11 Month Letter

Dear Nikos,

ELEVEN MONTHS!! Where has the time gone? Every time we turn around, you've grown right before our eyes. And with your first birthday only a month (!!!) away, we simply can't believe how the time has sailed by!

Now that you have become a master at crawling, anything and everything is fair game. Your favorite target to chase is, of course, the cat. You will follow Charlie back and forth through the house until he finally seeks safety on higher ground. When you do manage to catch up with him, you will bury your head in his tummy, grab his tail, or even attempt to crawl OVER him. Luckily, Charlie is a very tolerant kitty, and lets you do all of these things. And then he even nuzzles against you, because he loves you so much. You two have become pretty tight, despite the fact that he once wanted nothing to do with you!

You also like to pretend to feed Charlie food while you're eating, which you find hilarious. I feed you with one spoon, while you insist on holding a spoon of your own (you won't eat, otherwise). And although you will inevitably throw the spoon to the floor at some point, you never fail to hold it out for Charlie to sniff first, bringing a huge smile to your adorable face. For his part, Charlie has discovered that he likes some of the things that you eat (lunch meat, for example), and he will wait for you to throw some of it onto the floor so that he can have a little snack! You and your furry friend make quite a pair sometimes!

Another fun thing you started doing this month: dancing! Less than two weeks ago, you started bopping your head up and down while sitting... and then you added in some knee-bends while standing. You love to dance when you're in a good mood, and it's completely hilarious! We can often get you started by busting some dance moves ourselves, which send you into fits of giggles.

Speaking of giggles... there are some games you really seem to like at the moment, which should be recorded here for posterity. At the top of the list is the game of fetch. You love to take a ball (especially the golf ball you found in Daddy's closet), throw it, and then crawl after it. You also have a love for pulling magazines off the coffee table, or removing the junk mail from the box under our entry hall table (where we put it before shredding/recycling it). Last but not least, you love it when one of us will get down on all four and crawl around the house with you-- especially if you get to chase us! This game is great fun, and can quickly jolt you out of a grumpy mood.

It is just so amazing to see how much you can change in simply a matter of weeks. When you want something now, you point at it, reach for it, open and close your palms, and say who-knows-what until we give it to you. When you want to be picked up, you throw both arms into the air and give us that puppy-dog face you're so good at. When you see that the baby gate has been put up, you will crawl over and rattle toys against the bars like a prisoner with a tin cup, complaining all the while (you hate it!). You love bathing in the real tub now, and could splash around in there for an hour, if we'd let you. You have definite likes and dislikes that are starting to become apparent. And right before our eyes, you are becoming more of a toddler and less of a little baby.

Every day with you continues to be an adventure, and you fill our lives with so much happiness. Daddy and I have decided that we kinda like having you around. :) You are the best little boy that we could ever hope for and, as always, we look forward to the month ahead... Hope you're ready for your birthday party, big boy! :)

Lots of Love,
Mommy & Daddy