Leander Roxas // Eleven Month Update

ELEVEN months – only one more month until this little dude is a full year old!
I’m literally in denial.

• This is probably not a shocker to anyone, but Leander loves to eat. I mean, look at those chubby sweet cheeks (you should see his thighs!) We’ve been introducing “real” food to him slowly over the last few weeks & after getting over the initial learning-curve of having-food-in-his-mouth-that-wasn’t-blended-smooth (and the gagging – ugh that’s one of the things I hate the most about babies: teaching them how to chew food & not just gag on it is SO hard) he’s been doing really really well! We’re to the point, where if what we’re eating isn’t too spicy or crunchy, we let Leander try it! We’re still working on the not-stuffing-everything-in-our-mouths-at-the-same-time thing, but he really loves feeding himself! He’s tried all sorts of bread, pastas, avacado chunks, cooked carrots & peas, eggs, biscuits, yogurt, french toast & pancakes, chicken, Texas Roadhouse rolls – and he even got a taste of Chick-Fil-A sauce when he dipped his fingers (accidentally) in his Aunt Amy’s sauce one day. We also let him taste a lemon – and just like his sister, he didn’t have any crazy reaction to it, he simply wanted to chow down.
• Speaking of food though, he does have a new trick: whenever he’s feeling extra silly, he’ll load his mouth up and then instead of swallowing, he’ll spit it all out everywhere – like blowing-raspberries-style. He does it with baby food & real food and the first time he did it, it was kind of silly & funny, but then it just became a huge mess! So, we’re working on that one. (He thinks it’s silly & laughs when he does it!)
• Leander is on the move. He’s a crazy fast crawler (especially if you chase him, until he collapses into a fit of giggles, that is!) He pulls himself up to stand on everything (even things you’d never think he could get a grip on) and he walks around the furniture now. We’ve even caught him a few times, just standing, all by himself, without holding onto anything.
• Overall, he’s super fast & seems to have a sixth sense about when the gate is up or not at the bottom of our steps. If we don’t instantly put the gate up, he is instantly up the stairs. He is super fast about it too! You blink & he’ll be half-way up the steps. He’s getting really good at climbing up, but once he realizes that you see him, he will try to crawl faster (usually making him lose his balance/footing) and will shriek & giggle uncontrollably (which also makes him lose his balance/footing). So, even though he’s getting really good at it, he’s definitely given me a few heart-attacks as I race to catch him before he falls down the steps (in other words: I’ve gotten much better at putting the gate up!)
• Other, more enjoyable tricks he’s learned this month: he’s getting good at clapping (when he’s excited, his whole body will dance & his little hands clapping together is the cherry on top). He loves to roll a ball – he will push a ball & follow it all around the house – it’s a riot! He’s also learned the “if I drop it, you’ll pick it up” game – complete with half of an “uh oh!” I say “half” because: it just comes out “uh” & then his mouth forms the “oh”, but no sound comes out yet.
• We aren’t big on Halloween or trick-or-treating, but when our neighbor, who Braelynn has become bestest friends with over the last few months, asked Braelynn if she’d go trick-or-treating with her, we decided to walk our neighborhood as a family. Braelynn dressed up as Skye & Leander dressed up as Marshall – both pups from the show PAW Patrol. Braelynn & Moxie had a blast! Leander simply got bundled up & rode around in the stroller – Braelynn came home with a heaping bag of treats & Leander came home empty-handed (no one was handing out puffs?) That’s okay – we had a great time!
• Speaking of treats – Leander loves treats. Puffs, Arrowroot Cookies, and these baby “Cheeto” things I found – he loves them ALL.
• We spent our last weekend at the Lake House this month – it was Autumn Glory weekend & we had plans to watch our church’s puppet show & then stay for the big parade. The weather was absolutely horrible though – not just cold & windy, but raining too. So, we stuck it out for the puppets, but then left before the parade started. It was sad, but there was no way we could sit & watch the parade, in the rain, with two little people!
• The day did eventually dry out & the sun appeared for a glorious last evening at the Lake! My brother raked up a huge pile of leaves & both Braelynn & Leander had a blast playing in the crunchy heap! It was so fun to watch them laugh & laugh & laugh.
• My sister Ellen took our first “official” family photos this month!! Despite us getting together right over dinner time (and taking photos almost right up to bedtime – oops!) Leander was AMAZING. He was such a little champ – I can’t wait to show off the gorgeous images Ellen captured of us as a family of FOUR! They are perfection.
• Derrick & I photographed a wedding about 2 1/2 weeks ago & the kids spent the day with my parents. Not wanting to simply be cooped up inside all day, they took the kids to a local fall festival they found. They had such a great time – and Leander got to take his first hayride there! That week (that ended in that wedding) was a crazy busy week for me, and Leander & I spent more time apart that week than we ever have (between meetings & shoots & a fancy birthday dinner). He did so good & I was so proud of him, but I’ve been so thankful for slower days after that crazy week! I missed my boy & my sweet girl!
• We read lots of books in this house & Leander is finally starting to catch on & actually enjoy it. We have some favorites: Little Blue Truck, Brown Bear Brown Bear, and Goodnight Moon (books we’ve now read so many times that Mommy has them memorized) and Leander has become so familiar with them & the words that are attached to each page, that he will now turn the pages – at the right time too! The first few times that he did it, he would turn the page, and then look back over his shoulder up at me with this big silly grin on his face, like, “Look what I just did – I am so smart.”
• Going along with his silly side – he now sticks his tongue out! If you stick your tongue out at him, he’ll stick his back out at you – it’s hilarious! And, whenever he’s being super silly, we’ll catch him sticking his tongue out at Braelynn or to no one in particular – just being a little goofball! He has a super silly personality that’s starting to come out & I absolutely love it!

Here are his Eleven Month photos! It blows my mind to look back & see how much he’s grown & changed – One Month photos & Two Month photos & Three Month photos & Four Month photos & Five Month photos & Six Month photos & Seven Month photos & Eight Month photos & Nine Month photos & Ten Month photos. Time can slow down anytime now!

If you’d like to follow along with what our little guy is up to on a more weekly basis – I’m taking weekly photos of him (just like I did with Braelynn) too! I post those updates every Monday on my personal Facebook page, as well as my Instagram account!