Saturday, February 4, 2012

11 months

Matthew Jay you are ELEVEN months old!
What have you been up to these days???

It has been a busy month for you full of lots of memories, excitement, and milestones!

Just after you turned 10 months, you started to stand on your own for extended periods of time. About a week later you started to take one step at a time, and then fall down. Next thing we know, a week or so later you were taking a couple of steps at a time. And now, you are officially WALKING! You are SO proud of yourself, and think that walking is just about the coolest thing! You haven't learned how to stand up on your own without holding onto something though. So if you fall, you just crawl the rest of the way to wherever you are going, or you crawl over to something or someone you can pull up on to regain your balance, and then you are off again! We love the idea of you being an early walker. Sure, it makes life a lot busier for us, but with another baby on the way, I really want you to be good at walking by the time baby girl gets here, so I'm not having to tote around 2 of you all the time!

You celebrated your very first Christmas. You LOVE playing with all of your new toys!

Words you are saying: Dada (ALL.THE.TIME!), Mama, baba (bottle), Nana (banana).

You can tell us what sound a dog, cow and monkey make.
(This is you making a monkey sound)

You love to look at pictures and photo albums.


When you are tired, you use the back of your hand and run it over your lips, making a bbbbb sound, or your pull your ears.
You give the BEST kisses, and wave "Bye bye!"

You can sign "All Done" when you are finished eating, to let us know you are full!

Matthew, you are still the best sleeper! Your schedule hasn't changed, and you nap from 9-11am, and
2-4pm. At night you sleep from 7:30pm-7:30am

You cut another tooth this month, and now have a total of 7....4 on the top and 3 on the bottom.

You are becoming a pickier eater. You still LOVE fruits, breads, and cheeses. You like beef, but aren't crazy about chicken. You like certain veggies, but spit others out. This month we tried edamame (soy beans) and loved it! You are so funny when you eat because if you have something in your mouth, and you see something you would rather eat or we put something new on your tray, you will spit out whatever is in your mouth to eat something new. Seriously kid, just swallow what is in your mouth before moving on!

Speaking of something not so funny at the dinner table is your new habit of dropping your food onto the ground. Earlier in the month you would do it from time to time, more because you seemed curious about it. However, that quickly changed, and you started to look directly at us, hold your hand over the side of your high chair, and drop your food with a look of defiance. We couldn't believe it!
Daddy and I have spent alot of time talking and praying together about discipline and how we desire to be consistent and on the same page of how we handle situations. We used a sleep/schedule method called Babywise when you were an infant, and now that you are older, it also includes a method for discipline. You are very easy going, and we've had no other "discipline" issues, other then dropping your food at the breaskfast/lunch/dinner table. The first time you drop your food, you get a stern reminder that we don't drop our food on the floor and a "No". You sometimes still smile when we do this...Second time you get a firm squeeze to the hand. You don't like this, but it doesn't bother you that much...Third time you decide to drop your food you get isolated to your crib for a few minutes...we decided to set up the pack and play for this. Needless to say you hate this....after you are put in your crib, Daddy and I sit and wait at the dinner table for you to take your first breath after you start to cry, give a little smile and continue our dinner...it's one of those cries. You are so happy to see Daddy or Mommy after your time is up....we give you loves, tell you we love you, and remind you why you spent time in your crib. It's hard to tell how much you really get at this age, but we have noticed that we've had to put you in your crib MUCH less lately! Crossing our fingers it's working!


(Trust me, I'm the last one who wants to have to discipline my child, but knowing that we have a system and a way to handle any unacceptable behavior is so nice. It takes away the nagging, and the constant "No...no....no". It takes away the frustration of not knowing how to handle a situation, and having to think on your toes of what to do. We don't have to discipline out of frustration or anger, but out of a desire to teach our son what is right and wrong.)

You love to have your Daddy sing to you and play the guitar...you join in on the action sometimes too.


You love to show us all of your toys, by picking them up and holding them in the air for us to see...with a big grin on your face, of course.


You LOVE balls! Daddy lets you play with his basketball and you think it is about the neatest thing to play with and pick up. You are learning how to bounce a ball to us. You also like to roll balls back and forth.

You are doing great in the church nursery. I can't even remember the last time I got called because you were having a hard time. Sometimes you cry when we leave you, but otherwise you are a happy, busy boy!

One of your favorite things to do is swing!





You love to sit on our laps and have us read you a book. You are quite fascinated with turning the pages as well. We will also find you sitting on the ground, surrounded by books, flipping through them and exploring them on your own!


...or in the nude after bath works too
You now take all of your baths in Mommy and Daddy's big bathtub downstairs. It was just more convenient for us. You love it! Your favorite bath time toy, believe it or not, is one of those bulb syringe snot suckers from the hospital!


You still have the most beautiful blue eyes!


You experienced your first snow!


You love playing "super baby" with your Grandpa!

We used to have corner protectors on our coffee table...we decided to remove them when they spent more time in your mouth then on the table.


Matthew Jay, I can hardly believe that we are starting to plan your first birthday party! I wish I could just slow down time...however, it reminds me to cherish every moment we get with you! We love you so much!













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