6/21/2009 - Alex is 11 Months Old!!!

I can't believe he's almost 1 yr. old! And yet I can at the same time! He's such a little character and is soooo active these days. He keeps all 3 of us hopping. That's right! Big Brother Brennan's on the ball trying to keep Alex from hurting himself just as much as Mommy and Daddy are. Amazing! Bren still has his "2 yr. old" moments with his little brother, but he's generally very sweet with Alex and even comes over to kiss Alex after Alex has bonked his head, yet again, on some object. Bren also still gives Alex alternative toys to play with and pretty much has down which toys are dangerous for Alex to play with and will "trade" with Alex without any prompting from Mommy or Daddy. Bren also let's us know when Alex has a "yucky," whether it be in his diaper or in his mouth, when Bren says, "Alex, Yucky!" we know we have to check one end or the other and there is ALWAYS something either in Alex's mouth that he shouldn't have or coming out his back end that needs to be "changed."

For Alex's part, he:
1.) ...is a lot bigger than he used to be but hasn't realized it yet. He's still trying to crawl under things like chairs and coffee tables and when he sits upright, gets a good ol' clonk on his noggin'.

2.) ...is much more active about mimicking Mommy and Daddy now. If I shake my head, "No" then he copies me. He has no idea what it means. He just likes shaking his head back and forth. For my part, I know he'll realize what "No" means sooner rather than later and I really should be emphazing "YES!" since I hear, "NO" a thousand times an hour from Bren! Setting myself up for it, ain't I?

3.) ...LOVES to Raspberry repeatedly still. Though it's now more of a game that if I, Bren or Vin stick out our tongue, then it's time to "Raspberry" endlessly. He doesn't sit there and continuously Raspberry like he used to.

4.) ...is now a BIG fan of GRRRROOOWWWLLLL-ing. It's his favorite sound now and he spends most of the day doing that over anything else. He does get other sounds in there, but this has led to Big Brother Brennan growling back so I now have my testosterone-laden "Caveboys" firmly in place. Tim Allen would be proud!

5.) ...had taken the odd step here and there. On 6/17, he let go of me and took 3 steps towards Vin. He's done this from time to time since, but isn't quite ready to walk yet fully. He gets so excitable and his little head bobbles about as he waddles. We think he's really trying to figure out running BEFORE walking so that once he's independently mobile, we'll have to be Olympic Sprinters to catch up to him before he gets himself into TOO much trouble.

6.) ...he has started letting go of things once he's standing and been able to stand on his own for a second or two before PLOPPING down on his butt. He's our little daredevil, that's for sure.

7.) ...has decided that climbing onto things, like the lid to the dishwasher as Mommy is unloading it, is perfectly well within his capabilities and something he likes to do. Mommy does NOT approve and has requested that he cease, but he does NOT concur at this point.

8.) ...is even quicker with his crawling now than ever before. This morning I was convinced that he was "crawling on air" as it seemed he'd reached a speed capable of lift-off when he made a bee-line for the open bathroom door. It's a race between he and I apparently to see who wins. If he wins, he makes it to the toilet and presses the Flusher a dozen times before I'm able to catch up to him. If I win, I catch him I "escort" him out of the bathroom and get the door shut BEFORE he does that, only to have to re-Alex Proof everything in the apt. that he gets a devilish delight getting into. Sheesh!

9.) ...is now tall enough to snag things off Bren's plate that Bren's trying to eat while sitting at the kitchen table. If I don't get Alex in his High Chair BEFORE serving Bren his breakfast, Bren's breakfast is apparently fair game for Alex. Bren for his part has stopped whining when this happens as it is basically a morning ritual. Bren has had to learn to push his plate further out of Alex's reach and to keep moving it around as it is a round table and Alex just crawls under to the various "sides" to get a better angle on Bren's breakfast. Bren gets quite a workout just trying to eat his own breakfast. Poor kid, but he takes it well. And this morning he ate his graham crackers while sitting on the couch and he had to basically hold his arm up as if he was a student with a question or that desperately had to pee and needed to get the teacher's attention as any time he lowered his arm, Alex would shoot across the room from whatever he was doing and in no time at all, be making a grab for Bren's graham cracker. Bren's so lucky he has height on his side and my hope is that by the time that's no longer an advantage, Alex will have STOPPED this behaviour, but since they're boys, I doubt it greatly.

10.) ...has decided that the bottle is beneath him at this point, but still hasn't mastered the sippy cup so this puts Mommy in a difficult position. I have decided that this last container of formula is THE last container of formula, thus ending an ERA of parenting for me and Vin. We'll be switching Alex to whole milk (per Kathy L.'s suggestion and also what I did with Bren when he was 11 mos. old...again per Kathy L.'s suggestion back then too--I'm a slow learner) and giving him a liquid vitamin so he should be just fine. Bren is...basically. ;)

11.) ...is willing and able to eat ANYTHING at ANYTIME (except his bottle) so there is more truth now in my musings from Bren and Alex being newborns than ever. Bren made little kitten noises when he was brand spanking new and with his independent attitude and finickiness when it comes to eating, though somewhat conscientious when we discipline him, he displays all the characteristics of a feline. And Alex has all the markings of a canine as he made little puppy-like noises as a newborn, has a laid-back attitude, is willing to eat anything--caterpillars included, steadfastly sits at Bren's feet waiting for "scraps," comes when he's called (yes, I say "Come Alex" and he crawls right to me just like a pup), and has all the obedience of a lab/boxer mix--i.e. NONE--and just looks at us puzzled when we tell him no and just thinks we're being silly when we distract him AWAY from dangerous toys/things he shouldn't be getting into and heads straight back for whatever it is we don't want him to have as soon as we let him go. If ever there were a kid I'd like to kennel....OY!


Alex is generally good-natured and very simple. He fusses mainly for food/sleep/teething and sweetly enjoys life, loves us all (still puts his forehead to ours to express this), and is such a blessing for all of us. He completes this little family and we are so grateful to God for him!

-Shannon:)