Gus turned 11 months old this past week and he's loving it. He's eating table food, waving goodbye, pointing at his nose, eyes, or ears (when asked, of course, which makes it cool),...and walking, too. He's still not using the walk as his travel method of choice, but he is able to take about 8 steps without wiping out.
His favorite 11 month-old past time is rough housing with Ross. He especially loves being launched into the air.
The countdown...
The launch.
Safe landing.
Grandma and Grandpa Debi & Steve were here last weekend. They stayed Friday - Monday which meant Gus got to skip out on school/daycare on Monday morning and stay home with them. There was plenty of playing to be done.
On a side note, I do not think it is possible for Gus to look anymore like Ross in this picture.
Lap 73 with his personal trainer, Gram D.
Grandpa Steve and Josh went to the Bison game last Saturday and did some shopping while they were there. Of course all the matching clothing required us to bust out the old studio equipment and have some fun. There are some perks to having an unfinished basement.
Hi Five.
More matching shirts.
Aunt
Christy and Uncle Josh were responsible for making Gus smile during the photo shoot but after the first couple shots, we decided to scrap the formalities and have everyone jump in for their own shot or two.
Pretty sturdy, huh?
He was looking at me in this shot as if to say, "OK, OK mom hurry take it. I'm holding this stand as long as I can so just take it."
I was beyond crusty and not prepared to be in pictures but I did it anyway for a good laugh. Gus's face in this shot is great.
So that just about recaps 11 months. Now we need to start planning for the 1 year b-day party! And when people ask me, "can you believe it's been a year already?", I say, "yes!" I can believe it, I remember everything about the past year very vividly and I absolutely can believe it's been 1 year. Gus has brought so much joy and pride to both Ross and I over the past year. He's also brought sleep deprivation and delirium but all of that tough stuff went away 6-7 months ago. We have this parenting stuff down now and have never done anything more fun or more amazing in our entire lives.
After you become a new parent, it seems everyone tells you how you should catch up on sleep while you can, they tell you which toys or bottles you should buy, they mention different cures for tummy aches and baby gas, but never once did anyone tell me that the first time he took a bite of cheese or banana or whatever it was with his 4 teeny front teeth, that I would be so proud of him that I would almost cry. I realize this sounds ridiculous but it is true. And he's only 11 months old. Imagine what we'll be saying on this blog in like 5 years. I'm sure I will have exploded with pride by then so I shouldn't get too ahead of myself now. For now we will take it one day at a time.
He likes it now but the true test will be tomorrow morning when we pile into the car. Will he still think this thing is super cool?
New pasttime: applauding for himself when he accomplishes a major task or when he likes something. 
