James, at 11 months:

• is becoming SO affectionate. I just die every time he squeezes my neck with his 8-inch fluffy arms. Then I die again when he plants a big 'ol wet one right on my chin, cheek, forehead, or wherever he happens to land.
• says ma-ma! It started as a sort of sucking-on-his-bottom-lip-followed-by-an-AH! sound but now it's definitely, without a doubt, genuine, pure, Mama. I'm his Mama.
• holds the record for standing by himself for 22 seconds.
• still plays with his favorite drum sticks.
• knows what 'no' means. He used to giggle at me, I guess because our voices would get so low and different, but now he's actually crawled to me and cried/pouted when he's gotten an big 'no-no'. It's pretty incredible that it actually works! For now...
• is showing us that he's pretty sensitive (like me I think). He gets very quiet and contemplative in big crowds and isn't too fond of dogs (especially if it's energetic. This is okay, though; Jim and I are not really animal people).
• although he's not crazy about big crowds, he loves the attention of a small group of people. He has this incredibly cheesy smile where he tilts his chin up, squints his eyes, and grins with his 5.5 pearly whites. It's awesome.
• eats just about everything we eat as long as it can be cut into bits. He's still a great eater.
• loves to offer you whatever he's eating or drinking - slobber and all.
• is my treasure.

Walking with his 'Nonna' at the beach on Memorial Day