to fill a storage tub. Your favorite food is still your “porridge”- oatmeal, almond butter or tahini, yogurt, and whatever fruit or vegetable I can mix in. You’re a sneaky one- you devoured mashed potatoes at a restaurant a few Sundays ago, so I excitedly made them at home, but you wanted nothing to do with them. You’ve absolutely refused avocado every time I’ve offered it to you at home, but happily gobbled up guacamole at our small group lunch after church. You are definitely teaching me that I can’t control everything about your life, and that you are capable of making your own choices (no matter how much they may frustrate your mommy!).

You’ve been going to daycare twice a week for a month now, and it’s been a good thing for both of us. Your teachers are so sweet and you are usually happily playing on the floor with them when I come to pick you up. They say the other babies are fascinated by you- well, who wouldn’t be? I wish you would learn that it’s ok to nap at “school”, because you are always Mr. Grumpy when we get home, you are so wiped out. Your bedtime is still between 5:30 and 6:00 pm and you consistently sleep 12-13 hours. Thank you, little dude.

You have started playing with toys a lot more this month- you love anything that makes noise, and your favorites are your wobbly penguin, interactive zoo, and all the bells and whistles on your excersaucer. You are getting better at reaching for toys and have even starting picking them up off the floor while sitting in your Bumbo. I am so proud of you. You love music, and both of us are currently obsessed with the Laurie Berkner Band and all her goofy songs. When I play the album and you hear the opening notes, you always giggle a little. So cute.

You have 6 teeth- 4 up top and 2 on the bottom. You love to gnaw on things- your toys, my arm, whatever. You love to pull my hair- and why exactly am I growing it out again? You have your first bad diaper rash right now and have had some sort of heat rash on the back of your legs and arms. It makes me so sad to see you uncomfortable.

You continue to work really hard at therapy, and we are doing a good job at fitting all 5 of your teachers into our busy schedule. Mommy now has a calendar hung on the refrigerator, because there is no way I could keep your schedule straight in my head! We’ve had a nice break of a month with no doctors appointments. This month we have a few, but we’ll survive.

It’s going to be a busy 11th month for you, as the beginning of a new school year always is hectic. We say goodbye for a year to Aunt Robin in a few days as she and your cousins head back to Saudi Arabia. Aunt Rebecca, Aunt Hannah and Uncle David are all coming for a visit in September, and we are so excited that David and Hannah will be here for your birthday! I can’t believe that in exactly a month I’ll be writing to my ONE YEAR OLD. Let’s make 11 months last as long as we can, ok?

Love,
Mommy