These months really need to slow down. As I have gotten the Christmas decorations out, turned on the Christmas music on and have enjoyed Thanksgiving meals with friends and family, I have been taken back to this time last year. I was 8 months pregnant and on edge about this whole “motherhood” thing. I woke up everyday thinking “today will be the day”, only to be induced when I went past my due date. This has been a season of reflection and it is amazing to see how far Chris and I have come since that special December day.
Thanksgiving always brings me to a place of thankfulness. This year has been one filled with great joy. I cannot express the amount of love that fills our home. We truly are so thankful for this little family God has blessed us with. Our thanksgiving spreads from good health to random giggles to full nights of sleep to stable jobs. Truly, we are blessed. And so very thankful.
Now onto the 11 month update:
Firsts/Milestones:
We have a “pointer” now! August loves to point at EVERYTHING. Usually it is something he wants (i.e. Christmas tree lights, light switches, mom and dad, the coffeemaker). It is pretty cute and can get tiresome, “That’s a snowman. Yes, those are Christmas lights. Those are cups. That’s a bird…”!
August has learned how to clap in response to “YAY!!” or “Good Job!”. Again–you can get more precious than that.
He celebrate his first Halloween!
August attended his first birthday party! Some of our friends from church have twin girls who turned three. Needless to say, August had a blast!
He attended his first Friendsgiving and Ugly Sweater Party! All three of us rocked out our ugly sweaters!
For the first time we’ve started to see him show fear and is more weary of strangers. Some of the things that he’s scared of are: the coffeemaker turning on, sticks in our living room and new people (every once in awhile)
Likes/Dislikes: August always makes it pretty clear when he has a fond interest in something. His current favorite toys are: the salad spinner, pots and pans, magazines (so he can rip the pages out), blocks and trying to play in the toilet. We usually put a stop to the last one.
He loves and I mean LOVES his stuffed animals. He will bury his face in the furry friends. Cuddle with them, laugh at them, chew on them. Just about anything. Often times we will put him in his crib with all his “friends” and he will roll around his crib squealing with delight while hoarding about 5 different furry friends. It is so stinkin’ cute.
His main dislike right now is doing things he doesn’t want to do or having things taken away from him. It amazes me how at such a young age, you already see stubbornness coming out. Yikes. I think we need to brace ourselves. We also are still battling table food. Slowly but surely we are making progress. His current favorite? Grilled cheese.
Surprised!: One thing that has surprised me is that August isn’t walking yet. When he start crawling at 6 months, I thought he would be walking by 9/10 months. Currently, he shows no interest in taking steps. I’ll take it for now!
Personality: Since becoming a parent, I’ve thought a lot more about nature vs. nurture. I believe in both approaches to things. But this kid has changed a lot of my views on nature. He has such a distinct personality. He is curious, affectionate, joyful, yet stubborn and strong willed. Through it all, we love him!
May you be blessed this Thanksgiving day! “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever.” We are so thankful for this little person that God has given us to raise and nurture. We love you, August Thacker!!
living a life of hope. 