Michael is Eleven Months Old!

Well, if you want to get really technical, Michael is almost twelve months old. But who's counting?

That said, this is going to be, more or less, the baby book version of events...

May 23 - Said "Mamamamamama" for the first time. And hasn't stopped since there. Of course, I have yet to get it on video!!! Dang. (Did I use that word right? I've always wanted to say it. Okay, maybe not always..)

May 15 - has started climbing up the stairs



May 16 - is officially a "cruiser"

May 24 - climbed all the way to the top of the stairs for the first time. Jeff & I were both standing at the top, watching. When he arrived at the very top step, we both clapped and cheered like crazy circus folk. And in a moment of great parenting everywhere, or maybe just at the circus, Michael looked up at our beaming faces, and fell backward down the stairs. Good times.

May 25 - will stand on his own for more than 10 seconds. Maybe 12 to 15. I haven't actually ever grabbed the stop watch. I actually don't own a stop watch. Surprising, cuz I own a lot of useless crap.

May 27 - first discovered his love of meat. On the bone.





June 4 - 8th tooth popped through! Now he's got his front four firmly in place!

June 8 - can scoot up all three flights of stairs with no problem - super fast like - but still has no idea to come back down. He'll get all the way to the top, and then just stands there and screams till someone (me) comes to fetch him.

June 15 - yeah, 3 days after his 11-month bday, I know. But in any case, he weighs in at 22.4 lbs.

What a boy. Here, a totally momentous event that I surprisingly caught on film. Yup. Michael's first caterpillar.









Then it pooped on him.

He's turned a corner. Now the little guy loves Bubbie Barbara as much as Emma does. As soon as he sees her, he does a full body lunge toward her. It's as though he's saying "PICK ME UP NOW OR I WILL QUITE POSSIBLY DIE RIGHT HERE ON THE FLOOR IN FRONT YOU AND THEN YOU'LL HAVE ONE BIG STINKIN MESS TO CLEAN UP." So major competition from my children on just who Bubbie Barbara loves more. And my kids are LOUD about it. Poor Baby Alexandria. That kid is screwed. Except, she'll probably get a lot of toys in place of actual affection. Shame they'll likely be from the Dollar Store. Quantity over quality, people. (Sorry to throw you under the bus like that, ma.)

We went out for a walk the other day, and I bought Emma a soft serve Dairy Queen cone. Just cuz I wanted her to like me. At least for a little bit. Michael got a spoon. Cuz I don't have to buy his love. Yet.







So MickNew has figured out how to lift the toilet lid. Crap. (Pun intended.) Not only does he lift it up, he greatly enjoys splashing around in the water. Even better? He's figured out he can throw things in. Like the other day, I sat down, pee'd, wiped, stood up to turn about & flushed, and happed to glance in the bowl. Usually I see some pale yellow-ish water, a bit of toilet paper, and sometimes a ring around the bowl. Depends on how busy the week has been. This time, I saw my moisturizer cap and my new scrunchie.

Okay, we have a bidet in our master bathroom. Okay, I've never used it. Instead of for personal hygiene of my girly parts, we use it as a magazine & newspaper holder. Whatever works, y'know. Anyhow, one of Michael's biggest thrills is standing a the bidet and throwing all the magazines out of it. Whatever floats your boat, I say. Or, more accurately, whatever will allow me to shower (or pooh) in peace for a few minutes. So it's all good. We have an agreement. He does his thing, I do mine. And nobody gets hurt. Till the other day that is. He was standing there, in his usual position, playing with the faucet handles. (I seem to be having a brain fart about what the handles that turn on the water are actually called...? And no. I'm not pregnant.) He's been doing that for awhile. No biggie. They are twisted tight. Or so I thought.

Uh-huh. Water EVERYWHERE. Streaming in a straight line, through the bathroom, out the door, through our bedroom, all over EVERYTHING. Kinda not unlike if he had a fireman's hose and was dousing a small inferno in the fireplace. Did I mention we were dressed & ready to be leaving for that wedding that I was speaking at? Yeah. Anyhow, scared the shit out of the little guy. Fortunately not in the literal sense.

Talks nonstop. Yup, the kids a talker. Gee... wonder if he'll go into sales like his father? Nah... he's gonna be a doctor. Perhaps an orthodontist? Anyhow, he'll even talk to his Baby Einstein shows. You should see him when I go to put it on, he'll hear the intro music and gets SOOO EXCITED every time! Then Emma will wake up and want to watch her show.
Not that my kids watch TV... Never.





Oh... you can check out some other photos of my little MickNew HERE. If you want.