Likes: The see-saw at the playground, eating non-acidic food, spending time with visiting family from out of town
Dislikes: Acidic food, being told not to eat grass and dirt at the park
Unsure: The swings at the playground

Special correspondent Beary is here with the 11 month report! I was told I needed to submit my story to the editorial board before Shabbat, so even though I’m supposed to be packing for our big move on Sunday, I’m taking a break to write.

This has been a very busy month! First, Johan’s great-grandmother Ria came to visit both him and Cousin Ella for a few days from New York. Seeing four generations of Grusses standing next to each other was exciting. Ria was impressed with how much Johan had grown and how he can now babble and crawl (we went to visit her in November when Johan was 5 months old, so a lot has changed since then). I hope we get to see her again soon.

Then during Passover, Johan’s Savta Fran and Aunt Lisa came to visit. They were also impressed with how much Johan has grown since they last saw him. I think Johan recognizes his Savta’s voice when he hears it on the phone or Facetime, which I find impressive. Johan often makes “na-na-na” sounds, so his parents tried getting him to say Ma NishtaNA (with some help), but that project will need to be reattempted next year, when presumably he has a larger vocabulary. I’m also not sure when we’ll next see them in person, but I think it could be relatively soon.

I can also report that Johan continues crawling, has started cruising, and is making more sounds, but we’re still waiting on his first words. He’s gone to the playground near our house a few times and enjoys crawling around the park. He also prefers the see-saw over the swing, he often has a skeptical look while riding on the latter. However, this isn’t too surprising, he’s always preferred jumping and bouncing over swinging. Johan also likes to try eating the grass and dirt, even though he isn’t supposed to eat those things.

However, there are many things that Johan is allowed to eat. In fact, his Mommy says that it often feels like she feeds him a meal, puts him down for a nap, and then it is time to prepare his next meal again! Johan especially likes Cheerios, challah, carrots, but he’ll eat just about anything that we put in front of him that is not overly acidic (homemade hummus didn’t go over so well, too much lemon juice).

I started off by saying Johan and I are moving on Sunday. Last week, Daddy moved his desk to the sunroom in the basement, and this week, Johan’s crib is moving to what was the study. All the moving plans are quite complicated. Mommy’s desk and Daddy’s bike also have to move, and everything is happening in phases. Johan and I have never had our own room before. Oren and Allison’s animals told me that it is a lot of fun to have our own room, and that they and Johan’s parents will still visit or that we can visit them in the master bedroom. However, I’ve promised not to sleep in Johan’s crib until it is safe to do so, even if Johan is fussy as he gets used to the new space. Anyway, I need to finish packing, so bye-bye until next time!