eleven. exactly one louder.

or in this case, one older AND one louder (if you haven't seen spinal tap, you don't get it, but trust me, it's funny). link, you have found your voice this month!!! and you know how to "talk" much LOUDER!! ;)

goodness gracious! my baby is so near one and i can't take it!! each month that goes by, he gains more and more independence. now that he is fully mobile and able to walk, this has taken on a whole new meaning. he is captain crazy pants busy - everywhere we take him we get comments and folks are wide-eyed with his energy level. it's EXHAUSTING and so much fun.

so here are some things i want to remember about this time in your life, link.

- you are starting to walk. it's precious, the confidence this has given you and the fun this has brought to all our lives.

- you eat. and eat and eat and eat. when we sit down for a meal, you start slapping the table for food, and you DO. NOT. STOP. until we take you away from the table. at most restaurants, i bring you some sandwich meat, fruit, cheese, crackers/bread, a full container of puffs, beans, some sort of veggie...and you eat it all. THEN, you eat an entire kid's meal. it's unbelievable. several people at restaurants have made comments in amazement (like, "does he need a shovel?"). i'm wondering how much you will eat as a teenager?!? my goodness, boy.

- your precious sounds and words. you've got dada and mama down. you say ball all the time, but not necessarily always directed at an actual ball. :) you're starting to say hi, which is hilarious because you LOVE the "h" sound and drag it out a loooong time. you love to make snake noises, ("ssssssssssssssss") and are absolutely in awe when someone sounds it back to you. you will mimic pretty much anything we say to you to the best of your ability, and you seem to love this sense of the beginnings of true communication. i bet! it's nice, isn't it?

- you absolutely love, love other kids and people. you smile and wave, giggle and grin and just get so excited to see people paying attention to you. you LOVE to flirt with girls. i'm in trouble. :)

- you adore music of any kind, dancing, and bobbing your head to the beat. awesome. baby einstein has you wrapped around it's warped and weird little finger. but it's okay - you also love the rolling stones, beatles, U2, justin timberlake, beyonce, and the black eyed peas (you should see him shake it to "single ladies"). ;) you light up like a christmas tree when you hear one of those videos start. you love elmo (especially elmo's potty - son, if you want to be potty trained now i'm okay with that. haha) and nothing is as cute as seeing you dance to the sesame street theme song.

we are starting to plan your birthday party and although you don't know it's coming, i know you will have so much fun. :)

we are blessed and thank God for every day with you. happy eleven, sweet boy!