11 months. ELEVEN!

bennett is 11 months old today. just one month short of ONE YEAR. every month i say "i can't believe how big he's getting and how fast time is going." this month is no exception.

bennett is still growing like a weed thanks to being a big fan of eating. even though he STILL doesn't have teeth (that's right. none!), he eats everything in sight. this last month he sampled all kinds of new foods and we have yet to find anything he really doesn't like. he's still drinking 8 oz of formula 5 times a day. i don't know how we're going to separate this boy from his bottle. he does well with a sippy cup but we probably need to start the transition.

ben is still sleeping well through the night, usually 7:30pm-6/6:30am. he takes good naps for me at home but still doesn't like long naps at daycare.

naptime at day care

this past month the 20 min. catnap on the drive home from daycare has dropped off for the most part, so we're down to two solid naps a day. i think it will be a while before he's ready for just one nap a day.

we witnessed bennett's first unassisted steps this month, about two weeks ago. he's taken a couple steps on his own on a few different occasions, but nothing we can officially call walking yet. he does crawl up the stairs very fast and loves to climb! he'll stand for long stretches without wobbling, so his balance is improving and actual walking is bound to happen soon.

our little friend is a very happy boy 99% of the time. he's always smiling, giggling, and giving mama smooches. he is stingy on the smooches with dada, but joe appreciates them when they come! he might not give his daddy many kisses, but joe can make bennett laugh more than anyone. it's so fun to see those two giggling together all the time. bennett talks CONSTANTLY but doesn't really use the sounds/words to refer to anything. i'm hoping he'll start actually using words soon!

the only thing that will make bennett really mad at this point is putting him in his carseat. once he's in there, he's completely fine. but when getting into the carseat he acts like we're inflicting physical harm on him. we've about outgrown the infant car seat, so we'll see how our big boy does in the new upright one.

bennett has always been very social, and is becoming more and more so as time passes. he has several friends (and a little girlfriend!) at day care.

all playing together

bennett and his buddy spencer playing with shaving cream

bennett and his girlfriend tegan on their "lunch date"

he also loves playing with my friend meghan's little boy, landon, who's about a year older than him.

ben and landon = best buddies

we're actually starting swimming lessons this monday night at the shoreview community center with meghan and landon! baths are thankfully a pleasant experience again, so i'm hoping he takes to the water in the pool pretty quickly. i'm very excited for 3 of my friends who all live in shoreview to have little babies (2 of them boys for sure!) this summer! bennett will love having more friends around!

we love our busy, goofy, head-strong boy like crazy and are so blessed to be able to be his mom and dad. best job ever :)