11 Months Old...Oh My!

Bentley's first trip to the park was fun!  He really liked the slide.

First of all, this is so surreal.  I can't believe that my little man is already 11 months old.  That means he is almost one-year-old, which then means that he's almost not a baby.  I know he will always be my baby, but each new thing he does and each new skill he learns seems to be so much more significant now.  Bentley is growing so fast and learning something new almost everyday.  While I am so sad to see this time go so quickly, I cannot tell you how much fun he is right now.  I laugh all the time!  To let you in on a little tidbit of what causes all the laughter around here, here's the latest.

At ten months old, Bentley was doing a few funny things, but now...he has so many new tricks!  It seems like he picks up on everything we do and say.  My little genius! :)

1. Blowing kisses - If you watched the video on the last post, you he's been doing this for almost two weeks.  We were sitting at lunch, and I was blowing him kisses, so he decided to return the favor.  He's been doing that ever since.
2. Waving "bye bye" - This is hilarious, and I will post a video later this week.  He waves his tiny little hand up and down while saying, "dye dye."  Yep, that's right..."dye dye" not "bye bye."
3. Says "Mama" discriminately - Usually "Mama" comes out when he wants to be held, wants to eat, or is upset.  I guess he knows who will come to the rescue.
4. Says "Dada" discriminately - I can say, "Dada is home."  He immediately repeats me, "Dada Dada."  The "d" sound is his favorite right now.  LOTS of things come out sounding like Dada, but he definitely speaks of Dada purposefully, too.  The cutest thing I've ever heard was when we were at the park the other day, and Daniel was trying to get his picture.  I said, "Look at Daddy."  Clear as a bell, Bentley said, "Daddy."  Daniel and I looked at each other, both noting that that was the cutest thing we'd ever heard.  We haven't heard it again, but I know we will.
5. "Bite bite" - When Bentley wants something to eat, he starts smacking his lips and saying, "Mama Mama."  I can say, "Do you want a bite bite?"  He then says, "bite bite."  So smart.
6. "Mum mum mum" - At dinner the other night I was saying, "Yum yum."  Bentley looked at me saying, "Mum mum mum."  After repeating "yum yum" over and over, Bentley kept saying, "mum mum mum mum."  Daniel and I decided that's his way of saying "yum yum."
7. Brown Bear - Though I can't get him to do it all the time, he used to roar like a brown bear.  When reading Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, I always make the animal sounds.  So, for the longest, I could say, "What does a Brown Bear say?"  Bentley would say, "Ahhhh."  (While that's great and all, he did the same thing for a cow...go figure.)
8. Bzzzzzz - His bedtime story, Time for Bed, has a bee in it, so when I read it I always tell him the bee says "Bzzzzz."  Just two nights ago, he repeated me, "ssssss."  He's just started making the "s" sound, so that worked our perfectly.
9. Walking with help - Bentley is not walking alone, though he stands very well.  He LOVES to walk behind his riding toys.  I posted the video of him walking behind his truck last week, but he was going really slow.  Not any more...he is a speed racer.  He practically runs behind his truck and his airplane now.  He even walks on his knees behind them.  It is so funny, and he has so much fun.
10. Cruising - He pulls up on everything that will hold him up...doors, walls, furniture, me, etc.  As a matter of fact, he has figured out how to pull the drawers out just enough to get leverage to pull himself up.  On Saturday, he did that on his nightstand and decided to use the drawer as a teether.  Now, there are teeth marks across his nightstand drawer...Lovely! 
11. Where's Bentley? - This is hilarious.  He plays peek-a-boo with anything he has in his hands....his bunny, a blanket, etc.  He will raise it over his head with both hands and wait for you to say, "Where's Bentley?"  Then, he quickly pulls it down to reveal a wide, two-tooth smile!
12. Clapping - As of today, Bentley claps, claps, claps.  I've been trying to get him to for a couple of months, and FINALLY...he decided it was a good idea.  The more you say, "Yea," the more he claps.  So sweet!

That's all the tricks I can think of right now, but that's quite a lot of progress in the last month. 

Here are some of Bentley's favorite things:

• Bath time (still) - I think this will forever be a favorite activity in the Bowling household.
• His name - If you recall, I painted the letters of his name to go on the wall in his room.  Everyday, he points to the letters saying "dat."  I say "B-E-N-T-L-E-Y...Bentley!"  He smiles his biggest smile and says, "dat."
• Walking with his truck or plane - He likes to ride them, too.  He sits on them and rocks back and forth to let you know he's ready to GO!
• Doing laundry - Well, not so much doing laundry...He likes to ride in the laundry basket.  I can say, "You want to ride?"  He will crawl over and stand up by the basket waiting for me to put him in.  Too funny!
• Playing with Daddy's golf clubs - Daniel has a club we keep in the kitchen now.  Bentley plays with it every night while we make dinner.
• Opening the cabinet doors and drawers - We have recently invested in the safety latches for drawers and cabinet doors.  Bentley gets really excited when he finds one that we forget to close. 
• Dishwasher - This was a favorite at 10 months old, and I don't think that's going to change anytime soon.  He tries to hold onto the top shelf and stand up on the door.  He has succeeded quite a few times!
• Stairs - Bentley loves to hold onto the wrought iron spindles and play like he's in jail.  He has also learned to crawl up the stairs (with supervision, of course).  He's so funny to watch.  He does really good for the first little while, be he starts grunting as he gets closer to the top.  17 stairs is hard work for a little guy.
• FOOD! - Bentley loves big boy food.  No more baby food at all!  His two favorites right now are spaghetti and smoked sausage.  He eats and eats and eats when we have those meals.  He still loves sweet potatoes, bananas, pears, crackers, ham, turkey, yogurt, goldfish, and crunchies.  He has eaten grilled zucchini and squash, grilled chicken, white potatoes (baked and mashed), mac n' cheese, grapes, plums, kiwi, and more.  He's so cute when he eats.  He doesn't like to be fed anymore, so he thinks he can do it all himself.  A little messy, but at least he's eating.

So you know, the 10th month was filled with fun and sickness.  Bentley learned so much and had a blast, but he endured about three weeks of being sick.  He had an ear infection in his left ear, followed by a really bad ear infection in his right ear, followed by RSV.  He was a pretty sick kiddo there for a while, but now he's doing great!  Hopefully we've done our time for the time being!  Due to all the sickness, his appetite has suffered a little, so I don't think he's gained any weight at all.  He's definitely growing taller, but he still weighs just over 17 pounds.  Skinny little boy...maybe he will fatten up as his appetite returns.

Hmmm...what's this pickle thing?

I may as well give it a taste.

Holy Moly!  That's sour!

Well, that's all for now. There was a lot to add for 11 months, and I know there will be even more for 12 months...or should I say, ONE-YEAR-OLD!!!

So you know, I am a very busy Mommy right now. I'm planning his first birthday party, and I'm having a BLAST!  The Very Hungry Caterpillar makes for some really cute birthday party ideas...hint hint!!!

Swinging for the first time. 

What fun!

His hair was blowing in the wind!