AMJ Eleven Months Old

"There's nothing fancy about the way I love you, but I love you as hard as I can.
  There's no good reason for the way you love me, but you're my waking dream come true.
  There's no good reason for the way you love me, but I thank God that you do."

These are lyrics to a song we heard at a wedding this month and they immediately speak to us and our relationship with you. You are such a sweet blessing and good and perfect gift from God (James 1:17). The love we give you pales in comparison to the exuberant amount of joy with which you fill our hearts. And that joy grows on a daily basis, as fast as the days seem to go by. As hard as it is to believe you are already 11 months old, with each new development and inch you grow, it becomes harder to remember you were ever a little baby. This month was no different than your previous 10, filled with adventures and new tricks. Your communication skills are primed to grow exponentially. You've started signing for "more", "milk" and waving hello or goodbye. You point and squeal or grunt to signal specific wants or needs. Along with telling us what a lion and monkey say, you call us by name now: "MaMa", "DaDa", "Max" and "Aw" (for Aubrey), you can say "snack" to ask for food. Watermelon is by far your favorite new treat but you also enjoy a waffle at breakfast and pureed pouches of other fruits and veggies. When we go out to eat, you are exposed to even more new tastes and treats. Mommy created a summer bucket list for you and your sister, which included a workday lunch date with Daddy. We celebrated your sweet friend Cora's church dedication with friends at lunch at the Fish Market. Other celebrations took place this month...we wished Mommy a Happy Birthday and went bowling for Aunt Jessica's wedding shower. There were a few experiences this month we would have liked to wish away too. Daddy had to come home early from a work trip to Chicago because you were sick and ended up spending a day in the hospital. You had fever and diarrhea, stopped nursing and had become dehydrated. We later found out you had salmonella. Sadly, we also had to say goodbye to Kennedy this month. You referred to her as "dog" (one of your first words). She'll always have a place in our hearts but in that situation or any other time we feel sad, stressed or sick, it only takes a smile or a hug or a kiss from our sweet Amelia to warm our souls. We are overwhelmed by the extraordinary amount of light and love you bring into our lives even as it seems there is nothing fancy about the way we love you.