Dear Jackson,

Your monthly letter had turned into a quarterly letter. Sorry about that! This note to you is going to count for your 9th, 10th and 11th month. A LOT has changed in the past quarter of a year. You crawl EVERYWHERE and you talk about EVERYTHING. Your personality has exploded into a vibrant little boy who loves his Mom, Dad, friends and Dog.  Your crawling has a unique look to it, resembling a fiddler crab.  You use your right leg to gain momentum and your left leg remains folded up underneath yourself and scoots along with your body.  Despite looking funny, it works and you get around quickly!

You can pull yourself up and love to dance while holding onto things, particularly your baby gate. Dad & I discovered that if we sang “Shake your booty” to you, you would do just that while laughing. Now you shake your booty on command.  You’ve also discovered that balls are you favorite. Basketballs, dodge balls, footballs- it doesn’t matter, you’re going to throw it and chase it across the room while exclaiming “BALL!” Speaking of words, you’ve already expanded your vocabulary to several words. Mama, Dada, Hi, Bye, Ball, Dog (which is always followed by you barking), Tysen (your best friend), Hey, Ok, Yum, and Rex. You also love to jabber and will often carry on extensive conversations with whomever will participate. I found you in your crib a few days ago, quietly reading a book to your bla bla doll.  Even though the book was upside down, you turned the pages and read with inflection.  My heart exploded at the cuteness!

Your dog, Rex, is your best pal around the house. You follow him everywhere and find great delight in waking up while he is snoozing on the couch by banging him on the head with your toy of choice. Rex is a pretty good sport about it and has only given you a dirty look a few times.  He’s going to be in trouble when you are able to climb onto the couch to his secret hiding spot. You’re a dog lover like your parents and I love that you bark when you see a dog. For Halloween you dressed up as a monkey.  Mom & Dad were zookeepers and we had a fun party at the Rutledges’ where they dressed up as a puppy family. You wore your costume all night and didn’t mind a bit. However, when you first saw yourself dressed up in the mirror you barked. I explained you were a monkey but I was proud you were close 🙂 We’ll work on animal noises more…

You’re also eating whatever Mom & Dad eat (except for the No-No foods until you’re one). You don’t mind eating different food, but are way too busy to slow down and eat enough to gain weight. That’s why you’re still only about 17 pounds at 11 months old! You’re long & lean. Your pediatrician gave us the go ahead to introduce some cow’s milk at 11 months so I started getting milk delivered and giving it to you as a snack. You still nurse three times a day but I hope the whole milk will help fatten you up a bit. You still take a morning and afternoon nap but are now sleeping through the night in your own bedroom. I think this was harder on me than you, but I’m enjoying sleeping for more than four hours in a row now, thanks!

As far as activities go, we still go to the library on Tuesdays, swimming on Wednesdays or Thursdays and Rock A Baby on Thursdays.  Rock A Baby is your favorite and you always sing a long or dance to the groove. You’ve got a busier social life than Mom & Dad and have many play dates with Tysen, Ella, Charlotte, Finn and Neola. I’m in the process of planning your first birthday party.  It’s going to be a sock monkey theme at our house with 10 of your closest buddies and cousins.

You’re a joy to be around and more fun than ever. Dad told me today at lunch that this was the best time ever, as you laid your head on his chest and smiled.  We are so thankful for you and I thank God every day for being blessed as your Mother. This will be the most meaningful Thanksgiving yet for our family.

I’ll love you forever,

Mama

PS. I almost hit publish on this when I realized I forgot to mention your bottom two teeth came in! The top two are so close you can see them, maybe that’s why you have been chewing on your crib– to help break them in?

PSS. Your 11 month picture will be added to this letter soon, promise.