11 Months Old!

Our little man turned 11 months old on August 24th! We're less than a month away from his first birthday party...wow!! Hatcher had an eventful 10th month filled with lots of fun adventures. He is getting so big and learning so many new things. It seems impossible the amount of things he learns from month to month. Children really are like sponges and our boy takes it all in. Here are some fun things he's doing right now!

-WALKING!! Hatcher took his first steps a few weeks back and up until the past day or so crawling was still his main source of mobility. He wasn't so sure of the whole walking thing. He seemed to get the hang of it though while we were at the beach. He was walking on his tippy toes a lot before but I think the sand taught him how to get his balance and walk more flat footed. Yesterday and today though he's been cruising really well on his own but is still working on standing from a seated position.

-Hatcher is eating more & more table food. He will still eat baby food though which is honestly nice sometimes when I'm in a pinch and need a quick go-to meal. Some of his favorite foods are: bananas, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, pears, cinnamon toast, yogurt, oatmeal, grits, avacados, cheese or turkey sandwiches, chicken salad, pasta salad, spaghetti and chicken & rice. He's not a picky eater at this point and I hope he never is.

-He loves to wave hello & goodbye! He's a very friendly little fellow and enjoys riding in the grocery cart or his stroller and waving to people that pass by. He's very observant and takes everything in when we're out and about. He's starting to say more words..."dada" is still by far his favorite but he can also say "hey" and "doooey" which translates to Dooley our beagle! So sweet to watch him call Dooley when Dooley is outside playing.

-Hatch decided he isn't a big fan of being in the car unless he can watch Sesame Street so we invested in an inexpensive portable DVD player for the car and a few $5 Sesame Street videos to keep him entertained while on the road.

-Bath time is a FAVORITE and he loves winding down before bed time with a bath! He outgrew his infant tub and honestly it was quite difficult trying to keep him in it. So, now he takes a bath like a big boy! We bought him a non skid mat for the floor of the tub and lots of little toys and he has a ball! He's all over the place though so it's quite the work-out!!

-He is becoming more interested in books and will just sit and flip through them over & over. He loves to play in his room and empty out all the toy baskets on his book shelf. He can entertain himself and us in there for hours!

-The little guy is starting to have little tantrums when he doesn't get his way. It's so unlike him and we haven't seen any of this behavior before now so I'm hoping it's just a phase and that he'll figure it out soon. Right now, we just try to ignore the behavior and give him the attention he wants once he's calmed down.

-He's finally getting his 4 top teeth in that he's been working on since he was 6 months old!! Ahh!! One top tooth is through the gum so maybe his pain & irritibility will be over soon enough.

-We're giving him more & more freedom around the house as he gets more mobile. We still watch him like a hawk because I'm so afraid of him falling & getting hurt but I know that's just part of him growing up & learning.

-Hatcher has started Mother's Morning Out at our church. It began 3 weeks ago but he's only been twice because we were at the beach the second week. He's going one day a week for 3 hours. To be honest, it hasn't gone well so far and he has cried a lot of the time but I'm praying that he'll get the hang of it soon. I really believe he needs this interaction with other children and I know it's good for him to be away from me sometimes but it really is heart breaking. I feel so bad leaving him but the love I get when I pick him is so sweet! Please keep us in your prayers that HT will start enjoying his time there.

There will be more posts to come about things Hatcher has been up to the past month. He had a week long stay with his Grammie while Johny & I went to Las Vegas, he took a trip to LaGrange for a wedding with us, had some QT with his Aunt Britney while mommy volunteered for her sorority for a few days and then most recently he spent 8 days at the beach with family! All of those posts & pictures are to come in the next few days.

Johny & I were talking just this morning about how fun this age is right now! He's so cute & his little personality is really shining through. I love him more & more every single day. Below are pictures from our little 11 month photo shoot! :)

Hatcher Turns 10 Months Old

Hatcher turned 10 months old on July 24th, which was the same day Johny and I left for our first trip away together since Hatcher's birth. {More on that trip in a later post} This sweet boy is growing up so quickly and I swear he grows so much each week. He's getting so tall and feels like he weighs a ton. He's losing that baby fat since he's getting more & more mobile but he's still just heavy. I should have very toned arms like Tracy Anderson talks about in her workout DVD {which I bought & have done once & didn't even finish the entire workout}but I don't!

