11 Months With Liam

I can't believe that in just two short weeks, we'll be blowing out candles and singing Happy Birthday to our little 1 year old.  This day last year was my first official day of maternity leave.  I spent the next two weeks waiting.  And waiting.  And waiting.  This year, I'm hoping these two weeks go by slowly.  I plan to savor and soak up as I can from this first year.

Favorite moments of 11 months so far:

• Communicating with you via mimicry.  I copy your movements and hand gestures, and you laugh and laugh.
• Watching you play with your Daddy while he (attempts) to exercise on the floor.
• Seeing you in your owl costume for Halloween, and watching you run around our local fall festival, putting your hands in other kid's Halloween bowls to see what they had in there. 
• Taking you to your first pumpkin patch and watching your face light up in the vicinity of goats, chickens, and all the activity.
• Holding you and singing to you in the moments right before I lay you down in your crib for a nap.  
• Dance parties for three!  (Daddy, you, and me)
• Seeing you begin to express your preferences (shaking head no, reaching, pointing) 
• Our weekend morning routine.  Daddy brings you into our bed when you wake up, and we nurse, play, and ease into the day together.
• Hearing your little laugh.  You love to chuckle at things you see when we're out and about.  For example, you've recently started laughing when you see another baby nursing.  I don't know why you think this is so funny, but I love that you think it's funny.  

Your favorite things:

• Throwing toys and any other item into the bath tub.  (the other day I showered with a plastic egg, bath toys, a plastic cup, and the remote control to our fan - oops on that last one!)
• Having the freedom to walk and run around.
• Music!  You love everything from classical guitar to Daft Punk.  Daft Punk has been known to bring you out of a big meltdown.
• Playing in sand boxes.
• Playing with water.  A bowl of water and a few toys brings a lot of entertainment now (and a big mess).
• Opening and closing drawers and cabinets.  
• Storing random items in drawers. 
• Banging items on the wall and/or window to see what the noise sounds like. 
• Monkey on the back!  (You come around to my back, and ask to be lifted up.  We ride around the house and take a tour of everything on the wall)
• Touching items on high shelves.  
• To say "touch" from sun up to sun down.  You say "touch" when you pick something up, or when you pick up your food, or when you touch something you're interested in. It's basically a constant expression of "touch, touch, touch" all day long.