11 months old

Mister Mister turned 11 months old on Friday the 13th! The scary part is that his birthday next month also falls on Friday the 13th. Luckily, we didn't walk under any ladders, on any cracks in the sidewalk or see any black cats yesterday, so we're all good.

In one short month, Baylen will be a year old. I am looking forward to my parents and brother Dan coming out to visit for his bday in a few weeks! :) This also means that: I have to get some planning done for a party, I need to figure out what we'll buy him for his bday, we're getting closer to tearing up our carpet in our dining room and putting in laminate flooring in our kitchen and dining room. Right now, I'm leaning towards a camouflage themed party, but not quite sure yet.

Baylen has been taking lots of steps. He's getting so brave and will try walking from different pieces of furniture to get where he needs to go. He's fearless. Because of he's fearless, he often falls hard, which has caused him several bruises this past month. His most recent one is on the back of his thigh. He was walking around in my bathroom and lost his footing and fell on top of this wire thing I keep my costume jewelry in. It's not something that would feel good falling on and he cried and cried. I felt so bad for him and we put a little ice on it to make it feel better. He's still working on the whole paying attention where he's going thing when walking...

Now that he's walking more, we need to try to put shoes on him. He has not worn shoes much at all mostly b/c once he became a chunky baby, which was quite early on, we just never could fit shoes on his wide feet. So we gave up. his feet have slimmed down, but he still can't fit into most "normal" sized baby shoes. So when I do put shoes on him, he is not a fan. We just need to keep practicing.

He's been crabby the past few days especially because he's been sick so much this past month with ear infections and teething and he's transitioning over to the next room at daycare. His eye teeth are seriously so painful for him and those huge bumps on his top gums look so sore. :( I hate to see him in so much pain and all of us around here will be SO happy when those suckers break through. He has not been eating much, and sleeping has been inconsistent for him (and us) as well. This morning I went in to get him after he woke and discovered he had a bloody nose in the night. It is a little dry in our house and with his cold and the meds he's on, it just feels like one thing after another. Of course, I freaked out and wanted to make sure he was alright. I was planning to call the nurse's line and Dj looked it up online for me and discovered it is quite normal. Although, I must say, I have not heard any of you mention your children having this issue...have you?

He does this really cute thing with his hands--he puts them on his cheeks and says "ohhh" and we play a little game with him saying "ohhh noooo!" he loves it. I am working so hard with him to say the word "No."

He shakes his head no and totally gets what it means now.

He enjoys eating more table food like: pizza, peas, toast, waffles--plan and blueberry, yogurt, pasta, cheetos, rolls, beans, corn, Cheerios, graham crackers, pancakes, oatmeal, peaches, scrambled eggs, french toast, crackers (Ritz), arrowroot cookies, goldfish crackers, English muffins, baked potato, stuffing, chili, grilled cheese sandwhiches, meatloaf, whipped potatoes, etc.

He is still eating a little bit of baby food but is refusing to eat it more and more each day.

He still drinks from a bottle--usually between 4 and 8 ounces. His biggest bottle is at night--8 oz. before bed.

He does like drinking from a sippy cup and we will start weaning him soon from the bottle slowly.

He enjoys playing with all sorts of toys, especially his John Deere tractor, pushing the shopping cart or Brynn's doll stroller around, legos, Brynn's play food, etc. His new favorite toys are Brynn's phone from her kitchen--he holds it up to his ear and pretends to talk on it. so cute. And, he loves Brynn's hair brush and tries to brush his "full" head of hair on a daily basis. haha

He's still a big fan of technology. Loves remotes, cell phones, light remotes, computers, trying to touch the TV, etc.

He absolutely loves our cats, Zoey and Cammy. He just mauls Cammy every chance he gets and grins from ear-to-ear whenever he is tackling her or pulling her fur or tail. She tolerates it for a very short time, but has never bit him once despite his brutal attacks. And she always goes back for more. Zoey doesn't want anything to do with him, but he still loves her and always tries to "pet" her too. So far he's been unsuccessful.

He continues to get this rash on his face around his mouth that comes and goes. It can get really bad at night and we can tell when his teeth are flaring up because the rash becomes more intense.

He babbles often and his vocab is still pretty limited to his main few words of mama, dada, uh-oh; However, I swear he says "Di-di" for kitty, and "nah-nah" for Brynna, and "day-doo" for thank you. But I have not heard the thank you word in awhile so maybe that was just coincidence. Or me thinking he was saying it when he really wasn't.

He loves to giggle and giggle. It's the best thing ever.

Our newest nickname for him is "Bull." Dj will say, "Here comes Bull!" whenever he's making his way over to see what's going on, primarily to get into something. He truly will just come into any situation and just fly in and make all the noise, throw all the toys, hit things, push things off, etc. He's just a rough little dude and makes the biggest, loudest entrance. It's so funny to watch.

We turned his carseat around about a week ago to face forward. His feet were touching the seat when he was facing rear and it was getting uncomfortable for him. He loves it.

Baylen has discovered the toilet water and likes to put his hands in it and play around. I am not a fan of this. He also has found the toilet paper and learned quickly how to unroll it.

Mister loves clapping and singing and whenever Brynn breaks out in song, he's right by her side dancing and clapping and bobbing his head to the music. It's so freaking cute to watch.

The fighting and screeching continues among the brother and sister. She takes something from him--all hell breaks loose. He reciprocates, and the she's screeching or crying. We have had several interventions this month to break them up from fighting over toys. Sometimes it's because he's getting into a snack she's trying to eat or ruining her play-doh while she's trying to make spaghetti.

He's been throwing food, throwing his sippy cup, throwing toys, throwing his paci. He thinks it's hilarious. I'm not a fan of the throwing of the food, although I do crack up almost every time he does it b/c the look on his face and in his eye is priceless. Please God I hope he is not one of those kids who is always ornery and getting sent to the principal's office. :0

We can give him his bottle and then lay him down even if he's awake and he'll go right to sleep. This is EXCELLENT progress.

He has had many more nights of sleeping all night...well until he got sick last weekend. But still...the 2 weeks it did last was quite amazing.

Sizes: 18 months, some 12 months, 12-18 and some 18-24. (depends on brands)

Getting him to sit still, lay for a few minutes to pose for pictures was damn near impossible. Distraction only works for so long which is not long at all. He currently weighs in at a whopping 24 lbs. and is my little love bug. :)