eleven months

my little boy is 11 months old! it is hard to believe that ethan has been in our lives for almost a year! but, at the same time, i can hardly remember life before our sweet ethan!

i had to start with this picture-- i absolutely love it! what an expression!

this month has been a busy one for our son. ethan got his first real big boy haircut; he has gone from crawling/cruising to standing, cruising with confidence, and even walking a few steps at a time; ethan has been growing new teeth and is now up to 6! our days are filled with playtime (i.e. ethan busily playing with toys around the house), enjoying the outdoors (where he loves to look around at the trees, grass, cars, other walkers/runners, dogs, and ducks), naps (still 2 a day, hallelujah!), following mommy around, and eating, of course!

as of this month, we have begun the weaning process! ethan now drinks whole milk with his lunch and dinner and he loves it! this is a huge relief for me, because around 5 months, ethan decided he only wanted his milk from mama (no bottles or sippy cups, thank you)! i was worried that he would be that kid that doesn't drink milk, but so far he loves it! ethan eats all kinds of food now, but still prefers me to spoon-feed him sometimes, which is fine with me especially on trips, because it's quicker and i can control the mess! his favorites are still my whole-wheat pancakes, sweet potatoes, and Dole fruit cups.

as i already mentioned, ethan is very mobile! one minute, he's speed crawling, then one day, decides he can stand all by himself! this leads to more ambitious cruising, greater confidence moving from one piece of furniture to another, then he decides to take a few steps! that's where we are now-- he walks, then falls down, then quickly crawls, stand, walk, crawl. repeat. it's so fun.

some of my favorite things about this stage is the huge grins, as if he knows he has 6 teeth and wants you to see them all with every smile! he also gives the best hugs! i love how, even though he is super active, he will sit on my lap and we read book after book. he has started "reading" now, too...opening the book, pointing to pictures as he babbles something, then closes the book. i love it.

looks like it's going to be a rainy day!

lincoln log tutorial for the cousins. thanks, uncle david!


Easter sunday. big smiles as he plays with his new ball!

favorite sleeping position. i'm pretty sure he's drooling, too.

playing in the grass while we wait to go to the pool

cruising around...i can just hear him "talking" as he moves around

this picture makes me sad that we had his hair cut! he looks a lot like his daddy in this picture...at least the baby pictures i've seen of brian. so cute!