10 and 11 Months.

Good Morning! The sun is shining, the weather has warmed up even more since yesterday, and Eli and I are going shopping with Aunt Leah today...but before we do, I realized I forgot to do Eli's 10 month post, so we're rolling them into one. It is getting harder and harder to take any good photos of him since he wants to crawl away from me all the time! At 10 and 11 months, my busy bee...

is so much fun! He's generally in a good mood, and we have so much fun playing with him right now. He loves it if he thinks you are chasing him, and Matth and I spend a lot of our night crawling around on our knees pretending to be bears or some other animal. Makes us wish we really had some carpet in our house.

He loves to clap if he's excited or proud of himself. If he's holding onto something with one hand, he'll pat himself on the belly with the other hand to clap. He can wave hi to us now, and sometimes gets the clapping and waving confused. :)

He loves walking with someone's help, and will take about ten steps on his own, but is still crawling for the most part.

He loves to be outside, and if he's having a fussy moment, I usuallly take him outside now that the weather has been warmer and we play on a blanket in the backyard. He could play out there for hours. I showed him how to blow a grass whistle the other day and he hated it. Started bawling right away. Guess it was a little too loud for him. :)

He's very curious right now about everything. He loves to pull things down or apart, study each piece, then drop it on the floor and pull down the next piece. This also means that at naptime, I walk around the house picking up all sorts of odds and ends that he has dropped, like books, cards, magazines, tupperware, etc.

He is still throwing mini-tantrums if he doesn't get his way. He clenches his little fists, shakes them in the air, his face gets bright red and he screams at us. Right now we just tell him no and usually end up laughing at his antics. I'm sure soon we'll have to get a little more serious with our "no's".

He loves to rough house. He loves it when we are tossing him in the air, turning him upside down, throwing him over our shoulders, etc. And nothing makes him laugh more right now than when Matthew grabs him and attacks him with whisker kisses all over his neck.

Right now he hates having his diaper or clothes changed. It's a battle (literally) every time we try. Usually I have to hold him down with one elbow while I wrestle his diaper on him with my hands. He is screaming and crying and trying with all his might to flip over and fling himself off the dresser. As soon as we pick him up, the tears stop and he'll grin at us. Stinker!

He has six teeth right now. They seemed to all come in pretty close to one another around months 7-8, but we haven't seen any signs of any new ones yet. We are brushing his teeth at night, and he doesn't seem to know what to think of it, but he does like to suck the water out of the toothbrush.

His hair is still blond as can be, and his eyes are almost the exact same color as mine. His hair is growing over his ears, and Matthew keeps telling me to cut it, but I'm not ready yet. I love when he wakes up from his naps, and his hair is all over the place. Wish I looked that cute with a messy bed head!

What else...

-he's wearing 12 month clothes for length, but probably 9 month for waist size. Skinny boy!

-He's eating about 24 oz. of formula a day, and three meals when he feels like it. Besides yogurt, he is on all table food, and loves to feed himself. He has refused pureed foods from us for a few months now. His favorites right now seem to be whole grain toast with hummus, kiwi, broccoli, cauliflower, and banana yogurt. We try many different foods a day, and he kindly says "no thank you" by throwing them on the floor until we find something he likes to eat. :)

-We don't go to the doctor again until he's one, so I'm not sure on his weight and height, but I'm guessing 19 pounds, and maybe 29 1/2 inches or so.

-can say dada, mama, and baba...but I don't think he really associates them with us.

-sleeps 12 hours a night, usually from 8:30-8:30

-takes two naps a day, usually 1-2 hours each

This month I've been rocking him to sleep more, especially now that his first birthday is just a few weeks away. I stand and bounce him until he lays his sweet head  down and then I can cradle him and stare at his face. I just want to hold him a little longer each day. He is such a gift, and Matthew and I are so very blessed to call him ours for now. We thank God every day for gifting us with Eli for the time being, and we know he is ultimately His, and we pray we can raise Eli to be Christ-like. It's an overwhelming responsibilty, but luckily, we aren't doing it alone. He is our comfort, our shield, and provider. In some ways, I want to freeze this last month and never have my baby turn one, but in so many other ways, I want him to grow up so he can serve God and work for his Kingdom.

Psalm 3:3 But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, My glory, and the One who lifts my head.

Hebrews 2:13 And again, "I will put my trust in Him." And again, "Behold, I and the children whom God has given me."