Bennett: 11 Months!

Let me start by saying I cannot believe this little guy is almost 1!!!  Where does the time go?  Although if I am being honest, it really does feel like I haven't had a good night's sleep in a year...and I haven't!  Bennett is back to getting up during the night.  We had a couple of good weeks, but then he cut three new teeth (so now he has 4!), and had his first ear infection.  It's been a losing battle since then.  Thankfully naps are still awesome (2 per day around 1.5-2 hours each), but I only reap those benefits on Saturdays and Sundays.

We have been working on finger foods - Bennett prefers them, but it's hard to think of new things to try!  He eats a LOT of mac & cheese, banana pieces, cheerios, and grilled cheese.  Not too healthy.  Thankfully he tolerates having yogurt and veggie purees with his meals too.  He also loves eating whatever we're eating.  I think I had half of my tortilla soup tonight and the other half went to Bennett.  I can't wait until summer when good fruits and veggies will be plentiful!  He's also really close to drinking from a sippy cup himself, but he still doesn't quite get the tipping idea.  (Or maybe he's smarter than I am and has realized I will just help him if he sits with it in his mouth....)

Bennett is walking all over.  He doesn't really crawl at all now, though he still wobbles and falls sometimes, especially if he's trying to run.  Still no real words, but he babbles a lot.  He will sometimes yell when we get to the elephant page in his animal noise book.  He does wave hi and bye-bye, as well as play peek-a-boo.  He also loves "I'm going to get you" and will start to run away but loves when you "get him" and tickle him.  Bennett is silly and loves laughing - his favorite thing to make him laugh besides tickles is sneezing noises.  I don't know why, but looking at him and saying, "Achoo!" makes him laugh every time.  

I feel like lately we're on constant baby watch patrol: "Bennett - HOT!" (when he gets close to the fireplace).  "Bennett - that's Cooper's water dish!"  He is just so curious and into everything.  His favorite activity is probably finding things and carrying them around the house.  If it's not a baby toy, that's even better.  I found my shoe in the bathroom yesterday.  :)  Despite all this movement, he still love loves reading books!  

We can't wait to continue watching this guy grow and develop!  His personality is so fun.  We're really looking forward to getting outside a lot this summer.