Hear, Hear We've Almost Hit a Year!!!

Buttah is now 11 months old.  That means I am about to have a child in the "years."  I am trying to prepare myself for that day.  Hopefully no tears will be shed, but I'm not promising anything.  I really can't believe he is 11 months already.  My goodness, times flies when you're having fun.  With that being said, you can only imagine how fast the time has flown.  I'm thinking somewhere around the speed of sound.

I know all parents say this, but Jason and I truly have been blessed with the best child ever.  He has spoiled us so much that it really scares us to think of what another child will be like.  I mean, there is NO way we could get this blessed again.  He has been sleeping through the night since 3 1/2 months (but even prior, was sleeping 4-6 hour stretches), eats like a man, plays with the demeanor of a grown boy, and still has the innocence of a sweet 11 month old "mama's boy."  I can't get over how he randomly leans in towards you with his mouth wide open wanting a big wet kiss.  He always catches us by surprise, but my goodness-I LIVE for those sweet kisses.

I'm trying not to be too biased here, but let's just face it; he is everything we ever dreamed of and then some.

Okay, back on track now.

He weighed in at the doctor last week at 23.5 lbs.  That was after not eating for 4 days too.  He is wearing size 4 diapers.  He loves all his snacks and enjoys feeding himself his meals now.  Sometimes I can handle it, but other times I can't.  He loves giving and blowing kisses.  He loves waving hi and bye to strangers passing.  He hates having his diaper changed.  He hates being told "no."  He has mastered the, "How old is Phoenix" question by responding with a 1 (using his hands).  We listen to Roger Day (thanks Chele Chele and boys) so much over and over in the car that he now knows what is about to come.  So when its about to sing clap your hands, he does it.  He also waves his in front of his nose at the pee-ewe (spelling??) part, as well as screams at the screaming part.  I can't wait to take him to see Roger Day live at the library next week!  He also signs thank you.  I should probably be doing more signs with him seeing how quickly he picks up on them, but I'm not that disciplined.  Shame on me.  He is also cruising everywhere.  He has taken 1 step a few times, but won't seem to go any further than that.  He is standing alone better.  He has even clapped for himself while doing it, before realizing what he was actually doing :)  He loves flushing the toilet and then trying to stick his hand in to get the water.  He also enjoys unraveling the toilet paper.  Needless to say, the bathroom is now off limits.  The kitchen is like a playground to him.  He loves opening and closing the cabinets and drawers.  Helping load and unload the dishwasher and clearing his tray after dinner (by feeding his leftovers to Sister Sister) are also some of his favorite things to do. He also enjoys helping with the laundry.

He loves playing with his toys.  He spends hours driving his truck all through the house and he would ride his ride-on toy all day if I'd just continue to push him.  Again, shame on me.  He enjoys putting toys inside of his train and fetching them out over and over.  I love watching him figure things out.  He really does try and understand his actions and the results of them.

Jason calls me on his way home every evening.  If Phoenix is still up, I go to the couch, move the curtains out of the way and sit looking out the window.  As soon as Phoenix sees me doing this, he starts saying, "DaDa, DaDa" crawls as fast as possible over to the couch and gets up there with me.  He anxiously stares out the window until Jason comes home.  The excitement in his eyes when he sees his truck is beyond describable.  Then when he sees him walking up the walk, he gets soo excited and quickly turns to get off the couch and crawl to the door.  I fall in love with my two boys all over again everyday at this time.

We had a great Memorial Day.  We went to the doctor at 10:00.  Found out his ears aren't any better and was again told that tubes are the only thing that are going to help him.  We went ahead and got another shot since it seems to make him feel somewhat better.  Again, we are trying to minimize the pain until the tubes.  He is still not eating though.  He lost almost a pound from Saturday afternoon until Monday morning :(  We then came home to attempt a nap.  Two naps to be honest.  Both were complete failures.  Jason got home from work and we packed up and headed over to my sister's house to swim and eat and just enjoy time as a family with family.  It was a perfect afternoon.  Phoenix had a blast swimming.  He would sit on the side of the pool and jump in and go under.  Come up and clap for himself!  He LOVED it!!! It was soo great seeing him soo happy.  He didn't eat a thing for dinner, but I didn't force it.  He did have a few crackers.  We enjoyed a nice meal and headed home past his bedtime.  He was a trooper though.  Never once got fussy, just passed out as soon as we got in the car! It truly was a great afternoon.  He even got to spend some quality time with his Godmother!!!  I loved watching them together!!!

We had a nice day today.  Didn't do to much.  We were suppose to have coffee with a dear, sweet friend of mine but rescheduled for later in the week.  I'm trying not to do "too much" with him.  I just want him better right now.  We did run a few errands though-to the bank, dermatologist (pick up some rx for his face and body), and grocery store to get Sister Sister some food, but that's about it. Nothing too exciting.

We then headed off to our BIG appointment with the ENT.  I've been looking forward to this appointment since the first month of ear infections.  Soo relieved the time is finally here!  Well, his tests came back flat.  They are suppose to be hill-like, but his are completely flat.  Something to do with the pressure.  Either way-this doctor also agreed-tubes are the only option.  I was told to stop the antibiotic.  Basically, its pointless.  He gave me the option to do it either tomorrow or Friday.  I went with Friday-not because I want to prolong the pain for my Buttah, but for other reasons.  Regardless, I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and I couldn't be more thankful for that!!!

Buttah, we are so proud of how strong you've been through all your pain.  You continue to fill our hearts with love more and more everyday.  We look forward to each day and its experiences with you.  We love you to the moon and back Buttah!!!!