Wallace | Eleven months

Hold me. He's getting seriously close to one year old.



Wallace is starting to understand what we are saying to him. He will give high-fives on command, will wave 'bye bye', claps if we clap, and will crawl to the backdoor when he knows I've left the house. He points at things he sees outside and if I ask him where Truman is, he will look around and find the kid, then smiles.



He's vocal and makes his very own sounds, like he's trying to pitch in with the loudness in our house. But he mostly enjoys taking it all in, playing with the big kids, and throwing balls everywhere. This guy is OBSESSED with balls, and also with tiny objects he knows he shouldn't have.



The biggest news from last month is that at 10.5 months, Wallace took his first real steps! As of today he can string together 3-5 steps before he decides to squat down. This is really freaking early but part of me is surprised he didn't start walking at 9 months for how mobile he's been for so long. I love watching him stand in the middle of the room for 30 seconds, then take a few wide steps. It's so sweet and he is so proud of himself.



He can also climb up a few stairs and really loves to crawl with one leg under him and one out in front. He's lightning fast and when he's on concrete, he comes up with a bear crawl to avoid knee dragging. Wallace just amazes us with his mobility.



Things he's not quite as advanced with, compared to his siblings: still only has two teeth! Also still doesn't sleep through the night. Yawn. I am actually sleep training him for the fourth (?) time and it's going okay. I haven't fed him in the night for the past four nights. He was consistently waking twice a night again and I've had it, and the dude cannot actually be hungry with all he's eating during the day. Today he didn't wake at all...until 4:45am, and so that's when we started our day. We are getting there though! Really ready to sleep again, holy cow.



Naps are good, usually about 1.5 hours each, at around 9 and 1ish. Bedtime is at 7:30 and usually he wakes around 6:30am. He nurses in the morning, once or twice during the daytime, and then before dinner. We've come a long way since those early days of nursing every two hours! However, we haven't come *that* far because we are back to Wallace refusing a bottle, or a sippy cup, or really any liquid other than nursing. Sometimes he will drink a teeny tiny bit from a cup but not that much, so I worry he doesn't get enough fluid from just nursing. But he's growing well, has wet diapers and is a super happy dude so I try not to worry too much. He also eats real food for three meals plus a snack every day. He is loving chicken, guacamole, and all types of carbs the most. Can't get him off the baby food purees either, so he gets about 4-8 oz in a sitting. Henry is madly in love with this child and how much food he throws from the highchair.





Wallace fits in really well around here and he is a great fourth kid--always happiest when his siblings are nearby, and he responds with giggles whenever they talk to him. Pretty much everyone says he looks exactly like Nate, or sometimes baby Truman. I can see both but also think he's his own person, but those dark eyes are just enough to make me weak in the knees. It's no secret that I'm 100% obsessed with Wallace  and the feeling is sort of mutual, as he's a total mama's boy. Separation anxiety seems to be hitting and he will sometimes start to whimper if I get my shoes on and head towards the door. Little sweetheart.





Wallace also made his first trip to Missouri and his longest road trip at 600 miles (took 12.5 hours on the way down). Pepaw passed away unexpectedly this month so we traveled as a family to be in southwest MO for his services. Although it was a sad trip I'm so glad we went, as it was exactly where we needed to be.





Other happenings: the exterior house painting is almost finished and it's amazing, like a different house all together. Cecelia turned six, and the big kids had their last day of school. Summer is finally upon us and we are loving it---just don't talk to me about Wallace's first birthday next month. How?





We love you, Waller Baller, Wall-Ball, Acey. You make life a little brighter, every single day.