11 months.

As I think back to the beginning of last November, I am in total awe of how much our lives have changed in 11 blink-of-an-eye months. 11 short months ago, I felt like I simply couldn't grow another centimeter; I already had our home decorated for Christmas, every Christmas present was wrapped, and every bow had been tied. Today, while I hardly am as organized as last year and have just branched into the world of holiday shopping, I love spending each and every day with you! The way you smile, the way you love to jump, and the way that you are always on the go makes our hearts smile and we just couldn't love you more! You are funny. You are smart. You, sweet boy, have one spunky personality! There isn't a mirror in our home that you don't love looking in and talking to yourself! You shake your head quickly back and forth and the more I smile and laugh, the harder and faster you shake that head of yours! You are beginning to cruise slowly but surely, especially if there is something that catches your eye that you must hold! Nonetheless, you haven't shown that much interest in walking yet as you crawl to your destinations at the speed of light. You love to explore our home and while you adore your toys, I think you almost prefer to be on the go.

You love to eat your baby food, but are giving us a bit of a challenge as we try to transition you to more and more table food. One thing is for sure - you love multi-grain, blueberry waffles and pickles...not together, of course.

You are a true thinker. This week at our Gymboree Play & Learn class, you crawled through a short tunnel to capture a cage bell that you fell in love with. Upon introducing you to a much longer tunnel and enticing you to crawl through with that same cage bell, you simply turned around, backed out of the tunnel, and crawled beside of the tunnel to retrieve the bell from the teacher at the other end. We all had to laugh at your creativity to get the bell without crawling through the long tunnel.

This time 11 months ago, we just couldn't wait to meet you. This time 11 months ago, we couldn't wait to see what you looked like. However, this time 11 months ago, we knew we would love you, but we had no idea of how in love with you we would be. Your birthday is fast approaching, Eli, and we just thank God each day for you, your health, your happiness, and what you have added to our family!