11 MONTHS

Less than 30 days until our baby turns 1! Wow! Hard to believe how quickly the time has gone. He is ready to walk, just needs to gain a little confidence to let go of stuff and take the leap. I have a feeling that once he starts, he won't stop. He seems to do that with everything- once he knows he can do it, there is no stopping him.

I will be soaking up the last few days with my first baby before he is one and well on his way to being a big boy. Day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, it just keeps going faster and faster.

10 MONTHS AND COUNTING DOWN

I just realized that I posted KJ's growth chart for 10 months, but forgot to give the people what they want, pictures.

KJ is into EVERYTHING. He can open drawers and cabinets with ease and earlier in the week, I found him standing at the door, reaching for the knob. Ah! He will also fly up the stairs if I forget to put the gate up. I have to quietly and calmly run over to the stairs to get behind him because a seven step fall to ceramic tile would be a bad day. Walking is soon to come.

He is a talker too. Which is good for his mama, because he is the only one I have a personal, face-to-face conversation with on a daily basis! He says mama, dada, milk, bottle, dog and ball. Granted, the words aren't fully there, but I know what he is saying.

The most interesting development this month is KJ's new habit of screaming when he doesn't get what he wants. The little screams used to be cute until he decided that he would only do it when something is taken away or it is in public. I found that me yelling "Don't scream" back at him probably wasn't the best parenting technique. Ah, parenting...

NEW EXPERIENCES

With all the snow that has fallen this year, we thought we would get KJ out to enjoy it. Apparently he is not a lover of cold, white stuff. Hey, at least we tried.

Too, KJ got a visit from his Grandma a couple of weeks ago and LOVED it. Grandma brought the dog and KJ chased Brit around the house for hours on end. The poor dog couldn't get comfortable- always had two little hands grabbing at her.

KJ's Uncle Gerald and Aunt Trudy gave him an awesome gift from the Pentagon- an army hoodie. Uncle Gerald is in Washington DC on his last tour of duty with the army and took a break to get the little guy a present. So thoughtful!

THREE-QUARTERS OF A YEAR

The little fella is 9 months old and hilarious. He is so much fun and makes me laugh (and cry) everyday. He is getting into everything, as you can see below. I can't take my eyes off of him because I turn around and he is making a mess.

New things the little man can do this month include saying mama and dada, waving good-bye, clapping and playing patty-cake, pulling himself up and standing and his latest addition is throwing tantrums. Can't beat it when he gets mad and rolls around on the floor and hits his head on the ground. The more we ignore him, the angrier he gets. We will see what the next month brings.

SEASON'S GREETINGS

Such a busy time, but what a good time. KJ, Kurt and I were flying all around Michigan, through horrible weather and navigating bad roads, to spend the Christmas with our family and friends.

We took a trip up to Almont on Christmas Eve following mass at St. Clement's to celebrate with Kurt's family. KJ was trying to crawl down the aisle at church and kept laughing at his toys during the homily. It was cute, but a bit embarrassing. He was a good boy, just full of it. Thank goodness that Father Steve had us in and out of church in under an hour. He opened his first gifts at Grandma Schuster's house. He liked to eat the wrapping paper more than he liked the presents, but I have a feeling that the presents will grow on him.

We decided to leave Christmas Eve, since KJ was sleeping so soundly, to travel back to Kalamazoo for Christmas Day with my side of the family. KJ was excited to wake up Christmas morning to open gifts from his uncles and grandparents. Santa did not make the trip to Kalamazoo this year-- roads were too bad. He was sad that he couldn't play with his Uncle Brad since he was sick, but made sure to get lots of kisses from his Uncle DJ.

8 MONTHS OLD

KJ turned 8 months old a few days ago. He is getting more fun by the day and I think that this is my favorite age so far. He is really starting to interact with us, show affection and act independently now that he can move.

New things the little man can do this month include crawling, pulling himself up, lots of sounds (he is talking in some language, we just don't know it), he knows his name and he is eating all kinds of big boy foods like toast, pancakes and noodles with his 6 teeth.

FIRST VISIT WITH SANTA

Kurt and I took KJ to visit Santa Claus on Sunday. Kurt and I had a great time, but KJ was a bit freaked out by the big guy in the red suit. It wasn't until Santa gave KJ a candy cane to chew on that he warmed up a bit to him. He loved sucking on that plastic wrapper!

We found Santa at a local nursery, Sherwood Forest, and it was a great setup. Santa had his own little cabin, the line to see him was two people deep and we could take as many pictures as we liked. After we visited, we went into the little Christmas Shop and bought a few ornaments to commemorate the trip. Count the coffee we bought before the visit and it was a perfect Sunday.