11 Months

Today Charlie is 11 months old, and I've decided that I won't be sharing my letters to him in this space anymore. Writing him letters and doing a special monthly photo shoot are two traditions I plan to continue past the first year. When it comes time for him to move out of the house, I'd like to give him a bound book or seven of my letters to him, not to mention all the photos I've taken of him. I'm not sure if he'll be into that kind of stuff, but perhaps his future wife will be.



However, we have quite a lot of time before Charlie's ready to go off to college, or whatever it is he decides to do with his life. But as we get closer and closer to his first birthday, I realize even more that time is not my friend. The years will pass as quickly as this one, and before I know it, my baby will be all grown up. I can hardly stand to think about it, so I choose not to. Instead, I enjoy each moment as much as I can, even when those moments are challenging.

Charlie is still a big boy, but he's balancing out now. He's actually got a neck! At his last appointment, he weighed 23 lbs. He's in the 85th percentile for weight and 95th for height.



He crawls! And pulls to a stand! And stands for brief moments on his own! And sometimes does a bit of cruising! He says "dada" quite often and every once in awhile a "mama" will slip out. And he's got four teeth now! With each milestone, I grow more and more proud of him.

I don't think it's possible that he could be any cuter than he is now. But I have always thought that, and he's always managed to set the cuteness bar higher and higher. Everyone we come into contact with tends to agree, as people are just completely taken with him the moment they see him. His hair is especially beloved. And really, what's not to love about that mess of blonde hair?



Charlie reminds me so much of Roy. He's wonderfully curious, but he's mellow and patient. He's just a sweet baby who loves to be tickled and held and kissed. He makes me laugh every day, whether it's because he's chowing down on cat food or because he's constantly grinning and shaking his head "no." I love watching him chase the cats and seeing how he tries to be gentle with them. He's an amazing little boy.

And no matter how hard things get in life, he is my perfect little prince.