11 Months

Chase mentioned that G is starting to look like a "real person".  He meant that he doesn't look so much like a baby anymore.  He's getting BIG!  And with the extra lbs. comes an even bigger personality.  This kid is such a joy!!  His smile is by far the best thing in the whole world to greet you every morning.  I love how he kicks when he gets excited and even does a little dance in his crib when I come in to get him.  I'll never forget his little morning tap dances. 

He's getting so big that it's pretty ridiculous to make him sit in this bumbo chair anymore.  I only put him in there to contain all his craziness.  He would have three leaves and perhaps a few fire ants in his mouth by now if I hadn't trapped him.  George is VERY busy and wants to discover whatever he can get his hands on. 

He's a drooling machine and uses me as a human tissue most of the time.  My left shoulder is usually covered in some sort of slobber after he rubs his nose back and forth to relieve an itch.  If it weren't so cute I'd be a little mad:-)  He has four new teeth coming in on top and perhaps a few on the bottom too.  It's hard to tell because he WILL NOT let me look in his mouth.  I'm also not allowed to cut his fingernails.  I can only cut his little daggers when he's in the highchair or else he can't be contained. 

His aversion to pureed foods has increased greatly this month.  It's getting harder and harder to get him to eat a jar of baby food.  He'd rather eat what we are having and is a HUGE fan of edamame and any form of cereal.  I tried pomegranates tonight and he took one bite and then looked in every direction for the source of MORE!

The only thing that worries me about no baby food is not knowing if he's getting enough nutrition.  I also don't feel like a cheerio here and a piece of cheese there is really going to fill him up.  We have yet another picky eater and I've decided it's the hardest part about being a parent...making sure your kids eat!!  I've said it before and I'll say it again.  EATING IS SUCH A CHORE!!  If I were a God and had my own planet our bodies wouldn't require food for energy.  We would be like Wall-E and just go outside with our solar panels until we're all charged up.  Food is for the birds!!

He is still getting chubbier every day and I love it!!  He will eat some things like pot stickers, rice, english muffins with PB, cheese, yogurt and will always try a few bites of whatever we are eating.  Most of his calories come from his bottles of milk.  I am on my last 6 bags of breast milk so we use them sparingly.  He gets about 4 ounces every two days and has formula in between.  Those bags disappeared pretty quickly!!  He always cries when his bottles are all gone so we make two for him every morning just in case he wants more.  He can seriously chug that stuff. 

I had to put this picture in because even though G is getting big he looks so small next to his gargantuan brother Jack who has grown out of ALL his clothes.  I have a feeling one is taking after me and the other after Chase.  Grandpa's 6'4" genes are revealing themselves in some more than other.  Chase says G is bound to be shorter like him but "he'll be faster" too.  Short and fast like John Stockton. (John Stockton comes up in a lot of conversation in our home.  Him and and other John...John Elway that is:-)

G gets the BEST bed head.  I love it how it's usually always on the right side of his head.  Along with moving all over the place when he's awake, apparently he's a wild sleeper as well.  He's figured out how to roll a ball back to me when I roll one to him.  He's started clicking his tongue with a huge smile of course.  Now that we've moved him into his own room with a window and light he wakes up so much happier and we can often hear him cooing, clicking and talking to himself through the monitor.  My favorite thing to do these days is just sit on his bedroom floor and watch him explore.  He's figured out how to turn on his noise machine and clicks it on and off over and over again.  Then he'll head over to the night light and disable it the best he can.  Next up, the door stopper with the spring.  That keeps him bust for a full 30 seconds and then he's off to the sock drawer to take everything out and put it back in again.  I just love watching him be so busy.  I've caught him standing on his own a few times and will sometimes position his legs for him so he can stand for at lease 3-4 seconds.  He's often scooting from furniture piece to furniture piece and will probably be walking fairly soon. 

He continues to adore his big brother Jack who still rarely acknowledges his presence.  When Jack has a friend over he'll close his bedroom door so George can't come in and G will just sit at the door and cry like a little puppy dog.  It's so sad!!  Sadie on the other hand would KILL for that kind of attention for George.  She smothers him with love and affection and he is always squirming away from her.  Too bad Sadie and Jack can't reverse roles.

With Christmas coming up I've been having to practice a lot of songs for the program and G wants nothing more than to sit on my lap to play the piano too.  He has very large hands (for an 11 month old) and I think it will be pretty cool to see if they might translate into a musical talent one day.  Chase imagines him gripping a basketball with his long fingers and I day dream about a mini Chopin playing octaves.

George's favorite activity as of late is ANYTHING outside.  When I walk by the door he does his air "tap dance" and gets a big grin on his face.  I can clearly see that he want to go outside.  The other day it was pretty cold and I opened the door to bring a package in.  George kicked and kicked and them screamed when I turned around and closed the door again.  He was so disappointed to not be going outside.  He's always loved being outdoors.  Who wouldn't when the air smells so crisp?  I try to take him outside when ever I can.  Anything for my little George!

One more month until he's a YEAR OLD!!  I BLINKED!!