PKB: Month 11

Porter Boy, it blows my mind that we are just a month away from your first birthday. Today you are 11 months old!

There's more of you to love with each passing week:

So, what's been up with you during your eleventh month?

• FOOD continues to be our biggest battle, Buddy. What (and how much) you've consumed consumes me just about every waking moment! Not sure when, if ever, I'll stop worrying about this, after the experience we've had. At this point, you are drinking anywhere from 20 to 24 ounces of formula a day -- a bottle first thing in the morning, a bottle right after your morning nap (which we refrigerate, and you finish right before your afternoon nap), a bottle after your afternoon nap, and a bottle right before bedtime. Though you're doing great with liquids, your appetite for solids leaves something to be desired. You are becoming increasingly picky, and don't show the same interest you once did in several foods. I have tried to continue offering you a variety, but we often find ourselves stuck in a rut of whole milk yogurt and banana for breakfast and grilled cheese sandwich and a fruit for lunch. You almost always pick at your dinner and eat next to nothing, no matter what Mommy serves up. I've tried to relax a bit and just let you take what you're willing to, as your stubborn self can rarely be coaxed, and never forced, to eat. Despite being a tiny guy, you can put up a mean fight! Here are the handful of new foods you've tried this month and somewhat enjoyed (at least in small amounts): 

• All that being said, you have made great strides in your weight gain! At a weight check two weeks ago, you had bulked up to 18 pounds 4 ounces, which finally brought you back up on the growth charts at the 5th percentile. Of course, I'm anxious to see that number get even higher! I love seeing your belly round out and spotting new creases in your thighs as they slowly chunk up. We're so pleased with your progress, but I think we'll be popping into the pediatrician's office again at the end of the month -- just to make sure you're still on track, as we won't go in for your 1 year checkup until a week and a half after your birthday.

• Although you are not walking yet (No complaints here!), you are officially ALL. OVER. THE. PLACE. Nothing is safe in our house now. You are quite speedy on all fours, and can be heard coming from a mile away, as you usually have some object gripped in one of your hands that you smack loudly against the wood or tile floor as you move. Stealth is not your strong suit! In addition to crawling, you cruise along our couch, ottoman, and cabinets with ease. And don't get me started on the climbing! You will scale (or at least attempt to scale) just about anything. If I am sitting on the floor against the couch, you will try to climb up the front of my body to get up onto it. And, of course, the six steps from our family room level up to our bedroom level prove far too tempting for an adventurer like you. Seriously, you are a MANIAC. If I take my eyes off of you for a minute, rest assured you'll make a break for the stairs. With supervision, you can easily climb up the whole way; the problem is, you haven't yet figured out that you can't stop and just sit back without tumbling back down. We're currently attempting to teach you how to descend the stairs backwards, in the hopes of helping you avoid sustaining any serious injuries (especially once you don't have your helmet's protection all the time!). 

• In conjunction with your "all over the place"ness, you have a newfound awareness of any and all appliances which you encounter throughout the day. If the door of the refrigerator or dishwasher is opened, you are right there underfoot trying to get your paws on what's inside. You are powerless to resist the magic that is our DVD player, and love to open the cabinet doors to try to poke at its buttons. In your room, you recently discovered the CD player down on the floor beside your glider. Despite the minimal space between the wall, the chair, and a side table, you somehow manage to squeeze yourself back there to pump up the jams.

• You keep us smiling with your funny noises and facial expressions, especially your infamous "stinker face" and its accompanying sound effects. It's hilarious how you can spontaneously turn it on; I think at this point you know that it tickles us, and are just looking for a reaction! And, of course, if Kaiser starts acting silly, you quickly join in on the fun, with lots of smiles, screeches, and waving arms. You boys love to rile each other up!

• You are becoming more and more chatty, and you've added a handful of consonant sounds (b, d, m, n, p) to your repertoire. Lately you've started saying, "Nayh nayh nayh nayh nayh!" and Daddy and I have noticed that it's often when you're frustrated or seem to be protesting something. Perhaps this is your way of saying "No no no no no!"? You don't have any words yet; of course, we're all anxiously awaiting hearing a for-real "mama", "dada", and whatever name you come up with for your big brother. 

• You have never been one to get upset when something is taken from you; usually you are easily distracted and can move on to another object or toy. However, lately this has not been the case. Whether it's my keys, the remote control, one of Kaiser's toys or puzzle pieces -- you get a death grip on something, and put up a huge stink when I gently try to pry it out of your hand. (Often the "nayh nayh nayh"s start up at this point.) You obviously have absolutely no trouble letting me know that you're ticked when you don't get your way!

• As far as fine motor skills go, besides being able to feed yourself with your fingers (which, like I said, you may be able, but not always willing to do), you have started using your index finger to point to things, most often when we're reading a book. You aren't able to point to things to identify them yet; instead, you seem to just be drawing attention to the pictures. You can also put items into a container, like placing play food in a bowl or play cookies into your cookie jar. 

• You popped a fifth toofer this month -- your upper right lateral incisor on 9/10. You've become less fond of brushing your teeth ever since Mommy had to start periodically cleaning them with baking soda, on account of that fact that the iron drops you take for anemia turn your pearly whites a dull gray. (Fortunately, you've gotten used to the supplement, and now don't throw a fit and try to spit it out when I stick the syringe in your mouth. Hopefully your newfound cooperation will help with the yucky staining dilemma!)

• Besides the previously-mentioned appliances, one of your favorite things to play with is the piano (the real one, not the toy one). At every opportunity, you crawl over to it, pull yourself up to standing, reach your arms way up high, and tap on the keys. It's a real treat when Daddy picks you up and sets you on the bench to play with him. You two make beautiful music together. :) As with Kaiser, we sincerely hope that playing an instrument -- even if not the piano -- is in your future!

• You love, love, love bathtime with your daddy and brother. Usually Mommy listens from downstairs while cleaning up in the kitchen and getting your bedtime bottle ready, and it always sounds like my three guys are having a blast. Not long ago, you learned how to splash -- and I mean splash! The last time I had bath duty, you were pounding your palms down on the water hard enough to send it flying way outside of the tub. Of course, Kaiser's reaction to your splashing only encourages you more. You always crawl back and forth from the front to the back of the tub several times, and you love stand up in there. Despite our best efforts to remind you to sit on your bottom to stay safe, it's never long before you pop right back up again! Someday you'll learn...right?

• You still fit in a size 2 diaper during the day, but I've started putting you in a size 3 at night to help avoid nasty blowouts. Once we finish up with our current pack, I think we'll move up to size 3 all of the time. You are finally outgrowing some of the clothes that you seem to have worn for so long, and depending upon the brand are wearing size 6-12 months or size 9 months. Just this past weekend, Daddy ventured up into the attic to bring down several tubs of baby clothes. I'm so anxious to dress you in the adorable fall outfits that Kaiser had; I hope that they don't swallow you! Grow Baby, grow!

As if there wasn't enough already, here's some more sweetness from this past month:

"I'm really better at knocking these down than building with them."

Got yourself stuck in the corner, did ya?

Daddy acting as your personal wind machine.

Seriously? That highchair strap can't taste better than real food.

Horsin' around in Big Brother's room.

"Hi Mom."

Swinging away.

(Someone threw a BIG ole hissy when I tried to take away those peas!)

Smiley stinker.

"Daddy's home!"

Mr. P, we just can't get enough of your silly squeals and your gap-toothed grins. Your feisty self definitely keeps us on our toes, and we wouldn't have it any other way. It's so hard to believe your first year is wrapping up, and we can't wait to celebrate you next month! Love you lots and lots and lots. 

XOXO