11 Months!

I cannot, CANNOT believe that my baby is 2 1/2 weeks away from turning 1!!!! I was talking with my friend Cori just the other day about how this time last year we were playing the waiting game and taking guesses on when Owen would make his arrival. It seems like just yesterday!

I have been busy getting ready for his party and it has been so much fun to plan! My mom has done a special smocking for his birthday and I am busy sewing the outfit all together. It is going to be jumbo blue & white gingham long-alls and I can't wait for it to be done, it is going to be so precious! We aren't really doing too much of a theme, but his invitations have a train on them and I'm going to put a train on his cake too.

Okay, so here are a few things Owen has learned and developed during month 11...

He is saying so many words these days! His new words this month include: "bye bye" and "book"...and maybe even one or two more that I'm forgetting. We have also discovered that when Owen is saying "go," he is actually referring to Margo our dog.

Owen also has a handful of new tricks this month too! He gives the absolute BEST hugs and kisses!!! Oh they are heaven! He gives a little squeeze and makes a little "mmm, mmm" noise when he hugs--so adorable :) He gives them to his mama all the time, but shares some with his daddy and grandparents too!

We sing together all the time too. Owen LOVES music--I suppose he gets this from his mama, who gets it from her daddy! Pops loves all kinds of music and I think we've both inherited that passion from him :) A couple of weeks ago I was putting Owen to bed and it took a bit longer than usual. When I finally came downstairs Tony asked me what I was doing. I told him that Owen and I had been singing and we just kept on singing until he finally drifted off to sleep. I could spend hours singing with my sweet one, I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing :)

He will dance when he hears music too. If he's standing up, he'll bend his knees up and down and slap his hands on the ottoman or couch. If he's sitting, he'll bounce up and down on the floor waving his hands. This kid's got rhythm too :) It's so precious to watch and we've captured it with the video camera several times. I will try and figure out how to convert it and upload it soon :)

Owen has become quite the little parrot these days too! He will copy all kinds of noises and movement that we do. He will "quack" like a duck, "moo" like a cow, and "woof, woof" like a dog. When you ask him when a dog says, he will say "woof, woof" all on his own, but the others you have to say first and then he'll repeat. We throw our hands in the air and say "Praise the Lord" and Owen does the same. (His praise the Lord sounds more like "aaaaahhhh!" right now though!)

He also waves "bye bye" and gives "High 5's" too. He's started stacking things like blocks and bowls inside of each other. He's gotten to be a pro with walking behind his push & ride toy and has even figured out how to ride it by himself too. No walking yet. I think he could if he really wanted to--his balance is great and he has the movement down pat--but he's just not interested yet and would rather crawl. Again, NO pressure here, he can take his time for sure!

11 Month Measurements:
18 pounds
31 inches long
47 centimeter head

I didn't check the percentiles, but maybe I'll check and come back and add those later. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from this month...