Eleven Months

Height: 28.5"

Weight: 18 lbs, 1 oz.

Lots of people told me that life would change when he started walking. I thought I understood what they were saying, but as usual, you really can't know until you're experiencing it for yourself. I'm exhausted in a way I've not been exhausted before. It's hard to compare it to the tiring days with a newborn, because I'm still living in those sleep-deprived days. 

It's not the fact that he's walking that's exhausting. It is the constant messes he makes and the pulling things off tables & night stands and out of cabinets and hurting himself when he falls over (a million times a day) and wanting to be held and then immediately wanting to be down and making more messes. The fact that he is still up 2-3 times every night just adds to the exhaustion. 

I'm happy. I love being a mom. I love Peter. I am SO tired. 

It's clear that we had a tough night last night because I can't think of anything to write about except how tired I am! :) I'll come up with something though. I want to remember other things about this stage of his life. 

He continues to be a really happy baby! This month he learned to clap and give high-fives and it is SO much fun to watch him because he grins so big every time. He also loves to "pat" people and tables and all solid objects. His patting is pretty hard, though, and is a problem when he's patting a 2 month old baby's face. He thinks it's hilarious to hit me in the face and while I tell him no and make him stop, it's so hard to not laugh when he's got that wonderful baby belly laugh going. 

He's also started holding his arms up in the air for you to pick him up. He doesn't like being held for very long, however, because he wants to be walking around, making new discoveries (aka making more messes). 

Fun Memories From This Month:

*Peter attended his 1st volleyball game 

*He summited his first mountain (Mt. Tipsoo)

*We picked vegetables from a friend's garden & he ate tomatoes and green beans fresh off the vine

*Peter got to move to the "Big Kids" side of the nursery 

We had a scare this month when Peter had an allergic reaction to cashews one evening. We ended up in Urgent Care the following morning when he had full body hives and his breathing was a little odd. He had blood drawn this past week for allergy testing and we're still waiting to hear from the Dr. to find out the results. We're really praying that he won't have to deal with a severe nut allergy. 

He only uses his pacifier when he's sleeping, but he does like to chew on them if he finds one laying on the ground while he's playing. There is only one kind of pacifier he will keep in his mouth, so we've got quite a collection of them now. He loses at least one every night when he throws it (or it falls) behind his crib, so we've got a stash ready in order to pop the next one in his mouth and get him back to sleep quickly. 

His hair is a little bit darker and thicker now, but not a lot. It's crazy to look at his newborn photos and see that he doesn't have much more hair now, almost a year later. He has the softest head though...I love rubbing it, and so does just about everyone else he meets.

I know how you feel, little dude. And now we're back to the subject of being tired. It's really a theme for us these days.

But so is being grateful! We have experienced great tragedy recently with the shooting at Umpqua Community College here in Roseburg. I think that the events of that day and the resulting grief is a part of why I feel so tired. It's been a busy, hard, and draining time for us, and so many others. In those dark days immediately after the shooting, Peter was a source of happiness and joy for so many people. It was good to be reminded that there is GOOD in the world and it's worth celebrating.  

It was even nice to focus on teeny, tiny milestones like the fact that he can now open his toy box on his own. We've still got a long road of mourning and healing and figuring out what "normal" looks like from here, but it has been amazing to watch this community come together in the face of this tragedy. I'm grateful that Peter gets to call Roseburg home.