11 months

yes. 11. eleven months old.

we're under a month away from finley's first birthday and i seriously (seriously!) do not know how this has happened. i'm in pretty deep, planning and dreading and looking forward to his party(ies) all at once. while he won't remember it, we will, and i want to look back and see his first birthday fondly, through fat, rolling tears, i'm sure...

so, at eleven months finley is officially not a baby. he is losing his infant looks and everyday i glance over and see flashes of a little boy. his hair is longer and curly and he has 5.5 teeth - big teeth that do not belong in a little baby's mouth. he doesn't say any words but babbles and screeches. he is nervous to walk, so he reaches out for something but quickly plops down to crawl rather than take a step or two. he did pull his hands away from me last week and stood by himself three times, but he hasn't repeated that brave maneuver again. he eats more table food than purees now and has sampled everything we eat. full dinners are grasped by tiny fingers and shoveled toward his face.

he's been quite sick this last month. he started with a cold that turned into an undiagnosed ear infection, which was post-diagnosed when he has fluid pouring from his left ear. a perforated ear drum and his first round of antibiotics led us straight into his next cold - a virus with a full body rash. he's been coughing, sneezing, snotty, and sad for almost a month and we're all ready for better health. while at the dr., i weighed him fully clothed and he was 19lb 12oz. so even while sick, teething, and moving like crazy he is still putting on weight!

he's a funny little guy. he's learned how to blow raspberries on lots of objects to make loud noises. he crawls as fast as he can around our coffee table. he likes to play in the toilet (!). he giggles and chases the dogs. he likes to snuggle and lay his head on your belly/shoulder/back. he's started to play by himself but would still prefer to be held all day. i guess i should cherish these moments as they'll get fewer and further between. i'm seeing that firsthand!