Letter to my Little Bear

Little Bear,

This past Sunday, you turned 11 months old. We met some new people at church who asked how old you were, and I almost cried a little bit when I told them. In less than a month, you are going to be one year old. I literally can't believe it. 

You've made a lot of advances this past month. My favorite thing is that you now put your own Cheerios in your mouth. Previously, you had a little bit of a princess syndrome going on; the kind where you wanted Cheerios and would lean forward with your mouth open. It took me weeks and weeks to get you to do it yourself. You would cry and fuss and act like I'd asked you to eat glass or something. So, the day that I held a Cheerio out on my palm and you nonchalantly picked it up and put it in your mouth was a HUGE and victorious day for me. You quickly moved on to picking up bread, cheese, and turkey at mealtimes. Oh, it's been sweet.

You are still not crawling, but it's ok. You're a scooter. You can scoot yourself around pretty effectively, and you love to stand. You're not yet standing without some help, but you don't need too much. I'm still cool with this; no need to rush complete mobility. Especially with the all-tile apartment we have. 

My very favorite thing that you've been doing recently is what we call your "tribal head greeting." We don't know how or why you started doing it, but you will frequently tilt your head forward (cutting your eyes upward so that you can still look at whomever you're interacting with) and lean in, with the goal of touching foreheads. I've had to explain it to several people that you've attempted to "greet." The best moment was when you tried to greet Charlie. He totally didn't get it and just tried to take your toy away (don't be mad: you let him know how you felt about it. Loudly. He left you alone.)

Speaking of Charlie, you were his guest at his first birthday party! We had fun watching the two of you interact. He's basically your only same-age friend. We love Charlie and his family, so we're pretty happy that he's your buddy.

This past month has been REALLY cold. You and I don't get out and go too many places because we've had so much single-digit temperature days. When we do go places, though, you have the best time. You are continually proving to us that you are quite the extrovert. You just love being around people. And, you always put on a show for folks. I'm afraid that you're going to be a ham. The grocery store is one of your favorite places to go, and yes, we always let you carry a bag of salad or spinach. You are delighted every time.

You have gotten a little more rigid with your eating and bedtimes. You are pretty clear about when you're hungry and sleepy. This is a little difficult to balance with events like church. You get hungry before the end of the service, so I end up shoving Cheerios in your mouth throughout Communion to keep you occupied (not while we go forward...but while everyone else does). Speaking of Communion, this week when we went forward, Sam (remember him? He's one of the pastors.) put his hand on his head to pray for you, and you pushed his hand away! Bear. That's really not polite. And, that left Sam trying not to laugh. Laughing really isn't appropriate during Communion. Let's try to behave in the future, mmmkay?

We really love watching you in church, too, because you love to "sing" and "participate" in the liturgy. Everyone sitting near us always loves it. You are quite joyful during church, which is wonderful.

One of your current favorite things is riding in the Ergo carrier on my back. You've always loved riding in the Baby Bjorn (which is worn on the front), but you've recently gotten really into the backpack-style carrier. I wear you in it when we go do laundry and sometimes when you're just disgruntled with life. It's fun. Except when you lick my shirt. That's a little gross.

You are so fun and sweet and love your life. You get prettier everyday, and your personality is coming out more and more. We LOVE it! We're so glad you're our Bear.

XO <---times infinity.

44 weeks with Fawkes at Gran and Grandpa's

Rawr!!

45 weeks

46 weeks...sassy pants.

47 weeks

48 weeks and 11 months

Charlie's birthday!

"I want one! Please mom??"

We love you, Bearsy-Bear! Lots of snuggles and cuddles.