Thanksgiving Weekend

We were able to spend the long Thanksgiving weekend with Meema and Papa Bennett in Idaho. {Meema got A a cute turkey bib and hat for his first Thanksgiving!}

 My grandma joined us for the festivities but Brandon was in Arizona and Kelsy and Andrea stayed in D.C., which left our group a little smaller than normal but it was still fun. My mom had a little surgery the week before Thanksgiving was was still recuperating, so my dad cooked most of the food—it was delicious!

Part of our contribution to the dinner were some pies that A helped me make... {and by helped, I mean he ate Oreo's and watched the ingredients swirl together in the mixer while I actually made the pie...}

Because he literally spends all day every day with his parents, A has a lot of separation anxiety around anyone else but I am always fascinated to watch A with his Auntie Amy—she is the only person who can fool his separation anxiety and we think it's because she looks and acts so much like me! {Proof: She went Black Friday shopping with us and took A down different aisles from M and me... and A was perfectly content!}

His Meema made a special spot in the living room just for toys for him {he's the only grandkid and sufficiently spoiled!} which he thought was the most awesome thing ever. The funny part is, he didn't care about the toys nearly as much as he loved the fact that it was the perfect size cupboard for him to climb in, open and close the doors, etc.

Our trips to visit my family are usually more rushed because we are only able to be there overnight and the time it takes to drive cuts into each day. I was so grateful we were able to spend more time with them—especially because it gave A the chance to warm up more. When it was time to go and say our goodbyes, A even gave everyone kisses goodbye {he gives the cutest closed-mouth, adorably puckered kisses} so everyone was thrilled! I love my family so much!

Baby A at 11 Months

I can't believe this little cheeseball is getting so grown up! {Please also note that he is tickling his own foot and doing his fake laugh because of it... what a little ham.}

His current stats: 

• Weight: 19.6 lbs.
• Height: 29 inches
• Diaper Size: Still wearing the Size 3's.
• Clothing Size: Still wearing 6-9 Months outfits.
• Likes: Trying to walk,  contributing to conversations with his cute jibberish, pulling himself up on every piece of furniture he can.
• Dislikes: When mom tries to hold his hands and help him walk, when dad has to leave for work.

It's official. His first real word is "Dad." As much as I had hoped to win on this, he has picked his favorite parent. When M walks in the door from work, A now races to him and saying his name. It is actually really heartwarming and a lot of fun to see how much he loves his dad... until it comes time for dad to leave somewhere and A bawls when he is left alone with mom instead!

Even though he adores his dad, he loves his mom too and has pretty severe separation anxiety. He gets upset when either of us leave the room and he throws a full-blown tantrum if anyone other than mom or dad dares attempt to hold him! It has made getting things done a little challenging but based on everything I've read, it's also a huge compliment to us because it means the emotional bond we've been trying to form together as a family is working.

I feel like I say this each month, but he has become so much fun because he continues to be even more attentive and aware of everything going on - and because of this, he loves to copy things we are doing! We joke that he is like our puppy because when we see friends and family, we show him off by rattling off the list of "tricks" he knows how to do.

He is beginning to venture into the world of walking when we hold his hands and walk with him. And when we aren't there to hold his hands, then he resorts to pulling himself up on every piece of furniture within his reach. He loves walking along the edge of the couch and seems to be getting braver each day with his attempts toward walking on his own!

Another thing he does that cracks us up is that he has learned how to tickle. As you can tell by the picture at the top of this post, he tickles his own feet. He also enjoys coming to mom when she isn't giving him enough attention {perfect example: trying to write this blog post right now and here he comes...} and tickling her feet until she stops whatever unimportant thing she's doing to play with him instead.

He has also reached a cuddling stage where he is content to sit on my lap and we watch cartoons together. I absolutely love it.

He has started to enjoy self-directed play and we love to watch him in his own little world. His favorite toys right now are a pack of Crayola markers and chasing any of his mini soccer balls. He is also full of curiosity and wants to see everything and try doing anything he sees other people doing.

He loves to put the markers into a container, one by one, and then dumps them all out just so he can do it over again. I've made the mistake of trying to help him put one of the markers in the container... and it just annoys him because he's apparently got his own way of doing it. 

His soccer ball chases usually involve going around the couches, between the kitchen chairs, and under the table. He came up with this little obstacle course all on his own and it's so cute to watch because he has five or six different balls that he takes through the course and then collects them all in a corner when he's done.

I love watching the developments he is making and am constantly amazed by his intelligence level. I feel so blessed to have a baby who is social and loves being around other babies, is smart and loves making new discoveries, and is so fun to be around with his typical easy-going personality. I know moms face so many challenges with their little ones and I feel like we have just been so blessed with ours.

My Birthday!

All day, I was hoping someone would say "You don't look a day over 29!" Because yes, I just turned 29.

But despite not hearing the cliche phrase of my dreams, it was a really great day. M and A spoiled me completely and made me feel like the most important girl in the whole world.

New shoes, new pants, new book series, TONS of chocolate {M knows how to win my heart!} plus more! See, I told you I got spoiled.

My very favorite part of the day was that we also went out that night to see the new Hunger Games movie - just the two of us! I always love that we take A with us because we have so much fun hanging out just the three of us, but I was surprised at how amazing it was to go out on a real date. M and I were giggly and twitterpated and said it reminded us of life back when we were in college and dating. So much fun!

I am so grateful for such a wonderful husband and cute baby that made my day fantastic! And I am also so lucky to have such amazing family and friends who dropped gifts by, taken me out to lunch to celebrate, texted, called, social media messaged, and so much more to make me feel absolutely special on my birthday.

Happy Birthday Auntie Amy!

I love my beautiful sister and wish I could be celebrating her birthday with her! She is so amazing and I look up to her as one of my heroes and usually forget that she's ten years younger than me! I am proud of the choices she is making in her life and for the kind, generous, sweet person she has become. Baby A absolutely adores her too!

Happy birthday Auntie Amy! We love you!