11M

Zane,

Are we really one month away from you being a year? Well much less than a month since I'm pretty late with this letter! This time last year I was praying you'd come out sooner than later and was pretty miserable and HUGE! The holidays this year were much more enjoyable because you were here instead of helping my feet swell and my energy drop!

And what fun you were for Christmas! At Grandma and Grandpa L's you played with a spatula while Daddy and I opened your gifts. You were very fond of the Tonka truck push/ride toy they got you and you figured out right away how to walk behind it. We had our first Christmas Eve at our home as a family. We took you to the late service at church which went well when everyone was singing but the second they got quiet you started singing back to them really loud with "BABABABA" so you and I hung out in the lobby watching the message on the TV. Oh well! At least you were happy and not screaming.
Daddy and I woke you up that morning with the video camera in your face and you looked at us like we were crazy. You were showered with more gifts at Grandma and Grandpa C's and loved the toy that Grandpa made for you. I think you could play with this all day long. I would love to know what you're thinking as you move each wooden piece along.
You left the Christmas tree alone at everyone's house until after Christmas. Then the ball you'd be playing with would accidentally go under the tree and what do you know there's an ornament! At least we didn't have to deal with it all month long!

You were given several items that were either hammers or something that could be used similar to one. You figured out in one day how to hammer the balls into the box that you have. It was amazing to see your mind work that fast and figure it out. However the hammering has gotten out of control. Play with the toy and we're good but hammering us, the coffee table, the dog and yourself hasn't been so good. We don't have expensive furniture so I'm not worried about that but the noise was SOOOO loud! And hammering us? Daddy and I both will tell you no over and over and almost always you get it taken away. Same goes with the dog and then when you hit yourself with it you freak out. So for now we have a hammer graveyard on top of some furniture that we choose to put items you use as hammers when we're sick of saying no or hearing the banging.

You also like to throw everything. Every toy gets thrown somehow. You can't stand for your new magnets to stay on the fridge and only once have I actually caught you putting them back on the fridge. I asked your Grandma the other day if little girls were this destructive and she said a little but that boys were worse. At least I know it's somewhat normal because I was beginning to worry!

You still have an obsession with door stops but have now turned to opening and closing the doors. You close it just far enough to be able to pry your fingers back around the door to open it and see if we're still there. Several times you've closed the door all the way and start crying immediately like we're now gone forever. It's so hard to open the door because you're standing right there holding yourself up on the door.
Standing up on things is old news to you. You now sprint around the coffee table usually in the direction of controller. You stand up on walls, doors and the fridge like you've been doing this all your life. Sometimes your moves are too fast for your body and they catch you. The coffee table has been the cause of a couple of bumps but that's part of being a baby!

Grandma and Grandpa's is like a playground to you. You crawl in laps from the hall to the kitchen to the dining area and then back again. Grandma has a pillow landing spot for you at their step to the living room and you sit and fall into the pillows, crawl back up and do it again over and over.
You also discovered the toilet paper. You watched me place a new roll on and then saw what it did - spins!!! You gave me this look like I had been holding out on you! Like I had a full bottle of milk up my sleeve for hours and never let you see it. Spinning anything can keep you occupied for hours. So now you know it's there and we have to keep you from it so that we don't have toilet paper all over the floor.

Our bed has become your gym to jump and laugh. I might have started this by playing monkeys jumping on the bed with you but I don't care, it's so much fun. Until you're big enough to break the bed that is. We jump and sing and then I'll throw you into the pillows and you laugh so hard. Then we do it again and again and again until Mommy can't jump anymore. At that time you crawl all over our bed trying to get us to chase you. I sometimes make a tent for you and I to hide under and Truman barks at us. You weren't so sure about this the first time and started to whine until you noticed I was under the sheet with you.
I'm excited to see what you weigh at your year appointment as it seems that you have grown through all your clothes this past month. One day it fits, the next day no chance! Your new favorite foods seem to be cheesy crackers, cheese itself, blueberries, chicken and bread of course! Daddy made pancakes one morning and we gave you some. You ate an entire pancake! They were small but still...we were shocked! So you and Daddy will have to work together on the breakfast food so you can bring it to Mommy!

You've got the crawl completely under your belt so you have invented the hunchback crawl in order to still hold a toy in your hand at the same time that you're headed someplace. Daddy likes to call you Egor when you do this. You have a toy in one hand, just one knee down and you move with your other foot out. Somehow you're pretty fast in this posture!

We're working on you not crawling all over Truman. While Truman doesn't seem to mind other dogs do and we don't want you to get hurt. When we tell you no you'll sit next to him and just touch his paw. It makes us just melt. Other times you'll try to move Truman out of your way. You'll take one hand and push him in which he does not budge at all. He just looks at you like "yeah right kid!"

You have a new face and action to show us when you're upset or being bashful. You put your hands behind your head and just give us this look. I sometimes look away in fear that you have a special power and are going to melt me into pieces. It's that killer of a look!
You have officially said mama. Let's chat about this shall we? Mamamama comes out when you're crying and Dadadada comes out when you're happy and playing! Should I remind you that you grew in MY belly and took over MY body for 9 months to get here! I could use some props with the Mama when you're happy! Come on!

We are having a blast with you and even though we might say no every two seconds some days, it's still fun. We can't wait for more!

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Check out Christmas photos here (yes I am THAT late!) and more 11 month photos here.