11 Months Old!

Boy has life been busy lately. I wanted to post this last week, but we've been so busy lately, that I just haven't had time. This week, things will slow down some though, which is nice.

So before I get into the busy things, I must talk about my big 11 month old boy! :) He turned 11 months last Friday (on the 25th). We celebrated by driving to Buena Vista for a reunion with some college friends that I will talk about later. He also celebrated by coming down with a cold. :(

Here are some photos from this past month...

We worked on self-feeding.

He still falls asleep in my arms and I just love it. 

He loves strawberries. He's also had blueberries, watermelon, plum and some others recently.

One morning before getting dressed, we had a little photo shoot.

He started making this face ALL the time!

I just love this sweet face.

We went camping.

He played in a baby pool (or any pool) for the first time.

We celebrated my first mother's day with him in my arms (I was pregnant last mother's day)/

Another morning with mom and the camera. :)

He has gotten more and more confident with his standing.

and stepping. We're up to 6 or 7 consecutive steps... 

There's that face again.

I mean, could he be any cuter?

I just love him!

Trying on a crown I'm making for him (for his birthday).

You can't see it in this picture, but he has his two top teeth now. 

Loving that teething ring.

When he's outside, rather than crawling around, he gets around like this now... I guess it hurts his knees too much.

We spent one afternoon shooting off foam rockets from our porch. Caleb thought it was the best thing ever!

And then he thought he'd try eating it.

My very sleepy 11 month old.

We went to the doctor last week and Caleb was 23 lbs. 7 oz.
We tried measuring his length at home and I think he's about 28 1/2 inches long. (He hasn't grown much lengthwise).

I just can't believe my big boy will be 1 year old at the end of this month. We just love him so much and are so grateful to have him in our lives. 

This month:
-Caleb has mastered standing. He can pull up on anything to stand and can push off from the floor to stand.
-He is a squatting pro. His balance is amazing.
- He has tried lots of new foods.
- His eating habits have definitely changed. He's not been in the mood to eat a lot of times. (He just decided the other day that he doesn't want bananas for awhile).
- He is up to 7 steps and can stand up on his own and take steps without any prompting.
- He can stand up and then bend down to pick up something and then stand up again... walking's gotta be coming soon, I think.
- He has had some pretty good nights where he's slept for 7 hours or longer. Though recently, that has not been the case.
- He likes to eat independently more and more.
- He dances if you tell him to "dance".
- He is understanding more and more. He loves to read and continues to have an increased interest in looking at and listening to books being read.
- He mimics sounds a lot more.
- He can open and close the CD player in his room by pressing the button.
- He knows just where to press (with his pointer) on his "Guess How Much I Love You" book to make the rabbit kiss and say "I love you".
- When you are holding Caleb in a lit room and say, "Turn off the light", Caleb will look for and reach for the light switch and then turn it off.
- His comprehension of language is steadily increasing.
- He can bang two objects together (a new skill).
- He loves to play patty cake and loves to make your hands clap.
- He still enjoys playing "I'm gonna get you".
- He's still happiest when he's outside.
-He understands and moves his fingers out of the way when he is closing a drawer.
- When traveling in the car, if the car stops and turns off, he makes his "I want" noise to let you know that he wants to get out of the car.
- When changing his diaper, if I sing "Stop in the Name of Love", he'll usually stop wiggling and let me get his diaper changed correctly.
- He loves puffs and has started drinking water from a sippy cup with a straw.
- He knows just how to melt my heart. He will look at me and give me the sweetest smile in the world.