So quick!

Camden is now eleven months old and he's growing up so fast!  

Three weeks ago, one night when Dan was working late, I was reading on the couch and ignoring my son.  Er, I mean, letting him play by himself.  In my peripheral vision, I caught a flash of motion.  And then again.  I looked up and realized Camden was speed walking back and forth in front of me.  This was pretty much the first time he initiated walking by himself.  I was pretty excited, so naturally, I broke out the camera and cheered him on.  Yeah, he knows how to get his momma's attention.

 He was so cute and so pleased with himself.  I love how completely un-self-conscious he is about all of his achievements.  He laughs out loud and grins and looks at me expectantly for more praise.

Camden, helping us get our garden ready this year.  I weeded, Dan turned over the dirt, and Camden kept us both entertained.

Our little boy LOVES to be outside.  And his favorite outdoor activity seems to be eating dirt.  Or rocks.  So he usually ends up with a muddy beard.

Camden got a yucky case of sickies.  He pretty much spent all day snuggled up.  Which I found more alarming than the puke he distributed in his pack'n'play.  He was so miserable.  However, I do think being sick taught him the value of snuggles, because now he'll actually cuddle for a minute or two, whereas before you were lucky to get a 2 second nestle.

Camden got his first swing ride and he LOVED it.  I love his little grin!

Some other things he does now---

• He can say da-da-da-da.  It's very cute.  But he doesn't growl as much anymore, which is sad.
• He can stand up from crawling - he just learned this about two weeks ago at Jonathan and Kristy's house.  So now he doesn't have to crawl over to a chair or couch to pull himself up and then take off walking.  But it must be tiring to do because by naptime or end of the day, it might take him a couple tries to actually stand up.
• He loves peek-a-boo and hiding games.  He thinks it is so funny.  And since his laugh is an ample reward, we play it a lot.
• He "shares".  He will hand me a toy.  Today, I was distracted and not paying attention, so he grabbed my hand and turned it palm up and then put the toy in my hand.  
• Camden is quite ticklish and loves his belly to be tickled.
• He likes to push things around - like chairs, boxes, laundry baskets, tubs, anything that might move.  At the store, he is so thrilled when I let him push the cart (until he gets distracted by what is on the shelves).
• Camden loves to eat.  He's not very particular, but he won't eat the same thing day after day.  Favorite foods right now seem to raisins and cheese and pancakes.  And just about anything new.  Scarfed down broccoli today like it was blueberries.  

I've noticed one of the perks of having a kid this age is being able to give him all the things I don't like to eat - under the guise of expanding his palate.  It is convenient - he even likes olives!  Where did that come from?!