Daily

Johnny and I got rid of Shawn for the week...he is headed to Virginia for some training....I am not much looking forward to this week without him, but he will be back in five days, and my clean house will become a mess again :)

It occurred to me today that most you might not know what Johnny is like on a daily basis, myself I am in shock at how different he is even from a few months ago. The child I had in September is not the child I have now, and it frightens me how my memories of him are already being limited and replaced...if only I could remove every thought from my mind and only remember every second of his life...I would...but anyways I thought I would take a few minutes and write a short log of what kind of child Johnny is at 11 months (ya that is right he is less then a month away from not being a baby anymore, holy crap i am going to cry again)

Johnny is very outgoing and social. He recognizes people in his life and greats them with smiles and running towards them. He especially loves other children. When our friend Chloe comes to visit he laughs and reaches for her immediately and when we sees his cousin Ella he follows her and wants to do everything she does. He reaches for his 2 month old cousin Wyatt and tries to touch him, has even given up his pacifier to him. Johnny will smile and laugh at strangers and so often I notice people around us noticing him and talking about him or to him.

In the house he can be a destructive force, but that is only because he is curious. He wants to search through every cabinet and drawer and he wants to know how far he can push us. He doesn't cry, but does complain and even throws a small fit when something is taken away or when he bumps his head and knows you saw him. He likes to take anything and throw it behind the gate that blocks off the steps, anything that is missing, I know that is where he put it. He also loves to carry his sippy cup (even empty) curled in one arm as he walks around the house.

Johnny's faces really give him the most personalty. As our family in Ohio recently discovered. He will scowl at you for any reason, specifically if you are new to him or if you have taken something away or done something he doesn't think is funny, but was supposed to be. He will also raise one eye brow in question. The funniest thing I think is right before he yells out, when I tell him stop or speak loud to him, his eyes get real big and his entire face goes with it, then he scrunches and sticks his bottom lip out and starts yelling at you...it is hard not to laugh at him, he looks so appalled at what is going on.

He still won't clap, but bangs his hands on the closest surface, or you. He has hit a stage where he doesn't want to be held for too long or cuddled, he pushes away and goes in his own, unless he is in a sweet mood, or tired. At that point he will come up to you and lay his head on your leg or foot, and it is so so so sweet. He is easy to make smile or laugh and likes slap stick the best. Daddy will use Johnny's legs to "kick" me and Johnny thinks that is hilarious. If you pretend to eat him or tickle his legs you get the biggest belly laugh. But the most fun is in chasing and being chased, he loves the anticipation of being caught. His babbles are great, but no solid words yet that are steady, he says things that sound like "doggy" or "okay" and has "daddada" and "mamama" down, but hasn't connected them to us yet. However Shawn is certain Johnny will be "too smart for his own good." I am with him!!!

As I write this I realize how hard it is to put him and all he does into words. It breaks my heart and I am scared that in 20 years all I will have is pictures and vague stories to remember these days.