Only one more month until you have been here for a whole year Joseph! Can you believe that?  Each month and each new stage just keeps getting better and better!  Your communication has really improved this month.  You have learned new words like “clap” and “throw.” One of your favorite activities is “throwing” a ball and chasing it all around the house.  You are mimicking animal sounds like “ruff,” “moo,” and “quack” and the most adorable piggy sound that I can’t spell.  When we say, “show me your muscles” you hold both your arms up high and grunt! The other day you grabbed my cell phone and held it up to your hear to say hello.  You love to play peek a boo with rags and covers and we play chase after the bath.

You grew two teeth this month!  One on top (opposite side of your bottom one) and just today we felt the other bottom tooth coming through. Your smile got bigger when your teeth came in and now you scrunch your nose up when you grin.  It is just the cutest thing!
We are learning that you are very funny about textures and there are certain toys, especially your farm animals, that give you the shivers when you touch them.  I don’t know if you are afraid or just don’t like the way they feel, but your whole body shakes and you drop them every time.

We have spent a lot of time outside in the beautiful weather and you really like crawling all over the yard.  You pull up and get into all the plants and have taste tested a lot of dirt.  You must like it because you always go back for more.  Your eating habits are strong and you now eat more than your sister at every meal.  We struggle to keep food on your tray because you eat so fast.  You are really good at trying everything we give you and if it doesn’t sit well, you simply spit it out; no fuss. We know you are full when you spread all your food around or throw it on the floor. This is definitely the stage where I wish we had a dog that could be our clean up crew. We had a family yogurt date the other night and you LOVED it so much there was quite a fit when we ran out.

This month there have been signs that you are going to be neat and organized like me.  At the library you went behind all the kids picking up the blocks and putting them back in the bin.  You collect all of Madeleine’s doll clothes and put them in their bag.  You even picked up daddy’s shorts in the bathroom and threw them in the trash! I love watching your personality and quirks come out.

We celebrated your first Valentine’s day with heart shaped pancakes and a family date at pei wei.  You are still wearing 6-12 month clothes (not for long) and size 3 diapers.  Your hair has grown a little but we still can’t tell if it’s light brown or blonde. Happy 11 months Joseph!