news from chicago: 11 Months

James is 11 months old today. You know what that means and we know what that means and because of that, I don't have to write it. Ok we'll write it - in one month's time, we will be celebrating a huge huge huge birthday. The birthday of our wonderful son James and our one year anniversary of becoming a family.

We have had a wonderful day today. James decided to sleep in until 7:30! and Mom woke up scared thinking the monitor was off - but it wasn't - we just had a little sleepy head today. As a side note, waking up terrified is a great alternative to coffee. Gets you right up. After Mom went to the grocery store and James took his first nap, we headed to the Home Depot and then Old Town Aquarium to get things for our salt water tank. Poor Dad has been dealing with a lot of tank stuff - the biggest issue is that the chiller broke and so all the fish died which was so sad. So hopefully, around James' big day we can get new fish to grace our tank. At the fish store today James was squealing he was so happy to see all the fish swimming around. Loved the clownfish, the little yellow goby fish, and a huge green anemone that was swaying in the water. And he pretty much wanted to climb right into the koi tank they have there!

The boys at Home Depot

James is continuing to want to be on the ground at all times. He gets into the crawling position but then immediately decides that he doesn't want to crawl, rolls over and then cries for us to pick him up or sit him up straight. Trust us, we're working on it but we're also very much aligned with the notion that James will crawl when he's ready, he'll get himself to sitting when he's ready and he'll walk when he's ready. Standing is a whole other story. James loves to stand. James loves to hold on to the couch, the walls, the cabinets, the coffee table, his music table and cruise along while holding on. It's awesome to watch how fast he learns how to move. He is also figuiring out how to get on his stomach and slide off of the couch from sitting. This in itself is pretty cool. Except of course when he flips and slides out of our arms when we're walking or standing with him. What a little escape artist.

James also just has the two teeth - Dad's nicknamed him Two Tooth Sennott. Adorable. James doesn't act like he has just two teeth - little man leaves his marks everywhere!

James is talking up a storm. He is especially chatty when frustrated. James just lets loose and says dadadadada nananananan lalalalala. Just goes on and on. James loves to look out the windows and loves to peek his head around to the sides of his stroller when we're out for a walk - this child has got to see everything and when he takes a break from looking all around, just smiles. He is the best.

Bathtime is getting more fun and also more challenging. James is a man on the move who wants to hold on to the tub, examine the faucet, play with his toys, eat the washcloth, and splash! James could be a world record splasher.

We've also invested in board books. After James ripped out half the pages of one of his books, we realized the beauty of board books. Brown Bear Brown Bear, Flip a Face, The Animal Book from Grandma and Where is Baby's Bellybutton are his favorites. Could read them over and over and over and sometimes we do :) Lately, he'll turn the pages himself and talk outloud - like he's reading to us. It's awesome.

We are in the process of finding a music class for James. We have been to a few places for try-out classes and we've got one more lined up. The closest class to us is about 20 minutes with the farthest one being 35 minutes so we know we have to travel. And looking for street parking adds time too!!! We just want to make sure that what we're traveling for is worth the time. We're excited about our try-out class on Tuesday - it's through the Old Town School of Music! Fun!

Here are a few of our favorite shots from the last month!