11 Months of Jay Wheeler

At 11 months old Jay:

-took his first plane ride! We traveled to California to visit his grandma and grandpa great. I was very nervous in the days approaching this trip, but I can't help to brag on Jay for a minute. He was a tremendous flyer (aka slept the whole flight both ways) and traveler. We were going going going for 3 straight days and he was so resilient. Highlights of the trip included an open-to-close day at Universal Studios (with 90% of that time spent in Harry Potter land), a trip to Santa Monica pier, visiting the Los Angeles temple, and lots of snuggles from grandma and grandpa.

-seems to learn a new skill everyday! He can now climb up the stairs, wave hello, clap, and give a high five.

-has enjoyed soaking up the last leg of summer. We went to the Museum of Nature and Science, hosted a big BBQ at our house, visited the butterfly pavilion, and explored the community garden by our house. To be honest, I am NOT looking forward to many many months trapped inside because this kid loves adventuring. Perhaps it is time to start investing in some seriously warm winter gear!

-continues to boost his immune system as he worked through 2 more sicknesses. I think it was a combination of weaning him (breastmilk has all those good antibodies) and bringing him to the childcare at my MOPS group for the first time that really did him in. First he was plagued with a runny nose. Then he developed a cough. Then he got the most intense tummy bug complete with vomiting, blow-out diapers, and 4 days of a fever. Unfortunately he lost a little weight with this sickness so I think he is still right around 20 big ones. Although he is extremely snuggly while he is sick (literally just wants to rest on your chest for 10 hours a day), I am so happy he is on the mend.

-besides loosing his appetite for a few days during all that sickness, Jay has enjoyed adding more and more new foods to his diet. His favorite meal of all time was the deconstructed BLT he had for dinner the other night. He had his first taste of bacon (nom nom!), fresh tomatoes, avocado (to replace the lettuce), and asiago cheese bagel. My little boy has the a biggest appetite.

-really amped up his sleeping skills. Justin and I hypothesize that it was the trip to CA that really got him sleeping well. Now he a STRAIGHT sleeps 12-13 hours at night and two 1-2 hour naps during the day. I feed him his bottle and lay him down in the crib and he just passes out all on his own! He finally figured out how to sleep on his belly, which also probably helps. He has a special stuffed giraffe (named topper) and a mini blanket that he sleeps with. He loves when you put them right next to his face.

-Speaking of naps, this kid has implemented a strict requirement of 10 straight minuets of uninterrupted snuggling as SOON as he wakes up from nap. Try and skip this or cut it short and trust me, you will pay.

As we draw nearer to his first birthday, I am getting a little nostalgic of all the sweet memories we have made over the past 11 months. It has been such a sweet year together full of exploring, learning, growing, occasional crying (from both of us), but mostly pure joy. Kid, I am so glad you are mine! We belong together, you and I.

P.S. Can we talk about what a ham Jay is in his pictures this month? These images describe his personality PERFECTLY. *swoons*