Jace is 11 months

Jace.  Why?  Why do you have to grow so quickly?  I demand an answer.  I will wait patiently for a response. *crickets*

I am a reasonable person (save the previous paragraph).  I have been diligently recording the months as they have come and gone.  Day in and day out, I’ve been loving and appreciating, yes, even savoring these moments.  So, how in the world can it be that in less than a month we will be celebrating this little guy’s first birthday?  It doesn’t seem real.  Maybe it’s my old age, but I have tears in my eyes now realizing it.  Or more likely, I know that this is my last baby and I won’t ever experience these firsts again.

The babby isn’t walking yet, but he sure is stepping.  Usually, I have to encourage him to walk to me.  He’ll sometimes comply, but he also has no problem refusing, replacing his ever-present smile with a really “sad” face almost saying, “What do you want from me?  I’m only a baby.”  He promptly drops to his bottom to let me know it’s not happening. 

Jace is pictured above with one of his two favorite things: the remote.  If you know babies, you can probably guess what the other favorite item is: the phone.  Remote controls and phones are universally appealing to all children.  All of my children, at least.

Top nicknames as of now, always subject to change:

1) Wacey or Wace

2) Babby or Babbs

3) Tobey or Tobes

His physical growth: I’m starting to think he seems small again.  He had a little spurt there a month or so ago, but now he seems little again.  His one-year well child visit isn’t until the end of August, so we’ll find out officially then.  I’m not concerned enough to take him back to the doctor to be checked, it’s just my observation.

He has a decent appetite.  We’re still nursing a few times a day, but will stop when he reaches a year, if not before.  Even with a few weeks to go, I can tell my supply is suffering.  I’ve begun to give him some of the frozen breastmilk I’ve stored over the last few months to supplement his diet, anticipating that he’ll start drinking whole milk at the year mark.  He eats mostly all finger foods now, but since he’s been doing that, he’s also been refusing some of the vegetables that he once liked.  He likes about everything else: fruits, breads, cheeses.  He’s not that picky of an eater.

I love this photo showing Jett’s genuine affection towards his little brother.  This was taken first thing in the morning after Jett (always the last one up for the day) graced us with his presence.  I can tell by Jace’s face that he’s bracing himself, not really knowing what’s coming next.

I continue to get asked: “Is he really always that happy?  Does he ever cry?”  The answer is yes to both.  He is almost always happy.  He smiles in return of each and every bit of attention paid to him.  He also does cry.  He’ll cry (whimper) when he wants me to pick him up.  He will cry if he wakes up in the middle of the night (thankfully, that’s rare).  He will cry if the brothers get too rough with him.  He will cry when I take the phone or remote away from him.  He is not a robot baby, but he is an easy-going babe with an exceptionally happy disposition.  I can’t tell you how thankful I am for that, my friends.  It definitely makes my job easier.

Here I am with Jace, my thought was that my happiness would mask the fact that I too had just rolled out of bed for the day, having not showered in about 46 hours.  Fail.

So here I am, after coffee and shower, proving to the world that I can clean up and look presentable, even though I am a house-marm with nowhere to go.