11 months

So, I'm a few days late, but hey!  Better late than never! 

11 months!  Whew!  We made it.  Seeing Clark next to little babies now reminds me that I almost have a toddler and that is ridiculous.  Then again, I alway thought 1-year-olds were much older than my little guy seems to be, because, duh Carly, one is still very much a little baby.  And that secretly makes me very happy :)

Our Clarkster is now standing on his own and taking less and less shaky steps as he cruises around the furniture or pushes a chair around.  I just know that any day now he's going to let go and start walking and not even realize it.  He balances by himself without knowing it every now and again and it makes him look like such a little person, standing there unsupported.

We love any and everything that has a straw attached to it these days and he's very good at sucking on them.  I have a cup I drink out of all day and he's pretty sure it belongs to him.  Any time I get it out, he begs to take a sip too.  It's kind of adorable.  I also end up being very thirsty...

A favorite food?  Believe it or not, peas.  Frozen, warm, or fresh he's a fan.

Some exciting news around here: we just learned a sign!  Clark is very proficient at asking for "more" now by clapping his hands.  It's my favorite thing.  Hooray for the beginning of communication!

His newest trick is being able to climb alllll the way up the stairs in a single go.  Sheesh, kid, slow down!

One of his favorite things to do in the mornings while Dave and I are getting ready is help us brush our teeth.  I'm not really sure how this got started, but now if he sees you with a toothbrush he'll run over and whine at your leg until you pick him up and let him hold onto the toothbrush while you brush your teeth.  It's not too much trouble and I actually think it's pretty cute.

Clark's favorite book right now is Corduroy by Don Freeman and I'm not complaining.  It's one of my favorites too and he'll actually sit still through reading the whole thing and loves looking at all the pictures.  He might need a little Corduroy bear for his 1st birthday... ;)

Words we know:
knock knock - he'll rap his knuckles on the nearest hard surface
hurray! - he'll clap his hands
more - he'll clap his hands again (hurray and more are kind of hard to differentiate sometimes...)
no no - he doesn't always obey when he hears this, but he definately knows what it means - I can see it in your eyes kiddo ;)
kiss - be careful if you ask for this one - most of the time he'll oblige, and they are wet and slobbery things.  Also the best.

And he might be saying "ball," but I don't have solid evidence for that quite yet.  The juries still out on this first word business.  He also said a very distinct "mama" the other day, witnessed by my own mother, so I'm for sure not making that one up.

Funny story, EVERYONE, and I mean everyone assumes he's a girl.  I'm not exaggerating.  It's so funny, because he's such a little boy to me that I really can't see it.  It's probably my own fault for not decking him out in footballs and tractors, but that's just not my style.  I can't fault someone for mistaking him for a girl when he's in grey stripes with those killer eyelashes of his.  Still, it's too funny (and consistent).

We love you so much little chunk!  I can hardly believe you'll be a year old next month.  What a wonderful year its been.