Here are some fun facts about what our sweet boy is doing now:

-HT learned to walk!! He took his very first steps on July 31 and we were so very proud of him! We had noticed that he was trying to figure it all out & were so afraid he was going to do it for the first time while we were in Las Vegas but he didn't. He knew that would break his mommy's heart! He took about 10-12 steps not all at once but over the course of the day. It's on now...life is about to get even crazier!! It just doesn't seem right that my 10 month old BABY can WALK!!!
-He has discovered that he can crawl anywhere he wants too {although this doesn't mean mommy & daddy want him too} and this means he doesn't always want to be held. He also doesn't always want to play in his walker or any of his other toys. I mean why would he when he can crawl all over the place & get into all of the things he's not supposed to get into. He's a handful but it's super fun!
-He still hates having his diaper or clothes changed. You gotta be quick & sometimes he just goes pantless because it's easier than fighting the battle. You gotta choose what's more important, right?
-He is no longer drinking Nutramigen. We have transitioned him to Enfamil's Genlease which is a milk based formula but the milk is more broken down than in a standard milk based formula so it's a little easier on his tummy. He's still experiencing some constipation but his pediatrician says this is better than the alternative & shows that he isn't allergic but that it's just a sensitivity that he will likely grow out of. We figured this transition would make going to whole milk a little easier.
-We are slowly transitioning from solid, pureed foods to finger foods. He had his first complete meal of fingers foods on July 30 and he LOVED it! He had sloppy joe meat, green peas, blueberries and puffs. He ate every bite & did so well feeding himself. He has officially mastered the sippy cup and loves drinking water.
-He is beginning to enjoy the church nursery more. He still gets upset sometimes when I leave him or if one of the other babies is crying but they say it stops within a few minutes & that he just plays his little heart out. He is so good around other kids & as a stay at home mom that makes me feel good because we worry about them not socializing with other children as often as children who go to daycare.
-We're still in teething mode & he has 6 teeth trying desperately to break through on the top. It'll look like they're coming any day & then it seems like they just stop. He's drooling a lot this go round & can't find enough things to chew on. He's a trooper though & we're just praying they break through soon so he'll feel better.
-HT can say dada, mama {although that one's rare}, hey and he tries to say Dooley...comes out a little like Doo Doo unfortunately! :) He's also waving which is too cute!
-Sleeping is still not where we'd like for it to be but we're dealing. We know some of it is the teething & some of it is separation anxiety. We're still rocking him to sleep and hope that after our beach trip later this month that we can start teaching him how to fall asleep on his own. But I gotta say, rocking him to sleep is one of my favorite things to do because it's our time to cuddle and he's so sweet! I'll miss this when we're not doing it anymore.

I also want to share a sweet moment that happened about two weeks ago. In my Bible study group, we were talking about moments when we've experience "pure joy" in our lives. I talked about the moment I realized that Johny and I were going to be more than just friends and that God had designed him especially for me and that he would one day be my husband. That was "pure joy" because he was so special to me and I was excited to see where our relationship would go. There are honestly many moments of joy in life like the day you get engaged, the day you get married and the day your child is born. But there are also days where you experience joy in the little things of life. That happened to me two weeks ago when I was rocking Hatch to sleep. He had been giving me a hard time. He would fall asleep in my arms and then wake up talking like he was playing possum with me. I kept thinking about all I had to get done during his nap & that I needed him to go to sleep quickly. Then it happened. Pure joy. He lifted his head off of my chest pulled out his pacie, smiled at me and kissed me right on the lips!! I started smiling and laughing and then he started laughing! God was reminding me that this time with him is short and before I know it he'll be 18 years old and going off to college. He was reminding me to enjoy these little moments and to soak them in because all the chores in my home can wait. My heart was so full as I fell in love with this sweet child all over again and tears streamed down my face. Then he laid his little head back down and fell asleep. I'm not going to lie, I held him a little longer that afternoon before laying him down. He's precious and such an amazing gift from my Heavenly Father! I'm so very thankful for him and am so proud to be his mommy!

Here are some pictures for month 10:

10 months old!!

Momma...this thing is sticky!

So cute!

Look at me, I can walk!

Loves pushing his puppy toy around that his Grammie & Poppy gave him!