11 months!

On Saturday Abe was officially 11 months old! He has now been in our family longer than with his first family. And I can only hope that he knows deep, deep down that he is home. I pray that in his future, he will always trust that this is forever. It's permanent. Abe is bright spot to my morning when I retrieve him from his crib. He's a bright spot to my afternoon and evening too. :) He's just a very sweet part of us. All four of us love him dearly and feel particularly blessed that God gave him to us!

I'm a baby lover. I love all things about the baby stage...except for maybe bottle washing. The smiles, the cuddles, the babbling, the rocking, the baby food making and feeding, the bottle feeding, and watching them learn new things on a sometimes daily basis. I LOVE being a mom to babies. (I adore my role as mommy to all three of my boys. And I love the other stages too as they grow and learn and develop....don't get me wrong on that. But I am just a sucker for babies.) About 2 weeks ago, Abe's sleep was still so inconsistent. He was normally waking up at some point during the night. So we decided to finally let the boy cry it out. It took two nights. And he has been sleeping beautifully ever sense. He needed us to break that nighttime bottle habit for him. He's a big boy. We knew he didn't really need that extra feeding. So we finally had to make the tough call. And I'm very thankful to God that the process was very short lived. Just two nights. I couldn't have asked for better circumstances. Now he is sleeping from about 7:30pm-7:30am (with the exception of the time change that has thrown him off a little bit). He also is a great napper. He takes about a 2 hour nap in the morning and again in the afternoon. I was starting to wonder if this boy would be an awful childhood sleeper for years to come. But I think we have made it over that hump! He's really doing fabulous in this area, which is a blessing for him and also for me.

He now takes four 5oz bottles a day. This is a whole lot less than both Holden and Pax. But based on his size we are confident he is getting enough. I don't know his exact size but he is still wearing 12-18month clothes. Abe is still eating a lot of purees and other soft fruits and veggies and plenty of grains. He is a great eater right now! He's learned to drink from a straw recently. I often share with him my green smoothies and he thinks it's a huge treat. His two top teeth finally popped thru this month. They are about halfway in at this point. Teething has been a very slow process for this little guy. Poor Abe. It seems to be a long, drawn out, painful process to earn each tooth. I hope they continue to come in two at a time. So as of now, he only has his front 4 teeth.

Currently, Abe is very close to walking. He stands up on his own, without using anything to pull himself up. He stands independently while shaking a rattle or clapping his hands. I'm always surprised when the quick movement doesn't make him fall back down. This weekend he took about 3 tiny and wobbly steps towards me, with my encouragement. He may be our earliest walker yet. Since he is so close to walking, he now loves to bear crawl around the house on only his hands and feet. He now likes to wave his hand, especially when he sees his own face in the mirror. He bobs his head when he hears music. So far that's the only kind of dancing we get from him, but we find it adorable. And the whole family has to stop and watch. He plants kisses on my face several times a day. I say "Abe, give me kisses." And he leans in and gives me a mouth kiss, or he will place his cheek onto my lips allowing me to kiss his cheeks. He came up with that one all by himself and I think it's pretty clever.

He still does not like diaper changes much or to even be laid on his back for much of anything. If he is irritated, he doesn't hold it in. He's been known to yell at his big brothers if they are in his face too much or take something from his hands. And he's been known to yell at me if I'm not meeting his needs according to his timeline. He's a pretty content, happy and sweet boy. But he has his moments. He loves anything with buttons right now. Especially the remote controls. He doesn't really need toys. He finds most of his entertainment from emptying the entertainment center drawers or emptying the cabinets where the tupperware bowls are stored. He can destroy either of those areas in 5 seconds flat. He's fast at demolishing a neat and tidy space.

Abe still loves bathtime (and playing in the dog's water bowl. I'm constantly closing off doors in our house.) He just loves water. Whatever water he can get his hands in to splash splash splash. Which reminds me of another little boy that I know very well. Speaking of brothers, they can make him laugh like no one else. He has an infectious little giggle that Holden constantly brings out in him. Abe is quickly becoming a daddy's boy. It seems as though a major highlight in his day is daddy returning home from work.

I can't believe our baby is almost 1 year. It really is hard to believe! Time has moved quickly. I cherish where we are now, but I know much more excitement is in store for his life and in return, for us. Our third little blessing is growing up...