Eleven Months.

Charliest Bean!

You had such a big month! 

(Taken by Sarah Carlson over Labor Day... how sweet are you in these pictures! I especially love that you have watermelon and all sorts of other grunge on you in the last picture AND she had to photoshop out your boog. :)

(Yes, those are sterling silver bracelets that you love to play with. B calls them "circles" so Pop will be okay with you playing with jewelry!)

B came to Austin and picked you up for two days before we joined you in Dallas for Labor Day. That was a wonderful two days!! I went to two movies, slept in, read books... it was marvelous! When we joined you there, we had some pool time and while we were playing you looked straight in my eyes, touched my face and gave me so many kisses!!! Just over and over for maybe a minute while I was laughing and tearing up at the same time! Possibly the best moment of motherhood to date!

We went to "My Gym" once this month. You were the only one that didn't know how to move, but you were so happy doing the songs, clapping your hands, walking in a circle with me and kicking your feet and giggling. 

You LOVE Aunt Kate. We've visited her a couple times at Facebook. This is you posing with John Wayne. Now you just like to wave at him a LOT but not get too close. We had lunch with Uncle Ben the other day... you were momentarily sad about his beard but you got over it shortly and y'all had fun waving to everyone.

(I sent this picture to B to show you that I was saying "hi" from Maine... she said "he really took the phone very sweetly, looked at you and smiled and then tried to eat the whole thing." HA!!!)

You stayed with your B and Pop in Dallas for FIVE days while Mom and Dad went to Maine for a full on vacation. During your vacation you went to a very fancy restaurant, went to Pilates with B, played in the pool, went on walks with B and Sophie every day (and even saw horses!), had fun bath times, went to the grocery store and got mad because B wouldn't let you play with the flowers (even though Pop encourages it!), went to the Mall and had your first grilled cheese sandwich, ate new foods (gold fish! Yay!), swung on your very own swing and generally had a grand ol' time!

(First day! I forgot my camera and we had one shoe off and one shoe on. Typical!)

You also started "school" this month!! It was a slow ease into it over four weeks (though one of those you were in Dallas) but I think you're going to love it and so am I. You wear big kid shoes, take a lunch in your dinosaur lunch pack (I pack your snack and lunch Bento Box style with plastic muffin cups in little boxes). I liked that your first "report card" said that you were "Happy but trying to figure out how to move" and "Didn't eat my lunch because I wanted a friend's lunch." HA.

You still aren't moving. Well, I say that... you do an all-four lunge onto your belly into a side roll over your right shoulder into a sit-up where you use your left arm to boost yourself up. The other day, you did this ALL the way across the living room until you got stuck in the corner by the front door. You were on your side and only wanted to roll right (Zoolander Style!) so you just laid there grunting at us until we helped you up. Hilarious.

Overall... you are still such a happy man. You go with the flow, eat anything we give you (except avocados, dill pickles and honeydew melon... I can't say I blame you on any of those), love to wave and high five everyone you see, smile constantly and are generally a social little sweetheart.

You LOVE to read books, roll a ball with Dad, sit outside watching cars go by (and wave and holler at runners, walkers and cyclists), go to restaurants with Dad, play with your friends AND my friends, giggle at people sneezing, go to Sunday School and more fun things like that. You're awesome. 

(Also by Sarah Carlson... My favorite picture of your life thus far!)

As I tell you many times a day "I love you I love you I love you!"

Love, 

Mama