Mr Bananas is 11 months old! (Belated)

My monkey stopped and smiled for me when he saw the camera

Our Mr. Bananas turned 11 months old.  I can't believe that he will be a year old next month.  The time sure does fly!  I am amazed not only how quickly time passes by, but what is accomplished in that amount of time.

Mr. Bananas now has six teeth. His tops finally busted through and so have ones on either side of his front top teeth.  He has been cruising around the furniture and he has been attempting to stand without holding onto anything. He's accomplished the standing alone once or twice!  He can crawl very quickly and is often off like a shot after his brother and sister.  It's a good thing that they are so good with him.  He adores them.  He sleeps better through the night. Every now and again he'll wake up, but I'm going to attribute that to teething as it is not a consistent night waking.  Just 3 or 4 nights at a time and then he sleeps through the night for weeks at a time.

I think he needs more sleep because he is often rubbing his eyes around dinner time at 6:30pm. I think that I'll need to feed him earlier than everyone else and put him to bed earlier.  Though if I do that, Hubby won't have a chance to spend any time with him. We'll see how things go.

He signs and can ask for "more", tell me he's "all done", "hello," and "goodbye" and point to things that he wants.  His spoken verbal isn't too bad either. He can say "more," "Mama," "bye-bye," and "da" (daddy). Most recently he signed and said, "Mah, Mama" (More, Mama)!

He loves to flirt with the ladies who sit behind us in church. He's constantly smiling and then hiding from them.  He also likes to crawl around the pew and will often crawl on the floor from one end to the other.

Enjoying some Daddy time

Mr. B. is very comfortable in the childcare at the gym and loves playing with the toys and meeting new kids. One time they put him in baby jail  the exersaucer so he'd stay in one place for a minute and they told me he just looked defeated. He looked at Miss Tracy for a long time and then put his face down on the tray kind of pathetically. They quickly took him out and he was a happy monkey again.  Most recently they had to do it again because some of the bigger kids were playing a little more roughly and they put him in to keep him safe. Instead of being defeated, he enjoyed watching the big kids play.

Mommy has become 2nd best once daddy is home. When Mr. B. hears the garage door open, and especially when he hears Daddy's voice, he will either go towards the sound or if I'm holding him, push away from me and look around for Daddy.

Mr. B. is still my most demanding child. Not because he is the baby, but because he screams for attention. He's pretty good while we are out, but if he's hungry and we're home. Forget about it! He is demanding and inconsolable.  I also think he likes to hear the sound of his own voice!

His big sister and brother are really good about taking care of him and allowing him to play around them.  They don't fuss too much when they are playing together and he wants to join in.  They change what they are doing and remove any small pieces to make it baby friendly. It's nice that they do that without having to be told.

I love the way he finds the perfect place in our necks to nuzzle.

I still can't believe my last baby will soon be a toddler.  I am trying to cherish all the good times and remember (and take pictures) of all the cute moments. Like how he squinches his nose and lifts his face up and his eyes disappear in his smile. They way he stops to pose for the camera when he sees me pull it out to take a picture. They way he nuzzles into my neck. They way he sings and pounds the chair and makes his own beat to a music only he can hear.  The way his baby butt wiggles as he crawls away quickly to something new and interesting.  And the "who, me?" face he gives me when I say, "no" as he's about to push all the buttons on our DVD player.

I love him, and I can't imagine our family without him.  Happy 11 months, Mr. Bananas!