Ben's 11 Month Update

My "baby" recently turned 11 months old.  I cannot believe how fast his first year has gone by! 

WHAT HAS HE BEEN UP TO LATELY?

*   He wears size 9 and 12 month clothes

*   He wears size 3 shoes

*   He wears size 3 diapers

*   He has light brown/ blond hair and gray eyes

*   He weighs around 17 pounds- he is still long and lean

*   He still sucks his thumb and sleeps with a burp cloth

*   He finally got his first teeth.  He cut four in less than 2 weeks.  He has his two top eye teeth and two bottom middle teeth.  You can see them all in the photo above.  His bottom teeth are slightly inverted just like Cruz's are.

*   He has been a terrible sleeper lately (most likely due to getting his teeth).  But, since those teeth have come in he has started sleeping through the night- for the first time since he was about 4 months old.  He will sleep from around 8 at night to around 5 in the morning.  He has done that for the past several nights.  I feel like I have died and gone to heaven, haha.  Before that he was still waking up at least twice every night.  I hope we have started a new sleeping trend and he continues to sleep better and better.

*   He still takes two naps a day.  He takes a long morning nap and a short afternoon nap.

*   He is eating more and more solid foods.  He loves to feed himself.  He prefers that to me feeding him.  He also wants more of what we are eating instead of pureed baby food.  A few of his favorite things to feed himself are Cheerios, shredded cheese, and English peas.  He is a good eater and will eat anything I feed him. 

*   He is trying hard to talk and is very expressive.  He moans, grunts, blows, and points his hands while trying to communicate.  We think he is saying "hola".  It sure sounds like he is.  That just might be his first real word (other than mama).

*   He has started waving hello and goodbye.  Most times he does it with both hands.

*   I am just about to have him weaned from nursing.  I am down to a night feeding and middle of the night/ early morning feeding.

*   He is getting better and better at drinking from a sippie cup.  His cup of choice is the cup we use for Cruz.  He always wants Cruz's cup!

*  He loves music and always dances when he hears it.

*   This past month he got his first haircut. 

*   He attended his first Intermissions Conference this past month.  It was held in Panajachel, Guatemala.

*   He is not walking yet, but walks holding on to something or while pushing something.

*   He loves to sit in the Little Tikes car and have us (especially Cruz) push him around.

*   He seems to like books just like Cruz.

*   He loves to get in the garbage cans and put his hand in the toilets.

*   When he hears the bath water running he will always crawl real fast to the bathroom and try to climb into the tub.  He loves being in the water.  He does not like getting dried off and having his clothes put on.

*   He loves to watch Baby TV.  I think it is because they play a lot of music.

*   He is crazy about his brother!  He wants to be where Cruz is all the time.  Cruz has started calling him "Ben Ben".  No one can make him laugh or smile like Cruz can. 

He is quickly becoming a little boy, and changing so fast.  I cannot believe we are about to be celebrating his first birthday.  It seems like just yesterday I was still pregnant with him.  He is such a sweetie and we adore him so much!