11 months!

I can't believe we are here -- 11 months (and some change) from the day Gavin was born. I feel like the first year with Rachel was so much longer. But then again, I was still learning how to take care of a baby then, and I only had one child to care for!
But seriously, where have the last 11 months gone? I am truly befuddled that I have an almost-1-year-old son!
So here are your 11-month updates on Gavin:

• At 11 months, Gavin still has NO teeth. I can see at least 4 below the surface of his gums, but they refuse to pop through! I feel terribly for him when he is gnawing on anything he can fit into his mouth (including my wallet strap, my chin, my shoulder, my fingers...)
• Going right along with the gnawing, Gavin is being weaned from nursing right now. I made it to about 10 months with minimal formula supplementation, and I am very grateful for that, because that is about 4 months longer than I made it with Rachel before she was getting half-formula/half-milk. But in the last few weeks, my supply has taken a hit, and in a couple more weeks, we will start Gavin on whole milk entirely (have already started here and there), so it is time to prepare my little guy for all bottles all the time! And this is just in time, because the little sucker BIT me the other night, so I would like to get him off the breast before his teeth finally come through!

Gavin is walking with assistance now (see video proof below). He hasn't taken those brave first steps on his own, but he will walk with us holding his hands, and he is very proudly walking running with his toy walker. This is ahead of where Rachel was at his age (she walked between 13 and 14 months), and it is probably the first thing he has done off-schedule from his sister (except she did get her teeth at 10 months).

True to form, my son really likes to talk. He gabs away pretty consistently these days. He now says "MA!" but I am not sure he knows what that means or why he is saying it. I have been counting for him, and he always smiles and tries to count back to me using his sounds. And of course, Rachel talks to him ALL THE TIME. They say sometimes the second child doesn't talk as soon because their older sibling answers for them. But my son doesn't seem to have that situation. He talks right back at her. I may need some earplugs.

• Much to Kim's shock and surprise, I am already almost done with preparations for Gavin's 1st Birthday Bash! I want it to be special, since he and Rachel will share a birthday party in future years and this may be the last he gets on his own...ever. I just got all the favors and decorations in, and I have the cake all planned out. I am also attempting to create my own pinata. But I am hopeful the heat wave we have been experiencing for a week or so will not resurface because I do not want people to melt at his party! 
• I have come to terms with the fact that Gavin is not a cuddler. Rachel would always let me cuddle her for as long as I wanted, but my little man only wants to cuddle when he is super tired or upset, and then only until he is soothed appropriately and then he pushes me away again. Sigh. I guess this is to prepare me for whenever a little hussy comes along and steals his heart away.
• As laidback as my little guy is (and really has been since birth), he does NOT like to sleep. He only sleeps about 10 hours each night with one 2-hour nap during the day. Rachel would sleep for 12+ hours at his age with 2 naps. But he is a party animal until he can't go anymore. :)

I am trying to do a little better at blogging with some regularity now that my schedule is lighter. I blogged so much more frequently when Rachel was a baby, so I want to make sure I cover Gavin's personality well.