Our little Sethie is getting so big! At his last weigh-in, he was just 2 ounces short of 20 pounds! Seth (and his parents) have been very busy since the last time we wrote. We've just finished our first week back at work after a wonderful three week spring break. We wrote last after the first week of the break, when we had a great weekend with Grams and Papa. Jason had to work during the weekdays of the break, though we took a day or two off at the end of each week so we could have some long weekends. During the weekdays, Seth and I enjoyed lots of extra time together. It was also nice to spend extra time with Grams, who was here visiting, and Geema, who had an afternoon off. With the nicer weather, we started to go for walks again, which was great. We had some friends visit, and we went to the public library. One day, I took him to a free klezmer concert (Israeli music) at the public library. Since he enjoys his Music Together class so much, I thought I would see how he liked live music. He was very interested in it, especially when the musicians played the instruments right near him! It was cute to see him enjoying the music.

In addition to seeing Jason's parents in Western Massachusetts, we traveled to Rhode Island to see Granpda Joe, Grandma Nancy, Nana, Aunt Sandi, and Uncle Brian. We had a very nice time - we went to Uncle Brian's school to see him perform, which was fun. We also took Seth to the beach for the first time - we brought him down to Scarborough Beach in Narragansett. It was cold, so we bundled Seth up and let him crawl on the sand. He seemed to like it, though he was confused as to why the ground wasn't firm! The third weekend, we drove to Hoboken, NJ to visit our friends Chris and Cathy. Seth had a great time exploring their apartment and their neighborhood. We also took Seth into NYC on public transportation for the first time! We went on the subway and the bus, and Seth just loved looking around at the sights and sounds. We went to visit our friends Mike and Susie and their two children, and had a great time. We also went to Elizabeth Park with Geema and Michael, which was lots of fun.

Seth has progressed from a tentative walker to a very eager moover and shaker! He likes to walk with his hands over his head and a big smile on his face, with his tongue sticking out. At first, he liked to walk just a few steps and collapse into our outstretched arms. Then, he started to get more confident, and he would walk in between the shelves in his playroom. Then, he developed this little routine in our house where he would walk around the house with one hand on the wall and a toy in the other hand. He's finish his "route" and then we'd go back to start all over again. Now, he still loves his "route" but he does more and more of it without holding on to the wall, and loves to just walk across the middle of the room. We can't believe he's become such a good walker so quickly!

Seth is definitely into imitation and routines. He has a routine in his high chair when he is eating. He has finally mastered "How big is Sethie?", by putting his hands over his head when we say "So Big." Geema is very excited, as she has been teaching him this skill. First, he will do that, then he will clap. He has learned to clap, first silently, and now with a little sound. Then, he will make the "bibble bibble" sound by running his finger up and down over his lip. He also has started to make the "ba ba ba" sound by patting the palm of his hand against his mouth. And, just last night, Jason was making a beatbox noise to Seth, and Seth started trying to imitate it. So cute!

Seth has had lots more firsts in the past few weeks. We took him to a local playground, and held him as he/we went down the slide. We've also been taking him to the infant swing at the daycare playground - he loves it! He pumps his little legs and laughs. He's also become a great restaurant eater - we bring his portable chair, and he loves to sit and eat and watch what's going on.

Seth has made lots of progress in his play, too. He has discovered how to put things into boxes now, in addition to taking things out. Also, his new favorite thing to do is to "talk" on the phone. He has always been fascinated with our phones, and he has several toy phones. He likes to walk around the house with the phone up against his ear, babbling. He likes it so much that he puts any toy he carries up against his ear like a phone, or sometime just his hand. He is also very interested in having "conversation" - he likes to babble back and forth with us. He is still saying "Da Da" and "Ma Ma" inconsistently, but babbles up a storm! He is also tentatively starting to wave. He also likes to point at little polka dots on our clothes with his pointer finger, and likes us to touch our pointer finger to his.

His sleeping is going pretty well - the one long midday nap seems to be going well, and he has been sleeping about nine hours a night, sometimes with one wake-up for a nursing. Our doctor says this is okay, that not all babies sleep twelve hours now, so we are happy with how his sleeping is going. His left front tooth is coming in now, as are two other top teeth, and that can disrupt his sleep some.

We can't believe that our little boy is almost eleven months old. It seems like just yesterday that he was born. We love him so much and enjoy our family time so much. He is lucky to have so many family and friends nearby. We had a great time with all his grandparents (and great-grandmother) over the break, and we are excited that Grams (Jason's mom) was out here looking for places to move. When she moves back to the area, Seth will have all his grandparents nearby. We're all very lucky!