11 months old

Israel is 11 months old today and it is an absolutely gorgeous day outside! Well this time last year I was anxiously awaiting his arrival and had no idea what a blessing he would be to our lives!

Some things Israel is doing now........

says in his own way.....bye bye, ball, mama, dada, dog, night night, and he tries to say book and bath but they sound a lot like how he says ball.

he likes to bark like a dog, to push chairs around so he can walk, to be outside, to look out windows and doors, to eat, to throw balls, to pick grass and flowers, to eat rocks (well, he tries to but I don't let him for obvious reasons), to cuddle his blankie and lamb, to drink from his sippy cup, to nap and sleep, to dump the nasty drooly dog water out of the dog bowl

he is very ticklish, he likes to have his space....not much of a cuddler unless it is the occasional random hug initiated by himself, he is very independent and knows what he wants and doesn't want :) he is trying to learn how to walk....just waiting until he takes those first couple of steps.

he has been a very easy baby.....slept through the night starting at 2 weeks old.....good napper.....good eater.....and just a happy baby.....hoping any future baby or babies will be as easy as him.

For the past couple of days I have been thinking about weaning him from the breast.....it makes me sad. On his end, I know he is not attached to it and I am pretty sure he will be easy to wean. He is to the point where he moves around so much that it gets a little frustrating to nurse him....I have been nursing him in the bed because anywhere else and he gets distracted by his toys. With him being so active I don't have to worry about him falling asleep while nursing.....instead he likes to do what I call "acrobatic nursing"....standing on his head and wiggling every which way.....it is driving me nuts so it is helping me be not so sentimental about weaning him but it is still hard. I haven't started yet but I think I will start in the next couple of weeks dropping one feeding per week.....His morning feeding will be the last to go because it is the one he enjoys the most and I may even keep it for awhile depending on how I feel. I have been giving him a sippy cup with water and he has gotten quite good at it....I have also already given him cow's milk and he loves that.....I will be replacing each feeding with a sippy cup of whole milk. We'll see how it goes.....my goal was to breastfeed until he was 12 months so time is almost up...who knows we may be done a little before his first birthday!