11 months!

Ziv has been making us happy for 11 months today!!! 

This morning at the park

At 11 months, Ziv:

- loves finger foods. He prefers to eat by himself than be spoon-fed. At lunch today, he ate elbow macaroni with creamed spinach then had sliced papaya for dessert. He finished everything I put on his tray!

- smiles like there's no tomorrow. A few months back, Ziv was so weary of strangers. Now he's so social and even smiles at people he doesn't know.  He loves to watch kids play too!

- is more active than ever. He NEVER stays put during diaper changes. No, scratch that. He doesn't stay put for anything! He sits, crawls, stands, sits, crawls, stands over and over and over. 

- has four teeth. Well, technically, he has 3.25 teeth. One of his upper central incisors hasn't fully come out yet.

- has mastered cruising.

- knows how to get what he wants. He raises his hands when he wants to be carried and twists his body when he wants to be carried a certain way.

- babbles and shouts. He says mamamama, ba, aba, aaaaaaaaaah. He also makes a lot of sounds with his mouth.

- sleeps through the night and sometimes he does not. But I don't mind. I'm just glad that he knows how to sleep on his own. I just put him in his crib and he knows what he's supposed to do.

Ziv's growth and development has been fascinating to watch. If there's one thing I learned in the past 11 months, it's that when it comes to babies, nothing is permanent. Everything is just a phase. I think that fleeting quality makes every moment even more special. It's also that impermanence that makes me want to be here every minute.

Grow up, son. But not too fast!