Anson: 11 months!

Where to begin?? I was actually really excited to write this post because Anson has grown up so much and does so many entertaining things.

He continues to be cheerful- constantly. He smiles, giggles, laughs and babbles. He mimics sounds a lot and does monkey sounds, duck sounds and doggie sounds. He also purposefully says 'mama' and 'dada,' which makes us happy. As most kids, 'mama' has turned into the "I need anything" sound. He also waves and has even blown kisses a few times. My favorite thing this past month is Anson now gives hugs! If you pick him up and say "hugs," he squeezes your neck so tightly. Sometimes he even will pat your back. He's such a great snuggler.

Anson's favorite song is "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam." He also really likes "You are My Sunshine." He dances anytime music plays (or anytime someone says "dance"). He crawls around and is getting faster. On occasion he reverts to army-crawl. He prefers cruising (holding on to things and walking) more than anything. He'll stand up for about 5 seconds balancing and then sit down. He loves climbing and exploring. When we go to parks he is very adventurous and LOVES to swing and go down slides on his tummy. He'll also play in the sand for a long time, and thankfully isn't eating as much sand as he used to. He still loves to pick up (and eat if possible) rocks and leaves. One more thing-if he has something he wants and you take it, be ready for a reaction. This is the one thing that's not so congruent with his personality--he sure screams and gets red (and purple sometimes).

So yes, he eats anything and everything. When it is time to eat and he doesn't have food, he gets pretty worked up. The sight of food makes him bounce and "ooooh" and "aaah" and still gets his hands rolling quickly. I am usually shocked at how much he eats. Basically an adult serving of food every meal. He'll eat an entire peanut butter and honey sandwich for lunch. Another surprise was that Anson naturally weaned himself. His last 'meal' was his 11 month birthday. He drinks cows milk and continues to grow and grow. He has 4 teeth still but it looks like the next top two teeth will be on their way in soon.

Anson has been a better sleeper this last month (yay!). He's also getting better and going down for naps and bedtime. If he does cry, it's usually only one good whelp. He usually sleeps from, say, 8:30pm-6:00am and has 2 naps / day (a long one and then a shorter one...but if we're out and about and he naps in the stroller he'll have 2 or 3 short ones. Poor guy....I am not a respecter of nap times like some moms. We choose fun over naps quite often...).