Months 10 & 11

If I kept up with this blog better I could recall all of Will's events better, but here are the major ones anyway. At 11 months Will:

• Is cruising, standing solo and walking with a walker! I predict he'll be walking on his own by his first birthday.
• Is eating more like a toddler. He's drinking 24 - 28 oz/day of formula + 2 -6 tbsp of finger food 3x/day. He loves bread, cheese, pasta, spaghetti, turkey, chicken, cheesy biscuits, pancakes, bagels with cream cheese, carrots, sweet potatoes, bananas, oatmeal, mashes potatoes, avocado, quesadillas, ravioli, Gold fish, Mum Mums, Cheerios. He is not picky! At all.
• Waves bye-bye and points with me when we say goodnight to all the inanimate objects in his room, (something I've done myself with him every night for months).
•  Will now sit still long enough to hear an entire (short) story book.
• Says mama! The only time this is bad is when he's crying and saying mama. It kills me!
• Lifts his arms/reaches out to be picked up/held.
• Has 6 teeth total - 4 on top, 2 on bottom.
• Still sleeping in the swing at home. The only way with Will is CIO method I'm afraid. The last time I put him in his crib he cried so hard he puked. I'd never felt more awful. I haven't tried again since...
• Loves playing peek-a-boo, Bill's guitar, iPhones/iPad, computers, tupperware, his new walker and activity table he got for Christmas.
• Does not love the car seat. This is relatively new. He doesn't really cry, he just whines. And whines. And whines. It'll be time to get a convertible seat soon so maybe having a bigger seat will help.

We had a great holiday! We stayed home. Thanksgiving we did the Dallas Turkey Trot for the first time which was fun and will be our new family tradition I think. We went to my mom's for dinner. That's just a must! My sister and her family came to town for a week for Christmas which was wonderful! We hadn't seen them since July and the kids absolutely love to play together. My nieces, 5 and 2 yo, love Will and play so nicely with him. It's going to be such a joy to watch them grow together throughout the years. We took the girls to the American Girl Doll store at the Galleria which was quite the experience! I think the adult girls were just as googeley-eyed as they were! We spent time with my Dad and Pat which is always nice. Overall, it was just a peaceful, yet very very busy, holiday. And so incredibly special this year. The memories we made will stay with me for the rest of my life.

And now it's January and next on my radar is Will's first birthday! I won't even try to explain how crazy it is that he's almost one already, but I'm so glad I have this blog and his baby book and album as a reminder of every smile, milestone, celebration and challenge.

It's hard to imagine 2014 could top 2013 but it's already off to a great start! Bill starts a new job on the 13th. This is a great move for him. He was recruited by his former VP that left the company. This office will be 10 mi's away from home, he'll be reporting directly to a VP, and he's one of the newest members to a new team this VP is building. Lots of room for growth which is just what he wanted! He's going from a mega corporation to a small company which, having been on both sides, I think he's really going to love working for a small company. He'll be across the hall from the CEO. And the 22% salary increase is a major blessing! Will starts daycare in March, (my mom is moving), so that will certainly alleviate that added expense. Please keep Bill in your prayers as he begins this new adventure!

As for me, I am finally back into all my pre-pregnancy clothes, running four miles and able to do chin ups again! I'm by no means close to my goal yet (a 10k), but it's been fun getting back in to shape (seriously!).

While me and my family have been blessed beyond measure, a very close family member was hit with some terrible news recently. So please pray for strength, courage and healing for my family. I'm praying all of our loved ones have a blessed and especially memorable 2014. I have 10 friends/family members having babies this year so far, 3 of which will be our new nieces/nephews! Nothing brings joy like a baby.

Happy New Year to you all. Cheers!