11 Months Old

How in the world can Ben be almost a year old?  I look at him and I still think he should be a little baby, but he's certainly not:

*He's walking. (He can walk around with a walker, although he really hasn't figured out turning yet.  He just runs into the walls and gets mad.  However, he's getting more steady everyday. 

*He's crawling-fast.  (He always wants to be on the move.  He's no longer content to sit in his exersaucer or jumper.  He can't be contained!  Unfortunately, he doesn't have any sense.  He crawls off ledges and puts absolutely everything he can find in his mouth.)

*He's got teeth.  (At this age Evan didn't have any teeth yet.  Benny has 6!  He is so miserable when he's teething and seems to be working on another one on the bottom of his mouth as we speak.  When everybody sees his toothy smile the first thing they say is how many teeth he has.)

*He's communicating.  (A really big change this month has been how much he communicates.  He's been pointing at everything.  I also swear a heard him say "mama" twice distinctly to me while we were sitting in the rocker the other day in his room.)

*He's a daredevil. (As I said, he's always careening off of ledges.  He pulls himself to standing on some very precarious ledges.  In fact, today, he slipped off of the table he was leaning on and did a face plant into the carpet biting through a chunk of his lip.  Those teeth are dangerous.) 

A year ago, I was anxiously awaiting little Ben's arrival.  A year ago, I didn't know what we were in for.  Benny is the cutest little whirlwind you've ever seen, and I'm a little afraid, but I can't wait to see what trouble he gets into next!

(a few days old)

(six months old)

(11 months old-in every shot I tried to take the feet were either in his hands or in his mouth.)