10 & 11 Months

I'm sitting here on the last day of my son's first year reminiscing about the last 11 months and I felt inspired to write a post. Here is the last monthly update of Emerson's first year.  

In my last post I mentioned that Emerson was days away from crawling and in fact he was! Emerson started crawling on May 18th. He had been trying and oh so close for weeks when he finally made his move. He's chosen an interesting method of getting around, but it gets him where he wants to go and fast. 

Now that he can move on his own he just goes, all day long. He loves crawling up and over everything. If you're sitting on the ground you're a mountain he must concur. He loves crawling up stairs and just recently learned how to crawl down them (after a few bumps and bruises). We have a step up into the dinning room and it's Emerson's favorite place to be. We have the step blocked with a baby gate, but we leave it open sometimes. When the gate is open Emerson loves to crawl up the step and shut the gate then laugh at us in the living room. He also loves bolting for the kitchen to play in the dog's water and food dishes. For a long time he would not leave the dog food alone so we decided to let him try a piece, hoping that he'd think it was gross and leave it alone...total back fire. Emerson not only didn't spit the food out, but he tried to eat another piece. We had to grab the food out of his mouth and he was pissed. He's since lost interest in the dog food, but every other thing he's not supposed to eat is on the top of his list. You think your house is clean until you have a crawling baby on the loose.  

Now that he's good at crawling he's starting to master walking with assistance. He pulls himself up on everything and will walk everywhere if he is holding onto something. He still shows no interest in standing unassisted so I don't think he'll be walking for at least a couple of months. 

Emerson has always had a personality, but I swear it grows everyday. Just a couple of months ago I remember telling AJ that I didn't think Emerson laughed that much, at least compared to the other babies at daycare. Now this kid is a giggle monster!  What really gets him going is peek-a-boo, funny faces, and making silly noises. His laugh makes me smile from ear to ear!

Last post Emerson had just learned to wave and say bye-bye. Since then he's stopped saying bye, but now waves with his whole arm. We've been working on our kisses and he loves giving them, but we have to fight for them, but he kisses all over his stuffed animals. Emerson gives open-mouthed kisses and I LOVE THEM!! 

At his 9 month checkup the Dr. felt Emerson was going to have very big front teeth and he did not disappoint. He cut his top two teeth a few weeks ago and they are BIG! But of course my boy is so stinking cute and completely rocking the buck teeth! He's all about cheesy smiles and showing off those beautiful chompers!

Emerson has had a few more firsts these last couple of months. We finally decided it was time for Emerson's first hair cut. His mini mullet wasn't so cute anymore and we had to make sure he was looking good for his first birthday pictures. We took him to my hair dresser and he just stood on AJ's lap while she cut. He's such a grown up little stud!

We signed up Emerson for a two week swim lesson class in June. It was supposed to be an introduction to the water or informally a "splash class". He loved it the first day because it was 100+ degrees, but the rest of the days it was in the 80's with wind so he wasn't thrilled. He didn't learn anything, but it was good exposure to the water.

The "not so thrilled" face.

He also experienced his first 4th of July! We started the morning off with a new family tradition, watching the hot air balloons take off at a local park after chowing down on pancakes! Besides being his first 4th, this year was special because my Dad's family decided to have a reunion. Emerson and my husband got to meet two of my uncles who live far away. We swam, BBQ, drank beer, laughed, danced, and lit fireworks! It was the best day!

So call me crazy, but we just got back from our annual camping trip...with an 11 month old. I didn't know what to expect so I'm not sure if it was harder or easier, but we made it. Camping is the least relaxing vacation there is, but after this trip I def feel like a need another vacation! The days dragged on, but the week flew by. We were going, going, going. Thank god for our fabulous family who were more than willing to help out with Emerson. We could NOT have made it through the week without them! My family has been going to Rollins Lake for 44 years and now Emerson will have memories of this special place.

 My baby boy is growing up so fast! Tomorrow he will officially be a toddler, but he'll always be my baby.