11 months old - Almost not a baby anymore...

 Oh my. Perhaps the best way to describe you the past month is busy, just plain busy. And sick. You haven't been 100% healthy for more than 24 hours in the past month, but all those fevers and the perpetually runny nose have barely slowed you down. (Thank god for Advil.) Because of the illnesses, though, you also have never cried so much in your life. You cried for over half an hour straight the other night; nothing would calm you until your daddy took you and walked you around before sleeping on the couch with you downstairs.

But like I said, you are busy. Right now you need to climb the stairs every five minutes to open and close the baby gate over and over. You even try and lift the handle to open it again. Your newest skill is going down the stairs on your bum and while you need to be held onto or you'll likely topple head first, you are very diligent at sitting for each stair. You can also climb up onto the bed using the rail. Big physical feats, but not much standing or walking alone more than a step yet.

You get into stuff. I tried to reply to an email my boss has sent me yesterday and two sentences in, I saw you'd taken the vaseline out of the diaper basket, popped off the lid and were squishing your hand into it. After I cleaned you up and went to finish replying, I heard the toilet flushing. Good times and very typical of what happens whenever I try to accomplish anything. Needless to say, there is little accomplishing.

You play with toys and many other things. All of our Fisher Price ones that went largely untouched in Lily's toddlerhood are very amusing to you. The house, the farm, the pirate ship, the school bus, the plane, all very popular. Right now you are playing with pots and wooden spoons. Then you go through an obstacle course of the counter stools. You keep yourself busy. Of course, when you have been feeling awful, you like mommy to hold you more than usual, but you are typically independent. Now you are throwing pennies around the front door from our pot o' money doorstop.

Aside from pushing the piano stool and every other stool or chair, you get around by walking against the walls. Very efficient and a little more stable. There are still a handful of slips and head bonks on the hardwood floor, but they are lessening...thankfully.

You laugh constantly. Mostly social laughing, but it goes to show your easy-going demeanor. You point and ask "Ga?" which means, "What's that?" Usually about lights and light switches. You love to push buttons on the phone, usually the one that hangs up. You get very agitated when the phone rings and no one answers it, so we just give you the phone. You've phoned more than a few people accidentally. You change the channel or crank up the volume on the t.v. since the remote is also a popular button-based device. It's so cute when you point it at the t.v. to see what will happen.

You have learned to show your distaste by throwing tantrums. You've probably only had one or two full-blown kicking and squealing fits, but that's enough. Yikes. And when Lily wants to carry you around and you won't have it, you reserve a special angry squeal to show her just how much you want to be put down. But ten minutes later, you'll reach out from your car seat to her when we're driving Nana to dialysis and Lily reaches back and you hold hands. Absolutely precious.

One more month of baby, then here we come toddler years!