11 Months

Price,

You are 11 months old today. You amaze me more and more every day! I cannot believe how quickly you are growing up and how you seem to change. Two weeks ago we received a 12 month developmental checklist to track your developmental progress. I was disheartened while reading it because I couldn't really check much off the list. However, in the past week, I have started checking things off on a daily basis.

You are so much fun to be around. You recently started laughing at everything. Every time your dad or I look at you, you smile. When you crawl across the floor in your funny hybrid army/traditional crawl and look back to make sure someone is watching you, you smile. When we feed you with a spoon you bite the spoon and wait for us to shake your head back and forth and smile because you know you are being funny.

You are clumsy (like me) and bump your head A LOT! You've had 3 bruises on your head in the past two weeks. You are very resiliant, you bump, dust yourself off and get right back up. I hope you continue to be this way.

You finally seem to understand the word "No." You don't like hearing it (and I hate saying it to you, but it's in your best interest when I do) and have started crying because you know on some level you are being denied something that you want.

Your daddy and I love you so much. You are usually the last thing we think about or talk about each night. One of usually brings up some thing new, funny, cute, or sweet (typically a combination of all the aforementioned)and we drift off to sleep with smiles on our faces thinking of you.

I love you baby boy!

Laughter!

He laughs! FINALLY! Today, I heard the most beautiful, joyful noise ever- Price's first belly laugh. He thought a new squeaky toy of Isabelle's was the funniest thing ever. She would squeak it and he would giggle, then Don would squeak it and he would giggle. I was overcome with happiness because he is 7 1/2 months old and I had never heard him really laugh. He is a smiley, happy baby so I wasn't worried about his emotions or his ability to connect with people. I was worried though that him not laughing was in some way a reflection of the time Don was gone. When it was just the two of us, there wasn't a lot of laughter in the house. I would smile and sing silly songs and do silly dances for Price's benefit, but I didn't laugh- I rarely had folks around who could make me laugh and if something on TV was funny enough to actually make me laugh out loud, Price was probably already in bed.

Now that Don is home, our house is full of laughs- he laughs at me, I laugh at him, we just laugh because we are happy and silly and love each other and our family. I think Price has finally heard enough real laughter, laughter that comes from love, that he is able to express it too. And for that I thank God!