11 whole months...

I may be a week late, but here we are. Abbott is officially 11 months (and one week) old! I cannot believe we are going on a year already! This time last year I was officially off of work again and back on bedrest. If my memory is correct, I was going into the hospital this very day with preterm labor. Getting steroids to develop baby's lungs and being dosed with the TERRIBLE magnesium sulfate to stop those persistent contractions. We held Abbott off for almost 4 more weeks, with 2 trips to the hospital in between!

Here are some special things about our little one this month...

growing...Abbott is 18lbs 5oz already! I can hardly believe how big he seems. He is getting taller and thinning out a little in the middle I think. He legs don't seem to have quite as much baby 'chunk' as they used to, and I miss them. We are still wearing 6 and 9 month clothes for the time being, although he has fit into at least one pair of 12 month jammies too! His hair is growing too! It is starting to curl at the ends in the sweetest way.

eating...We have almost officially stopped baby food. He is still eating some during the day at school, but he eats what we eat here at home in a sort of smooshed version. :) Spaghetti with turkey meatballs is his favorite!

cruising... He is all over the place, taking one, two, and even three steps at a time! I really think he would just take off if he realized he could. Abbott stands all the time alone, and takes a few steps before he realizes he isn't holding onto anything, and then immediately falls to his bottom. He is so close it scares me!

babbling... For some reason we are stuck on a constant, "da, da, da, da..." I've heard a 'ba' or even a 'ga' here or there. Certainly no 'ma' or better yet, 'mama.' I am confident that 'mommy' will be he first real word with meaning though, seeing as how I am his favorite. :)

playing...Abbott plays so much these days, it is so much fun! Him and L laugh and giggle all the time. They play side by side a lot. Abbott is quite the little destruct-or though, in true boy fashion I guess. L will be playing quietly with her dolls and he'll grab them by the hair and drag them down the hall. This always incites a sort of miniature baby riot. L is screaming while trying to save her dolls and Abbott is screaming back at her as she tries to pry his hands open. It's kind of cute in a funny, piercing headache kind of way... His favorite playtime is for sure in the bath. Abbott is a total water baby, loves to splash and dunk his head in too!

cuddling...Abbott, my favorite time with you is cuddle time. You are such a sweetheart. Crawling over to me to give hugs and kisses. You lay your head on my shoulder in just the perfect way. You rest there for a while, just looking around and taking it all in. Sometimes you fall asleep, but mostly you just rub my arm and hang out. Sometimes when I am feeding you before bed you just look up and laugh. We laugh together for a while before you rub your sleepy little eyes and I put you to bed. Those are the sweetest times, and times I know you'll grow out of before I am ready to let them go!

Happy 11 months baby! If it is okay with you, I am going to pretend that you are my tiny little baby for just a few weeks longer. Love you to the moon and back little abby rabbit.