One month away from a year!

Eli will 11 months tomorrow.  He is ONE MONTH away from a year, and is birthday party is a month from yesterday.  This year has gone by so so fast, and I've tried to enjoy every single minute of it.

Sometimes, I get teary eyed thinking about how much he's changed.  The background on my cell phone is a picture of me holding Eli on the day he was born.  It blows my mind how much he's changed.  The little (big) 9lb baby, who would only sleep on our arms, nursed constantly and could be left laying just about anywhere has been replaced by a baby who, honestly, looks more and more like a little boy every day.  He sleeps a solid 12 hrs every night, goes down like a champ, is constantly on the move and is into EVERYTHING.  I haven't tried to rush through any of his stages.  The words "I'll be glad when he..." are not a part of our vocabulary.  Each day with that sweet sweet boy is such a blessing.  And as much as I sometimes miss my snuggly child, I'm really enjoying him just as he is.

At 11 months Eli:
- can say a few words!!!  He says Mama and Dada (still not 100% sure if he knows what he's saying), Mum Mum, book (without the k sound) and duck (again, it sounds like duck without the k sound).  For all three of those he definitely knows what they mean!  It's so neat that he's starting to (verbally) communicate with us!
- LOVES to read.  We seriously read a dozen books a day, at least.  He loves to turn the pages, so we only read board books for now, and he will hold them up and say "book" to request a reading.  It's adorable.  Sometimes when we're in his room playing he'll crawl over to my lap and say "book".  Melt. my. heart.  I love it.
- is really into making messes!  Some of his favorite things to do are pulling down all the board books from his shelf (every. last. one), throwing all the toys out of his pack n play, and opening his dresser drawers and tossing his clothes on the floor.  Yep - these things spell fun.  Sometimes it can be slightly annoying, but really, I don't mind too much.  He's just so stinkin cute.
- has developed a wonderful relationship with his Dada.  They walk Ollie together and play together regularly.  When JP gets home, Eli is so excited and reaches for him almost immediately.  It makes this Mama so happy to see and hear her boys playing together, laughing and enjoying one another so much.
- crawls everywhere.  He follows me around the house and is QUICK.  He also pulls up on everything and can stand using a wall.  He also cruises on furniture!  Walking may not be too far away (though we're not in any hurry)
- sleeps and naps like a little champ!
- likes to snuggle in the mornings and when he first wakes up from a nap.  It's usually just for a few minutes but we soak it all in - most of the day he wants to move and play on his own (unless he's sitting in our laps for a story).

And, at 11 months, Eli brings us more joy than we could have ever dreamed.  He is such a wonderful blessing and we thank God for him daily!