Dear Radley - Month 11

Dearest Radley,

A few day ago you turned 11 months old. I can hardly believe it. I find myself having a bit of writers block on this monthly milestone which may be a direct result of the fact that I really, really, really would like it very much if you would please slow down as I cannot fathom that one year is just a few short weeks away.

It would be 100% fine for you to just stay this age for another few months so I can soak up all your baby goodness. But I know that it not how this works, so I am just going to suck it up and document all the wonderful charming meaningful loveliness that is you.

Radley, you are my little lover-baby. You continue to share your sweet cuddly self with the very lucky people we encounter in our world. You have a special fondness for pretty ladies. You pretty much crawl over to many unsuspecting ladies and smile at them as you just crawl right up on their lap. This generally works wonders to get them to pick you up and coo to you, whereby, you then seal the deal with your patented shy under-the-eyelashes grin paired with laying-your-head-on-their-shoulder baby snuggle hug and pretty much melt them into a puddle of goo on the spot. They then proceed to hold you, coo at you and gush all over you and give you big warm hugs all the while telling you how sweet and wonderful you are...and really, who wouldn't like that?

One helpful thing you did this month was reprogram the remote for the DVR/TV/Stereo/Entertainment center. One evening as I was getting the house ready for the night, I tossed you the remote to play with which I cleverly had thought had set on a setting that you could not do any damage. Then later that evening after you had gone to bed I casually picked it up to turn on the TV and realized that you had done something to it so that it no longer controlled anything. I felt really stupid for about 30 minutes trying to figure out how to undo whatever you had done and just ended up having to embarrassingly call our AV guy to come help me out and get things working again. Radley 1 Mommy 0

Since then, we have been working harder on teaching you things that you need to leave alone. I know I have been somewhat successful because you already know what items you are not allowed to touch. I know this because as you move toward them you look at me over your shoulder to see if I am watching. You are going to have to work a little harder on your poker face if you want to convince me that you do not know what you are doing.

With you this month, I have had to reinstate my "no news is definitely not good news" philosophy of listening. As long as there is babble, all is good. As soon as I realize there has been silence for more than 15-20 seconds, I pretty much know you are up to no good. I was changing your brother the other day and realized soon that I was doing so in complete silence. I quickly called your name...no answer. I hurried to finish what I was doing and called you louder....still no answer. Now, knowing that you were definitely not participating in a parent approved activity, I quickly started making a scan of the various rooms in the house when I heard something from behind a closed bathroom door. I knew what I was in for when I opened it and sure enough you somehow had made your way into the bathroom, closed the door and were doing a detailed inspection of toilet...ugh....so you got your 2nd bath of the evening, I got grossed out and I learned that I must be more diligent in making sure that closed doors are fully and completely closed or that you are confined to some sort of baby containment device.

This was another of our attempts to confine you at the ballfield for your own safety...gotta love the SUV!

You were not sure what you thought about this! But it was perfect!

You are crawling up on 2 hands and 2 feet which I lovingly call your Gorilla walk. And you are getting pretty fast at it and efficient enough that you could actually pass for one of the monkeys in Tarzan. You can also stand unassisted for a long long long time...once you put these 2 things together you are going to be on your way.

I am a little torn about this potential walking development as I want you to hurry because you are just getting so big and heavy and my arm aches from long days of holding you.

Yet I also want you to take your time on this skill as I have had flashes this month of what it is going to look like when both you and your brother are on the run and truth be told, I am a little scared.

You continue to sleep like a champ and for that I am so very grateful, though we did have a rough patch of teething interruptions for a few nights this month. But despite the threat of new teeth and the apparent teething discomfort, you again begin this month, Month 11, with. only. 2. teeth. Maybe next month, baby, maybe next month. Meanwhile, I am happy to shower your little sweet face with kisses and tell you how much I love you as you fall asleep at night and help you get there on the nights it's a little rough- for both of us.

You have added "agua" and "ball" to your now 6 word vocabulary (with baba, mama, up, down) You dance every single time you hit your Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Scooter Car horn. You continue to try to be sweet to your big brother, but he does not much appreciate your affectionate headbutts, which I must admit have caught me a couple times pretty good on the chin and the bridge of the nose. I keep telling you that you have to stop leading with your head. You more than once have brought a tear to my eye with this little maneuver.

Raddles, in a few weeks, you are going to be one year old, which really just seems impossible. We are going celebrate with a big Disney World blowout trip with lots of friends and family and cupcakes. I know you won't remember this, but I will and I am so excited to celebrate your first birthday at one of my favorite places on earth. But in the meantime, I am going to soak up every last second of every day of the next few weeks at 11 months and etch the memory of you in my mind at this wonderfully perfect age into a very special place in my heart.

I love you so much,
Mommy