MONTHLY --11 months

By 11 months Eddie has had 2 real colds (beyond the sniffles), chicken pox, and one stomach virus. He's a champion crawler and I think is going to be a climber. He pulls himself up onto anything and is adept at opening kitchen drawers and cabinets. No surprise, but he's got a wonderful personality. He can climb a couple stairs and will follow us from room to room. He loves being read to and music--all the stuff that kids each age like. He's now to the age where there is so much to list that he can do--he seems to be right on track developmentally and all that stuff that people ask about.

I know everyone has their reasons, but I can understand those who get addicted to having babies---that feeling of pride and even excitement as you watch them grow and learn how to do new things. The knowledge you, as a parent have about this tiny individual, what makes him tick, and watching them acheive something they've worked hard to master.

For his 11 month birthday, Dennis took him for a jog because he didn't want to nap. He giggled as he bounced along. The pictures are from right before the jog. We then took him to a re-election kick-off campaign. Finally, we took him test driving -- a minivan.

It was a very nice car and had all the "family" features and versitility one could want. It fit in our 11 foot wide (9 foot opening) garage with inches to spare. But...I'm not sure that we are the minivan kind. Den outright refuses an SUV and I'm not a fan of the station wagon. So where does that leave us? At 11 months, Eddie couldn't tell us, but he gamely went along. We've also tested the Prius, Civic Hybrid and Accord. The Camry Hybrid comes out this spring--we'll see what that brings.

Next monthly update will be one-year. I don't think I'm ready for that--I've not filled out enough of his baby book. Is there a 'pause' button?