Tate at 11 months

(Warning, picture overload!)

We staring down the road at the one year birthday and I can't believe how fast the last year has gone. Our little Tate has really grown up and is learning and doing so many things. He's just a week or so over 11 months, so I figured I'd post about some of the fun things he's doing for the past month or so.

1. He loves to sit on the floor and play with his toys. The little farm that Santa gave him for Christmas is one of his favorites.


2. He has started to wave whenever someone goes bye-bye. It's so cute to see him wave his arm when he or somoene else goes. My favorite thing about him waving is that after his nap, when I go up to get him, we walk by the kids' bathroom upstairs and he can see himself in the mirror - immediately, he will start waving at the cute baby he can see (amazingly, the baby in the mirror waves right back!). It's so cute.

3. He is now crawling - look out world! He has been up on his knees forever and has even crawled a bit backwards, but on April 11, 2011, he finally go the the mechanics down of arms and legs and off he went. He really hasn't looked back since.



4. Now that he's crawling, I find him in all sorts of interesting places. This was just one of the places I found him - how he got himself underneath the buffet, I'll never know. But he was having a good old time!


5. He is obsessed with hats and glasses. Whenever he gets around anyone with a hat or with sunglasses, he's always trying to get a hold of them. Sometimes he succeeds and even gets to wear it himself!


Couldn't resist this one with the cute smile with the tongue!


6. He's discovered the baskets under the bench and that they hold all sorts of fun toys to play with. I didn't think he was strong enough to pull them out by himself, but he quickly proved me wrong on that. Luckily, he has a whole basket of baby toys under there and loves to crawl over there and pull every single toy out of the basket and play with it.


7. Tate has this new found fascination with the vinyl floor. He's constantly crawling over to it and just slapping it with his hand. One day he spent about 15 minutes doing it over and over and over. The joy of a new toy!


8. He still loves to kick the wall or doors or whatever else he can push against with his feet. The other day we had a close call with some metal words that we have hanging on the wall. I didn't think it was going to be a problem when he started kicking the wall, but apparently he did it hard enough that he knocked one of them off and was almost impaled by the L in laugh - that sure wouldn't have been funny! Luckily it just missed him and we've secured the words a bit more and have made sure to watch where he's kicking.

9. Now that he's crawling and getting into EVERYTHING, he leaves a path of destruction behind him. I pick up messes like this at least a dozen times a day, but that doesn't keep him for making another one the next time he's let loose on the floor. This lovely little mess was made after a mere 3-4 minutes - now that's talent!


10. Tate still loves his tongue. In fact, most of his big smile pictures usually have a tongue sticking out somewhere. I think it's darn cute and can't get enough of that cute little smile.


11. Jeremiah has been putting Tate up on his shoulders and aside from the squealing and smiles that are sure to follow, there's always a bit of hair-pulling for Jeremiah. As with most time you say "OW!" Tate just laughs and thinks it's so funny.


12. On nights when we bath after dinner, we usually will give Tate a teething biscuit after he's eaten his baby food. Why those nights do you ask, well, just take a look:


Still can't see it? Here's a close-up. Yeah that's right, it's on his face, in his nose, in his hair, and many other places you can't see. We pretty much strip him down and throw him right in the tub after he's done.


13. Tate has recently figured out that those wooden things in the kitchen open. And even better, there are fun things to pull out and play with. There are only a few cabinets that he can't get into, but that doesn't stop him from trying. He found the pot cabinet the other day and he had a blast getting them out and banging them on the floor.



14. Recently, Tate has discovered yet another fascination - doors! He loves to push it one way, then the other. The first time he did it, I wasn't paying as much attention as I should have been and he pushed it so hard it bounced off the door stop and hit him right in the face! Luckily, he didn't cry for long and went right back to pushing it again. Since then he's been a bit softer and I've paid a bit more attention, so we haven't had any repeat bonks in the face.


He loves toilets too, but that's one thing I don't let him touch. EEEWWWW!


15. He now has two teeth on top to go along with his two teeth on the bottom. The only problem is that the teeth on top are not in the center - like the lower ones are. It sure makes him look like a little vampire!

16. With all the crawling and playing with things, I've noticed the last couple days that Tate has spent quite some time on his knees. The first few times ended with a big "timber," but since then he's become more steady and is now a pro at it.


Every time I see him up on his knees, it makes him look so big. And it's a good reminder that walking is just right around the corner.



Yes, our little one sure is growing! Only 11 months and he is learning and doing so much. We sure love him and can't imagine how we ever got along without him!