11 months

Dear Cooper,

You are now eleven months old! This time your day coincided with the 4th of July. You decided the fireworks were too loud and went to bed early that night.

Many things you still do the same: you still get up several times a night to nurse, you race for the bathroom if the door happens to be left open, you love to play with everything your brothers have. You are constantly "blowing raspberries" so you often have drool dripping down your chin.

Some new things you do: you like to stand up in your car seat and look forward while mommy is trying to get you buckled up. Sorry, but you've got another year to go before you can face forward. You have started to babble and though words aren't understandable yet, you are talking using tone and volume to express your wishes. You enjoyed camping and was disappointed I wouldn't let you play in the dirt pile like your brothers. You also enjoy bike rides. You are big enough to sit in the bike trailer so we've taken several bike rides now that school is out. You really like watching the scenery and bugs. Separation anxiety has hit the worst it's ever been this past month. I love you dearly, but I can't hold you every minute of every day. You scream for me even when you just hear my voice or if I walk out of the room really quick. With summer comes fresh fruits and veggies. You really like peas, cucumbers, and strawberries, but mushrooms you don't care for. As the warmer weather hits, we'll keep trying things from Grandma's garden. You've stopped being scared of the grass and now enjoy crawling around to pick my flowers, though they don't taste as good as they look. Daddy keeps threatening to cut your hair it's getting so long, but I'm holding out as long as I can. You don't like that your hair is long enough to get in your eyes, but you don't mind it otherwise.

It's hard to believe that in less than a month you'll be one year old. That means I need to start planning your birthday party! Each day you show me how much a little boy you are, and how you're not a baby anymore.