11 months

Hey Keaton Carter,

I've found that calling your full name really draws your attention. You usually reply with your sly smile and shy guy eyes. Then you will pull out the babbles. You really babble with such intention and inflection in your voice. You know how to say it like you mean it and you may even bust into a growl at the end for emphasis. Your brother loves to play a baby talk translation game with you. He'll ask you how to say words... How do you say lunch, you'll reply nananaaah!

This month you spent the majority of your awake time wanting to stomp around the house.  You would stick out your gingerbread boy legs and squawk if I tried to simply sit you down.   You wanted to stand and cruise along.  If only my arms where just a little longer and it would save my back.  You will tromp from mirror to mirror and fast step your way straight to your brother or dad.  You will sometime hold one hand, but if you feel shaky you look right at me, squeal and flap your hand to be held.

Your big boy moments are blowing my mind.  While watching you sitting in the second row through your brothers mousey show eating up a bag of Cheerios like popcorn, I was amazed that you were calm and the show kept your attention.  You love to dance during your brothers tumbling class and I let you play on the mats when there are fewer kids there.  Your own little guy story time grooves are really fun for you and you seem especially interested in your bigger buddies.  

You are content tagging along and seemed to enjoy the National Art Gallery for your brother's programs. You wanted to try to walk around the galleries in your big boy shoes. Your favorite Calder mobiles in the east wing make you reach out to grab.  The shadows are just as interesting to you.  Your shadow chasing makes me appreciate the sun that streams in through our big windows here.

You started wrestling with Aiden, who is pretty careful with you.  You usually end up laying back against his tummy and pinning him with your head, which Aiden knows is fragile. You loved riding next to your brother in the two wheeled rocket ship cart at Harris Teeter.  You moved to the big boy car seat and you like the better view of your brother next to you.  You and your bath buddy brother figured out how to add to the fun in the tub: screaming and splashing.  The decibel level of the screams are off the charts.

We've reached the beginning of kamikaze toddling days. At the beginning of the month you biffed it on the backside of your walker toy, and you didn't want much to do with it for a while after that.  We rearranged furniture and you became very interested in playing with the divets in the carpet and any little piece of smidge you could find on this textured Berber funkadelic carpet. You are a pro at finding smidge and pinching it to try and eat it.  A friend joked with me that her kid could find bits of scotch tape on the ground but she is somehow never able to find the tape.  

You continue to like things that aren't really toys and especially helping me with my yarn and Aiden's huge puzzles.  You love finding alternate ways to 'play' with toys - aka dismantling them - like pulling the shoes off your octopus ball toy.  You seek out any dirty shoe and a highlight was playing with Poppop's big shoes.

You are a flexy guy that can do a perfect downward facing dog yoga pose (and hold it longer than me!). You will sometimes go into the splits from standing and sit like that is no big deal. You like to stand holding yourself with one arm and reach down to pick something else up and bang it around.  Your face is just as flexy as the rest of your body, and you love to open your mouth super wide for a good yelp or make the cutest fishy face possible.

In the afternoon you like sharing cheese and crackers (aka cheese and Cheerios) with me.  You sometimes take two bites out of a tiny Cheerio. Sometimes the perfectly sized Cheerios will wrap around your little top teeth and you will smile with a Cheerio chomp face.  Feeding us toys or bits you find on the floor is a long time favorite, but this month you seemed like you were genuinely sharing.

Your gravity testing is in full effect with very intentional throwing your cup experiments. I think for crafternoon we need some art project where it involves throwing things off the side of your chair.  It could involve tearing napkins and paper into teeny tiny pieces and then throwing it onto sticky paper below. Sounds artistic, eh?  Your hair also likes to try to defy gravity with a little static action.

Your teething causes you to want to nibble just about anything including your dad's shoulder. If you encounter something flat it becomes more f a slobbery kiss. If I point out a picture of a baby or dog in a book you like to give the page kisses. I have a feeling the mirrors in this house will all have a schmear right at your height for a while.  Your raspberry lips seems to make your gums feel better so you are either munching your hand or rattling your lips in a raspberry.

This was a very mobile month and it sure felt like we were running through it despite having an extra leap day.  It was the first February in a while where I can remember feeling healthy and happy, so I was thankful for that extra day. And I think I have your little pitter patter feet and slobber kisses to thank for that happiness... and the fact that we didn't buy a new furnace or have a water leak!  Eeek!

You like to play a pointing game where you point at something and I tell you what it is.  One of your favorites is hat and you giggle when I put anything on your head.  When I point to you and say baby, you look over your shoulder to see what I'm pointing at... because somehow you don't think of yourself as my baby?  I have news for you kiddo, you'll always be my baby.  

I love you, mamamanamama