{Ben: 11 Months Old}

Ben is 11 months old today!  Only one month to go before we celebrate his big first birthday (with Santa!).  This month has been very fun with him and all the new things he is doing...

1.  Ben is a pointing fool.  He points at everything and anything and anyone.  That little pointer finger is the first thing I see when I walk in to get him from his bed or when I walk into a room where he is.  It is one cute, chubby finger.  I know one day he won't do this, so I kiss that little finger as often as I can.

2.  He started to wave this month.  Not a definite wave as I would do, but he raises his hand and kinda shakes it from side to side.

3.  Ben has mastered walking!  In just three weeks from when he started, he is now full speed ahead and can even get up to a stand from a sitting position and take off.  He walks 90% of the time now and that means he is much more mobile, fast and inquisitive.  He gets into everything!  I am super happy his hands are off the floor and he doesn't have quite as much access to all the dirt on the ground. 

4.  Sleeping...where to start. The last I left off with that is that we were letting him work it out.  It took about three weeks (misery for us both!), but he finally started sleeping through the night.  Those books that say it takes three nights are full of it.  That did not work on my sweet and stubborn Ben.  It is pretty typical that he wakes up around 4:00 or 5:00 am and cries out for a bit, but goes back down.  Sometimes he goes the full 10 or 11 hours without a peep.  It is heaven and I wonder how we managed for those 9 or 10 months of waking up every three hours.  He usually goes to bed between 8:00 and 8:30 pm and wakes up anywhere between 6:00 and 7:00.  Daylight savings was a bit hard on us all, but he is back to sleeping to at least 6:00 am thank goodness.  He naps like a champ now and has to be up by 4:00 pm from his afternoon nap if I want him asleep for the night at 8:00 pm.

5.  He isn't saying any words yet really, but does say "uh-oh" (over and over and over again once you get him started) and repeats "mmmmmmm" after I say it when eating something really yummy.

6.  Although he isn't saying specific words, he recognizes and knows who belongs with what name.  If I ask where "Dada" is?  He looks and sometimes even points to Chat.  Same with the dogs and Luke. 

7.  We had Ben baptized on Sunday, October 28th at St. Michael Catholic Church (same place as Luke and the church we got married in -- as well as my parents).  It was a special day...well from what I can remember of it.  It was quite a juggle dealing with Ben and Luke in a church for over an hour with six other babies being baptized.  Luke had a few meltdowns.  Ben was great for the most part, just heavy to hold for that long.  I was sweating by the end of it, but so happy we did it.

8.  We cut his hair for the first time this month -- the mullet was just getting out of control!  We took a bit off...okay a lot off from the back and some around his ears.  His hair is definitely growing, but the back just wants to speed up and have its own party.  My mom helped me trim it and then I did a little bit more myself at home.  I am thinking this is the way we will do it until he needs a big, professional haircut.

9.  The boy loves to eat now!  For such a slow starter or no starter really when it came to baby food, he loves real food.  His favorite...macaroni and cheese!  He inhales it and I have trouble keeping it stocked on his tray when that is the main menu item.  He eats bananas, grapes and apples well and loves all carbs (clearly my son).  He really enjoys green beans and will sometimes go for the broccoli.  He loves sweets and anything he can get of Luke's plate or sippy cup.

Speaking of sippy cup, when he turns one in just a few short weeks I am going to try to wean him.  I have no idea if I am going to try to get him on whole milk through a bottle or go straight to a cup.  I have never had to deal with transitioning to milk while breastfeeding with the whole bottle/sippy cup issue.  He loves water from a sippy cup, but I don't know how he will like milk without getting to nurse.  I know this might be a challenge, but I do know it is best for both of us to get him on to whole milk when he turns one.  I just know we have a few different challenges with this and not really sure where to start.  I guess I will take it one day at a time.

Our Ben is just a joy...always smiling away.  He is such a ham and so fun to have around.  He definitely has his moments just as all babies do, but he really is a sweetie pie.  His first birthday party is going to be December 15th and I need to get into full planning mode!  I have lots of ideas, but need to start working on them.  I can't wait to celebrate this big guy -- it has been one heck of a year!