Friday, October 9, 2015

James - 11 Months

James, you are 11 months old! Hard to believe you are almost 1, my sweet baby boy. Makes me happy and sad all at once.

You weigh almost 27 lb and remain very tall and strong. You have big feet that are like little loaves of bread, making them difficult to put in shoes! Your cheeks and thighs are so chubby and cute! Most of your clothes are 18-24 months, though you still wear some 12-18 months. We're about to move you to size 5 diapers. At that point you and Claire will be wearing diapers 1 size apart despite being 22 months apart in age. 
Here's what you're up to lately:

- You're a food lover! You love to eat and get very excited about food. You'll eat almost anything, but your current favorites are beans and graham crackers. You also love bread or any fruit. We're still nursing and that is going better lately. You like to nurse for frequent, short sessions. I'm excited to see how you like whole milk next month! 
- You love animals and get a big kick out of Teddy and Aurora. They make you giggle, which is a pretty hilarious sound, sort of like a joyfully happy machine gun! You've discovered feeding Teddy from your high chair and you're always trying to touch Aurora. Not surprisingly, Teddy loves it and Aurora does not - ha!
- You're walking a lot, and really seem to be taking off! You love to toddle around and explore your surroundings. You love to be with people, and will always gravitate to where they are! Seeing you walk is really precious. 
- Your sinus issues have been continuing. We're talking major snot...all the time! After dealing with this for awhile and trying a prescription antihistamine, I took you to the doctor and she diagnosed you with a sinus infection. Poor booboo! It's clearing up slowly but...just lots of drainage. Your doctor says we're in a holding pattern to see how snotty you are this winter. If it's a continuing problem, we might see about testing you for allergies or getting your adenoids checked out when you're a little older. We're hoping you feel much better soon!
- The only positive to being sick is that the antihistamine you were prescribed causes drowsiness. We give it to you before bed and you have started sleeping through the night!!! Your doctor wants  to continue the medicine through Halloween when the ragweed gets better...sure, anything you say, Doctor! ;) You're still not a great napper. For the most part, you take one nap a day that lasts for about an hour. Strangely enough, if I leave you with Daddy or Pinky while I go run errands, you'll take these really long naps! What's up with that, man?!?
- You're talking and babbling a lot. You say DaDa and Teddy (sounds like Ted-dye) regularly, and you'll repeat other things we say to you. You finally said Mama!!! You don't say it a lot, but when you do it's like music to my ears! You have lots to say and even though we don't always understand it, we love to hear you express yourself! You have a sweet little voice and I can't wait to hear the kind of things you say when you're Claire's age. 
- Speaking of Claire, you two crack me up! Y'all fight over toys quite a bit. Since she's older, a lot of times she's the culprit in these situations, but you're definitely staking a claim on things too. Your personality is coming out more and more, and you definitely know how to express yourself when you're upset! 
- We took you up to East Texas for the first time recently for the Strutton family reunion. It was a great trip, and very fun to show you off to my family! Everyone was totally charmed by you, especially when they saw your overalls and "Strut" hat, two old-school Strutton staples!
Current nicknames: Jambo, Jamesie, Jamesie Boy, Jaybird, Strut, Little Man, Buster, Buster Boy, BayBay Swatt
Favorite toys: car keys, books, mega blocks, talking Elmo doll. You're obsessed with shoes! You study them, try to chew on them, and love to carry one around in each hand.
Jamesie-boy, you are joy personified and we can't imagine our family without you! It's hard to believe that a year ago, we still hadn't laid eyes on your beautiful face. The day you were born is one of the happiest, most precious days of my life. We are so excited to celebrate you next month! 

Love,
Mama