11 Months

It is very difficult for parents to believe how fast children grow and change. In this eleventh month of Dawson's life, I can see why that sentiment is often expressed. Just 11 months ago, we were holding a tiny baby who needed us to meet every single need. Now, he is moving completely on his own and exerting his will to get into everything that he can reach. His personality is coming out and it is so fun to watch him bloom and grow.

At 11 Months Dawson...
-has tooth number three coming in -bolts through the bathroom door with his super lightning crawl saying "Bah" and heads for the bathtub
-climbs up the stairs slowly and when we turn him around, can lower himself down carefully, turning to watch his feet as he goes
-fell down the stairs once and apparently learned his lesson, he now sits and bounces at the top of the stairs until someone comes to get him
-loves to play with his blocks; stacks and bangs them, puts them in his giraffe toy, carries them all over the house while he crawls with one foot behind and the other on the floor in front of him -says "Mhmmm" when he is hungry and bangs his head against the high chair, screeching while he is waiting for his food
-wakes up time is between 5 and 5:45 -pushes his toy tractors across the floor while crawling everywhere
-talks himself to sleep
-bounces up and down any time music comes on
-is naturally happy and laughs expressively
-watches the garbage truck go down the street every week with Daddy from the window
-shakes his head "no" and "yes", sometimes at appropriate times
-eats black beans, carrots, crackers, sweet potatoes, rice, shredded chicken (sometimes), cheese, Cheerios, pasta, green beans, peas, pears, applesauce, cereal, toast, corn, potatoes
-won't eat red peppers or bananas
-loves pulling things out of any drawers that are accessible. We have made two drawers in the kitchen just for Dawson friendly things.
-is amazed by the TV, grabs at the pictures and tries to push the buttons.
-put the phone up to his ear like he was talking
-is a big hugger, especially right before bed time
-puts his hands up when we ask "How big is Dawson?" during the response "SOOO Big!"

Some videos from November and December

Sweet Boy

Lately, Dawson has been showing a lot of affection. When he wakes up in the morning, he puts his arms around our necks and squeezes us tight. He also likes to lay his head down on our shoulders when he is sleepy or even trying to just show affection. It is SO sweet. Last night right before putting Dawson to bed, we were praying together as a family. Dawson was in Daddy's arms and reached out to grab Mommy and gave me a hug. Then he kissed me right on the lips. Immediately after that, he reached out for Daddy again and hugged him. Then he was right back to reaching out for a Mommy hug. It melts my heart that he is responding to the love that we are showing him. I thanked God last night that Dawson is beginning to understand what love means. What a sweet, loving boy we have!

10 Months

At 10 Months Dawson Partrick Miller...
-Is into all drawers, doors, compartments, flaps, pretty much anything that can open and shut. He pulls out everything he can and turns them into toys. He especially likes to do this with pots and pans.

-Climbs and pulls up on everything he can. Tries to pull himself on top of things.

-Shakes his head "No".

-Opens and shuts his hand toward himself. We think it means "I want something," but we are trying to teach him to use it with "Hi" and "Bye". When we do it back, he cracks up.-Loves his walker toys and bolts down the hallway, through the kitchen, and in the living room. This makes his cousins laugh!

-Gives us a cheesy smile sometimes.

-Makes a clicking noise in his mouth that we like to mimic and he laughs.

-Still LOVES peek-a-boo!
-Smiles every time we start to read his favorite books, Snuggle Puppy and Barnyard Dance

-Follows us everywhere

-Crawls at lightning speed

-Fascinated with the bathtub, toilet paper and toilet. Has yet to figure out how to flush...

-Wiggles uncontrollably when having his diaper changed.

-Starting to fight sleep

-Eats pasta, toast, pizza crust, carrots, green beans, yellow squash, oranges, apples, pears, bananas, cheerios, and little bits of all kinds of other things.

-Loves to ride on Daddy's shoulders.

-Watched his first snowfall on Christmas Eve

-Had his first stomach flu

-Investigates everything - especially electronic devices like the phone, remotes, laptop, and television. He also LOVES anything with wheels. He turns them over to figure out how the wheels work.

-Calls Daddy, Mommy, and Aunt Casey, "Mama"
-Tentatively climbs the stairs.
-Has figured out how to turn himself around on the couch or bed and get down, feet first.

I fought the stairs and - I won

It had to happen eventually. In fact, I was even wondering whether I should hasten the opportunity (not really, that's child abuse). But Dawson eventually had to fall down the stairs. It happened yesterday. I went downstairs to do laundry and didn't close the babygate behind me, then left to pick up our babysitter for the evening. Erin was with Dawson in the bedroom. The quick little crawler bolted through the open bedroom door. A few moments later, Erin wondered "is the babygate closed." No sooner had that thought crossed her mind then she heard the helpless sound of a 10 month old boy tumbling down our carpeted stairs. The final thud was followed by a full-lunged cry.

When I got home, I was shown the red bump that had appeared above his eye. I hope this doesn't sound sadistic, but I was quite proud of my boy. Dawson is getting braver and I'm allowing him more freedom, which is resulting in his falls becoming more regular while also producing less tears. The tumble down the short staircase had to happen eventually. And to know that he tumbled down, cried a bit but then had a big smile as daddy looked at his bump, well, that makes a dad pretty proud of his tough little boy.

Teething and Sinuses

I should have never written this post. The past two weeks, Dawson has been teething and has had a sinus infection, meaning he wakes up crying about every two hours. It's been pretty rough in the Miller house, with the lack of sleep. We got some medicine from the Dr. today so hopefully that will help.

That's parenting, right? Just when you think you've got something figured out you find yourself starting all over again.

I'll never write a "mission accomplished" post again.

Dear Santa...