Eleven Months!

My little Baby Bowen,

Eleven months today! Happy birthday! It's really hard to believe that so much time has gone by already. These days I'm really stopping to cherish every fleeting moment of your remaining baby-dom because all too soon it'll be gone.

We're having a great fall so far, with all of our activities resuming. We're back to the library, stroller fit, and still meeting with our friends on fridays. We also started our second semester of "Music Together," and you seem to be getting so much more out of it! The first class you were singing along a bit and afterwards Katie, your new teacher, told us that you're "tuning in" perfectly and are right on key with the music! WOW, my little baby! Your tone and rhythm-deaf mother's heart just about exploded with pride! It's fantastic to see you enjoying our experiences and being more and more into music.

This month your charming personality has continued to emerge and blossom. There's been lots of giggling and laughing; you and the dog seem to share hillarious jokes that the rest of us just don't get! It's a lot easier to get laughs and smiles out of you these days and you seem just as keen to make others laugh as well. A new skill this month is your rapid head shaking to indicate "no." This little trick came on suddenly, and while you vigourously shake your head for "no," often, you seem to mean just "NO!" right at that very moment. A mere seconds later you're happily eating what you were so against before. You've been zooming around the house at a frantic pace, crawling around to see everything around you. You're excellent at pulling yourself up, inching along while holding onto furniture, and easing yourself down carefully and slowly. You love pulling things off surfaces and emptying the kitchen cupboards. Now that your little room is all set up, you've been spending some time alone in there, talking to your toys and pulling all your books off the shelves. Your newest trick is stair-climbing, which you now do very quickly and proficiently! When I miss you, I know I can just hold out my arms and you crawl-run right into them for a cuddle.

Another fun part of our month is that you spent more and more time with your family! You were lucky to have two grandmas and one grandpa and an aunt in town all at once! With everyone all spread out it's not often that you get to have so many people around, but when we do get it, I love seeing you play and interact with our loved ones. You stayed home and also went out a few times alone with your grandma Patty, and seeing you go off into the world and just be your own person independently of me is amazing. It makes me really proud to hear about you meeting new people and being the wonderful and pleasant person you are.

Well, my little baby monkey, I know these letters are all about you, but here's something about your mom this month: watching you grow and change so quickly is very bittersweet. I've been preparing for your one year birthday by making your photo album, scheduling us for a picture session, planning your first birthday party and it all makes me a little teary. One month from today you'll be one; no longer a baby but a toddler. I know this is a very exciting time but I'm still astounded at just how quickly the time has gone by. I've truly been relishing every single moment with you as you are now, because in the blink of an eye you're different. I love you so much as you are now and I want to hold onto that forever. But on the other hand, I'm thrilled and excited about the person you're becoming. Let's have a great last "baby" month together, my little Bowen!

Happy eleven months, sweetie baby!

I love you forever,

-Your mom