11 Months Old

The caption that immediately jumps to mind: mischief (temporarily) managed.

(Jack left, Henry right)

Visiting Family

Ready for shipping to Grandma and Grandpa's house (Henry left, Jack right):

We ended up just taking them with us in the car. Shipping a box that size is expensive and we weren't confident they'd equitably share the snacks we'd packed. Plus, it seemed silly not to take them in our fancy new kid-hauler: 

After a long and boring saga during which it became more and more clear that our ordered hybrid 2017 Chrysler Pacifica mini-van was not going to appear in anything resembling a timely fashion, we went ahead and purchased a gas model. It's very spaceship-like... parks itself, automatic everything, adaptive cruise control (which is awesome!), lane-keeping assist, and so on. The color is "tusk white" (aka "I want a white car, but not a white white car, y'know? Something less soccer mom and more lacrosse mom").

At Grandma Cindi and Grandpa Larry's house, Jack reading with Aunt Jessica:

Both of the boys really love being read to, and even seem to be starting to pull out books they want us to read.

Cousins Jillian and Michaelson seem just blown out of the water by Henry's amazing standing abilities:

 Henry helps Grandpa operate his tablet:

Aunt Gail and Uncle Eric have the best toys (mini-pots and pans from Ikea, excellent for nibbling and clanging):

The boys also visited with Aunt Natalie, Uncle Richard, Aunt Staci, Uncle Lee and several more cousins, but a lot of our pictures didn't turn out. Thanks all for spending time with the boys.

We had some visitors at our home in Santa Cruz as well.

Cousin Gavin pushes Jack on the swing in our neighborhood park:

Henry entertains Cousin Gavin, Aunt Jenny, Grandpa Loveridge and Cousin Colin:

The boys were especially fond of Aunt Jenny (left to right: Jack, Aunt Jenny, Henry, Cousin Gavin, Cousin Colin):

The older boys went on a steam train up in the Santa Cruz mountains, while our little guys cruised the grounds in their lime-o (like limo, but it's green, get it? we're hilarious...) stroller, finding new and interesting things to look at. Henry actually tried to climb the back of this park bench before I grabbed him:

Around the House

At the beginning of the month, Henry was beginning to pull up to a stand, but Jack hadn't figured it out yet (Jack left, Henry right, gazing forlornly into the kitchen after Daddy):

By the end of the month, they were both readily pulling up to stand and Henry began shakily cruising along our furniture. 

Look, we found Daddy! (Henry left, Jack right)

Henry in his ridiculously adorable little jean shorts:

Henry has a sophisticated palate, only the best in floor tiles for a snack (picture courtesy of nanny Kasey):

Jack in his fortress of solitude, retreating beneath the overturned play mat with his purloined water bottle (picture courtesy of nanny Kasey):

Henry and his "camera grin":

Jack, already giving us attitude at eleven months old:

Who is this little boy and what has he done with baby Jack!? (picture courtesy of nanny Kasey)

Jack has been enjoying the newfound gripping power afforded by his freshly emerged top front teeth, now frequently carrying items around in his mouth, conveniently leaving his hands free. I find his carrying blocks around particularly amusing.

Bane Jack:

Clown Jack:

Henry, caged animal, roaring at the gate:

Henry makes this peculiar loud vocalization when he's excited that we can only describe as roaring. It's definitely preferable to his other noise to express enthusiasm: an absolutely ear-splitting shriek. 

Opening awesome gifts from Steve's boss (Henry left, Jack right):

(I had to include the picture above even though Jack's not looking at the camera; Henry's expression cracks me up.)

Jack is in heaven, got his Daddy and his bunny:

Jack's clearest utterance that we believe is supposed to be an actual word is "Daddy." And he wanders around babbling "da da da" in the afternoons before Steve gets home.

Henry helps Dad fold clothes:

Henry, laundry basket enthusiast:

Jack, kindly offering to take Daddy's phone off of his hands, perhaps in exchange for this nice teething ring:

Jack, perplexed as to why Daddy isn't immediately handing over the phone, attempts the Jedi mind trick:

Playing with Momma (Jack left, Henry right):

Little dudes, hangin' out (Henry foreground, Jack background):

Despite driving each other absolutely nuts (pulling hair, stealing toys, etc.), they are rarely far apart (Jack left, Henry right):

My boys (Henry left, Jack right):

We demand breakfast! (Jack left, Henry right)

Hooray, our pleas have been heard and answered! (Jack in purple bib, Henry in orange)

Jack's not sure why Mom is making such a fuss out of him playing with his x-wing toy while wearing a Star Wars t-shirt (good boy!):

Sweet little Jack-Jack:

Steve reading one of their favorites, Little Blue Boat (Jack in stripes, Henry in orange):

Maestro Henry:

Heading out for a walk with Daddy on an overcast Santa Cruz summer day (Jack in blue, Henry in grey):

We expect walking is going to click with Henry sometime soon, and then the wild ride will really begin. For the most part, they're sweet, curious, happy boys. It hasn't been easy for me and Steve, particularly as first-time parents, to be thrown this challenge, but we stumble forth, rounding the corner to their first birthday.