Eleven Month Review

Last week The Boy turned eleven months. Last week we also visited one of P's friends who has a six week old at home. Hard to believe that less than a year ago The Boy was about the same size. Atticus was so light, I could have held him all day! While The Boy's growth has tapered off, he's still an anchor to carry around, and he pretty much demands to be carried around. His eleventh month has him weighing in at around 20 pounds (okay so he's still lighter than a paving stone, but I usually don't carry a paving stone for hours on end) and +/- thirty two inches tall.

The Boy just loves the fact that he can now move around on his own, and when he's not terrorizing the cats, follows P and me around like a puppy. Every time we turn around there he is, crawling into the same room we're in. Not only do we find this extremely cute, it's a relief because our place is anything but baby-proof, and this way we can keep an eye on him.

Even though he's been crawling for a few weeks now I've only just set-up a gate at the top of the stairs, put covers on the electrical outlets and installed cupboard locks. Does this make us bad parents? I suppose, but have you ever closely read a Baby-Proofing Guide? Basically the only way to truly baby-proof your home is to sell all your furniture, disconnect the electricity, shut off the water, wrap The Boy in bubble-wrap and move into a tent in the backyard. Even then he might get his finger caught in the zipper. Dangers abound!

In other developments The Boy is pulling up on anything that will support his weight and just beginning to cruise from object to object; it appears walking is only a few weeks away (going to have REALLY baby-proof now).

Deet Dah! Deet Dah! The Boy's two new favourite sounds, along with a host of other 'words', he just loves talking to whoever will listen. He particularly loves talking as loud as he can. Cute most of the time. Less cute at 6:00 am in our bed.

P has realized that she only has one month of maternity leave left before she returns to the world of the employed, part-time but employed nevertheless. While she is looking forward to the regular interaction with other adults, she's also sad that her time with The Boy is going to decrease. She's been dealing with a weird cocktail of emotions lately; and so have I. My mother, who lives in another city, has generously volunteered to come to Vancouver each week to look after The Boy on the days P is at work. That is so above and beyond the call of duty we're blown away. Thing is I can't shake the feeling that I'm living with my parents again.