This Month Goes to 11 or Tuco at 11 Months

So Tuco is now over eleven months old. I did the math, and it turns out that that means Tuco is going to be one year old very soon. This little guy who could do nothing but sleep, cry, eat, and lay around is now acting more like a little boy than a baby.

You want to know the notable developments he’s recently had? Sure, I’ll tell you. My favorite one is that he now places his head on my shoulder before taking his nap or going to sleep for the night. He’s realized that it’s way more comfortable to do this than anything else, and I love it. It’s almost like a little regression back to baby time–nowadays it’s so rare for him to just let me hold him while he sits still, so I like that he’s not too big to put his head on my shoulder and let me soothe him a little before going to sleep.  It’s pure sweetness.

My next favorite development is that he dances. When he hears music, he starts bopping around from side to side with a big ol’ grin on his face. I don’t know how he learned to dance to music….oh, that’s right, Tuco’s dad and I are constantly dancing while we sing to him when we need to distract him.  He must be trying to imitate mom and dad’s bad dance moves.

It’s also becoming clear that he understands us, at least some of the time. He knows what “no” means, and if you ask him what the brown cow says, he’ll say, “bfffboooo,” which is his version of “moo.” Because this is one question he answers well, I am constantly asking him what the brown cow says because I love communicating with him. I can’t wait for more Q&A with him and eventually having conversations.

Tuco has also become very social, and he loves interacting with other kids.  The smile on his face when another kid looks at him is like no other, and then he’ll shyly turn the other way with his smile still intact. A second glance at the other kid usually involves Tuco reaching out his arm towards him. What else, what else? School buses are the coolest and when he sees a flag waving in the breeze, he will point it out to you and kick his legs around in excitement. He’s also a big fan of swinging at the park, and he’s just starting to explore the fun that is sliding down a slide.

It’s hard to believe that I’m almost through my first year as a mom.  A year ago, before Tuco arrived, the unknown of motherhood was equal parts scary and exciting. It’s still a bit scary now, as I don’t want anything to ever hurt my little Tuco (I’ll still be saying that even when he’s 40 years old), but I am much more excited about each day with him than I am scared.

A few recent Tuco pictures are below.