So close to one year...

James' 11-month stats:

Height: 29.5"
Weight: 23 lbs
Clothing: 12m and 18m options.  I keep thinking the 18m items looks SO BIG but then you wash them and I put them on him and they fit.  I guess that means he is SO BIG!
Cool Tricks: Walking.  A lot.  Going down stairs by himself.  Actually "putting things away".  This is in quotes because he does put things away, but not exactly in the right spot.  Our favorite game is transferring DVD's from one side of the TV cabinet to the other.  I'm also amazed at the range of sounds he's making even though he really doesn't have any words besides mama and dada and ba.  Okay, fine, "ba" is not a word, but it has a lot of meaning in our house, so it might as well be.  "Mamamamamaaa BAAA" means "I want a bottle now" while "Mama Baba" I think means puppy and "Dada ba" means let's play with the ball.
Food: I failed our Pediatrician and gave James whole milk today.  I realize that he said one year, but formula is freaking expensive.  Month 11 will be his transition month.  Otherwise he eats what we eat, when we eat it, plus a morning and afternoon snack.
Sleep: 11 hours a night from 7-8p to 6-7a.  Thank God!
Ear Infections: We are at #4, and for #4 we upgraded our Amoxicillin, so hopefully it will work, because it seems we have started going in every 4-6 weeks for these ear infections.

James' First Bite of Cheesecake

And his tenth taste of Aquaphor

And his gazillonth taste of wipes

James and his girlfriends (Maddie & Abigail)

Exhausted!

"Swim Lessons"

My most recent Groupon purchase was "swim lessons" for James.  I figured $29 for 4 30-minute sessions was a steal (normally $75), but when Patric pointed out that I was really just renting a 2 sq ft space for James to play in the water, I updated that opinion to "just about the right price".  Our second lesson was tonight and, for the record, we do actually learn things during the class, like how to blow bubbles under water and how to reach for people while in the pool.  Next week we might actually go for his first full underwater submersion!

Consistent with any picture after about 10 months, they are blurry, but he's not really into sitting still, so this is what I could get:

I can float on my back!

And now I'm so over this swim lesson thing.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy First Father's Day, Patric!

(Although, I think Jackson & Sam would be offended that I'm saying it's your "First" Father's Day)

James' visit to Rock Falls

This is actually a combination of photos from three trips to Rock Falls in the past two months:

James helping Grandpa clean the hot tub

James eating Fruit by the Foot with Grandma

James and his paper plate hat at Kelly's

James playing in the McDonald's playland

James' first boat ride, helping Grandpa drive

James and Dad on the boat