11 months old!

Yep he is one month away from the big 1! He changes so much everyday it is hard to keep up with all the new Kayden changes. This month brought his 3rd plane ride so far and he was a champ on the plane! He got to visit grammie and gramps and play with their doggies and crawl in the pretty green grass and rough house with his uncles. He had lots of new foods from all the relatives trying to sneak food into him without mommy seeing, he had oranges, ice cream, chocolate, raisins and I'm sure alot more I don't even know about. He loves his finger foods now and doesn't really want us feeding him anymore but we continue to try. For breakfast he is usually having a half of a banana with a tbsp of cereal, some fruit and cheerios. Lunch is usually a yogurt with a tbsp of cereal added to it (his favorite flavors are banana, vanilla, apple and blueberry), a piece of cheese and some fruit. Dinner is some mixed veggies he feeds himself that has carrots, peas, corn, and green beans in it (yes he'll eat green veggies but only if they are NOT pureed!),some protein, some sweet potatoes or squash, some fruit, and some ceral. Getting the pureed foods and the cereal in him is becoming more and more of a battle. His main source of liquids is still his breastmilk, he does get his sippy of water throughout the day but his milk is still 90% of what he intakes liquid wise.
Kayden is an on the move baby now, he cruises along everything and can stand for periods of time without holding onto anything....he still isn't so sure about that but he can do it if he chooses or if he doesn't realize he is doing it! Yesterday we went to the park and he didn't want to kneel on the grass so I put him down and he stood long enough for me to walk to the wagon, get the camera, get the camera ready and take several photos of him standing like a big boy. So he can do it, he just doesn't know if he wants to yet;-) Last Thursday he took a step when he was standing a couple different times and he has done it a few times since, he stands, takes one step and then on his second step sits down on his bum. He just isn't so sure he can do it on his own yet. He walks holding onto one hand/finger and that gives him the security he needs right now. He speed crawls to whatever he wants and follows me around the house yelling "mama" if I get too far from him. He loves to play chase, I'm gonna get you, peek a boo, and where is Kayden are his favorite games. Dancing to his toddler tunes is his favorite way to start the day, he moves and grooves and looks adorable, I've tried to get it on video several times but as soon as he sees the camera he stops and poses for it or comes to steal it from me so I'll keep trying! But as soon as he sees me going toward the stereo he starts to do his little "bounce", too cute! Swimming is another new favorite, when we first started swimming lessons he wasn't so sure about the whole thing but now that the water is warm he loves going in our pool and playing in the water and floating in his floatie, which makes mommy happy because I can get some sun! Books continue to be a favorite and he loves to go grab a book and turn the pages all on his own now.

Waving hi and bye are fun ways to enter and leave a room now, he gets a big grin on his face when he waves and thinks he is so cool. And he will wave to let me know he wants to leave too, on Saturday we were at a friend's birthday party and it was past his bedtime so he decided to start saying goodbye to everyone before mommy knew it was time to go....he was telling me! If we are at a playdate and he is playing he has to find me in the room and wave just to know I'm still there and then he goes on his merry way;-) He has made his own sign for "no" and uses it all the time, even if we are telling him no he uses the sign....so we know he knows the meaning of "no" but does he listen.....sometimes;-). I'm trying to use no less frequently and redirection and arranging the environment more frequently, I don't like saying no all the time and I don't want him to think his mom is the "no" machine so now that I know he knows what no means, I will try and use other techniques more often. He loves to clap and claps on command, when playing patty cake, and when he is listening to music. He is also attempting to say lots of words now and loves to repeat things and jabber in his little sentences, dada is now a frequent sound in our house (he also loves to say car and doggie) and this makes daddy so happy! He had to wait awhile but it came! Last night we were swimming in the pool and he wanted the pool thermometer, so he was reaching for it and going "uh, uh, uh". So I said "crocodile" and he started mimmicking me with what sounded very close to crocodile, so I gave him the croc, let him check it out for a minute and he stopped the "crocodile"-then I threw the croc and he started reaching for it and saying "crocodile" again.......that night I was telling Kyle and he didn't believe me so I told Kayden to say it and it took him a few tries and he started saying it for daddy too! (of course it isn't a clear "crocodile" but his best attempt at an approximation;-)
One more month baby boy and you will be the big ONE. I can't believe it has been 11 months since I met you! You are my favorite person and I love watching you grow! XOXOXOXOXO