On this New Years Eve you turn 11 months old, and mommy cannot believe you will be one is a short months time. 2012 will always be a special year because it's the year that brought you into my life. You are changing more and more and it seems you just soaking up all this word.

You are a smart boy, and a little athlete. Everything you do makes us smile; I mean how can we help it because you are always smiling at us, and gosh, you have just the cutest smile.

Here are some of the fun things you've been doing this month:

-You're a walker. I had a feeling you would walk before you turned one. Now, you're not walking full time as balance is still hard, but you take long strides. You are so proud of yourself and excited while you walk. You put your arms high in the air and giggle.

-I thought you were talkative before, but now you are not only talkative, but you are loud. You say the cutest little baby things. You say: mama, dada, goo goo gaga, nana, baba, and all sorts of things. You circle the ottoman, one hand holding on with the other waving high in the air and you talk away.

- You are so observant. You watch us and I can just see you thinking about what we're doing and figuring it out. I swear, you know what the remote control is for because whenever you get your hand on it you push the buttons and look up at the TV. I also think you're learning what phones are for because you're beginning to hold them up to your ear.

-You've gotten feisty though. If we pick you up because you're doing something you shouldn't, or it's time to go into the high chair, you throw your head back, arch your back and wail, but your fit doesn't last long.

-We must have watched The Grinch and Mickey's Christmas Carol a hundred times this month. You like to watch it while drinking your bottle. You also like Lady and the Tramp, The Polar Express, and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.

-You've been eating more of mommy and daddy's food and your little appetite is growing for normal food. You love spaghetti, lasagne, scrambled eggs, Greek yogurt, sour dough bread and ham.

-Even with all the fun, colorful toys around here, your favorite toy is an empty coke bottle. You roll it, push it, kick it, bounce it (off mommy's head sometimes), and suck on it.

-Your nicknames include: Honey, Goopy, Hudsters, Gooch, Hudsey and Booby (sometimes it just slips out, sorry)

Tomorrow we fly to Texas together Grandma Blair and your aunts and uncles are excited to see you, and they are just going to adore you.