11 Months

It is truly unbelievable to me how big Adam is getting. He seems like more of a little boy than a baby these days. He's slimming down, his face isn't near as round. He still has a little belly, but his legs are slimming down too. He's walking well/fast/determined, and believe it or not, he's talking. Yes, talking. He clearly and frequently says cup (this sounds more like "pup"), mama, dada, pop (for poppy), wawa (water), truck, and ball (sounds more like baw). I could seriously go on, but these are definitely the words that he uses the most regularly. He loves balls and anything with wheels. He loves throwing two balls at once, so he regularly carries one around in each hand, banging them together or throwing them. He loves cars and trucks. He makes a brrrm, brrrm sound and pushes them around with such excitement and enthusiasm. It's so fun to watch. He has a little shopping cart. He doesn't walk behind it very often, but he will turn it over and spin the wheels round and round.

just a beautiful fall day playing in the front yard

a trip to monkey joes, the bounce house place in Castleton

We spent my birthday weekend at the Wentworth farm. Watching the tractor pull the wagon for the hayride was probably Adam's favorite part. He also LOVED seeing all of the animals. By the end of the weekend he was imitating a rooster.

Mommy's little pumpkin, picking out his pumpkin at the Wentworth market.
(he says "pump" for pumpkin)

A chilly night at the farm

This is the pic that was sent out with Adam's birthday party invitations. Can't believe we're already planning his 1st birthday party!

Part of the reason that I can't completely narrow down his words are because he is such an unbelievable mimic. He will repeat any word that you speak clearly to him, particularly those said with enthusiasm. Some times he catches on so quickly it's scary! He's definitely a smart little guy. I actually think he's a baby genius, but that's just my opinion!

One of the craziest things about this past several weeks is how fast he is developing cognitively. Until this point I think he was generally pretty average, meeting or generally exceeding most of the developmental milestones. It was the physical milestones where he seemed so far ahead of the norm. Now that he is walking well, and I think, finally satisfied with his physical capabilities, he has an absolute insatiable appetite to learn. He loves to read books. He knows what a handful of animals say (the first was obviously duck, but he now knows rooster (varies from cock-a-dooooooo to do-do-dooooooo with a very long, high pitched ooooooo on the end), cow, cat (which he learned by imitating Ritter. He loves that cat.), lion, tiger. You can literally see him trying to take in everything you're saying/reading/doing. He studies the pages in the books we read, wanting some books over and over. He is so over the top amazing. I had no idea that this is what it was going to be like to be a parent. I don't think there are words for how I feel about him. Spending this time with him, watching him learn and change and grow is truly one of the most precious gift I have ever been given.

These are a few more cute shots from his little photo shoot in the front yard. I really wanted one in the birthday hat for his party invitations... it took some quick work to get one of him in that hat! But I got several others without the hat that are too cute not to post!

He is just the happiest little guy. He loves, loves, loves to be outside. I've already bought a hat and mittens for him, preparing for the many cool winter days outside ahead.

My little, big boy walking around the front yard.

Our Little Walker

Adam is officially, undeniably walking. He walks everwhere. He can stand easily in the middle of a room. He can walk carrying stuff. He can even squat down, pick something up, stand back up and keep walking. I don't think I've seen him crawl at all for a good week. Such a big boy!!
We bought his first pair of big boy shoes this week (he wears a 6 wide). The shoes slow him down a little when they first go on, but then he gets the hang of it no problem. He looks like quite the little man in his shoes. Like a little boy, not a baby at all! I just can't believe how fast he is growing up!

10 Months

Adam's10th month was another fun one. It went by in a blur. His other three front teeth came in rapidly, nearly all at the same time. So now he has his two top center and his two bottom center teeth. He is extremely opinionated, and at times gets frustrated by his own physical limitations. Generally a short little bout of fussing and then he is able to deal with the situation well. His hair is really starting to come in, with a significantly longer piece in the back. We call it his rat tail. It curls up, and isn't noticeable most of the time, but when it is noticeable it's pretty funny.
In September we went on a family vacation (I mean the whole family) to Tybee Island, Georgia. Adam LOVED the beach.

He did headstands on the beach

This one is actually the two of them in Grammy and Poppy's bed one morning getting books read to them by Poppy.

Ada and Tay took a bath together every night. This is just a quick kiss.

The baby pool had a waterfall that the kids loved

He finally has enough hair to have a little baby mohawk.

Adam really started walking while we were in Georgia. He had such an audience the whole time that he was soon applauding at himself after he did a long stretch of steps. He walked in the condo, on the beach, anywhere, everywhere.

Adam loved the beach. He loved the water. He loved digging in the sand, eating the sand. He had a blast.

Taylor loved the water too.

Excited, waiting for another wave to come in.

Adam's first time on the beach.

We would generally spend the afternoons on the beach and then take a long swim in the pool into the evening. The sun would be going down and the moon would be coming up. He became obsessed with moon (or moo as he says, pointing at it with his little pudgy fingers). Now he loves looking for the moon at night, reading Goodnight Moon, and pointing to it in all of the pictures. He doesn't quite get it though. Sometimes he gets a little overzealous, pointing at round lights on the ceiling and calling them "moo" as well.

He loves my Dad so much and laughs hysterically at him at even the simplest gesture. On our trip he started calling Poppy "pop." As adorable as this is, he literally points his finger at me and calls me "that." Not really fair, as far as I'm concerned, so we have started working on "mama" with some success. However, now he calls Jason mama sometimes too. We're still a little mixed up.
Thanks to Pat the Bunny he waves bye bye to all of his books.
Adam has also decided that he is done with baby food. Big people food only please. Thank goodness for those four teeth! (that is a joke by the way. he clearly doesn't use those teeth!)

Sounds horrible, I know, but we love setting him up to tell him no because when he is told no he imitates us. He shakes his head back and forth (sometimes so hard that he nearly loses his balance) and says "no, no, no." We just can't get enough of it!