11 months old today!

Gerritt has turned 11 months old today. He is such a big boy now! He is crawling everywhere & trying to stand up while holding on to furniture. He often stands up in his crib while holding on to the bars. We've moved his crib into our bedroom due to my Mom's visit & it is the best alarm clock in the mornings to see Gerritt's head peaking out of the crib & hear him call "Mom! Mom!" I say "Mommy is here. Good morning, baby!" & he smiles broadly. He wants to be picked up immediately & gets upset if I linger in bed.
Gerritt is a great eater. Anything goes... The only time he gets upset if I am not fast enough while getting his food ready or I run out of food before he is full. If one of us is eating something, Gerritt immediately stops whatever he is doing, crawls up, & pulls on one's pants wanting a bite. He is too adorable for words!
Gerritt loves dogs & often attempts to put his head on Dingo's or Ardie's fur or opens his mouth wide to kiss or to taste them (we never find out because we intervene before either one happens).
My Mom has arrived from Russia on Monday night (August 25th) & amazingly enough Gerritt remembered her. She walked into our bedroom to say hello to him when he woke up on Tuesday morning. Gerritt studied my Mom's face looking serious for about 15-20 seconds & then smiled. She picked him up & he didn't cry at all. My Mom fell in love with Gerritt all over again!
Gerritt now shares objects. For example, he grabs the glasses off my nose, then puts them on my husband's face, then back on mine - all while laughing. He loves to be thrown in the air & riding his toy car fast! He is such a busy boy, he gets bored quickly & needs new activities often.
Gerritt is still waking up at least once a night. Usually he just wants reassurance & holding & goes to sleep quickly after I rock him. He doesn't like to fall asleep in my arms anymore or by being left alone in the crib to fuss for a few minutes. He just yells louder & louder. What Gerritt loves instead is laying on his left side & falling asleep while getting a back rub. I just rub his back & back of his head gently & he drifts away after about 5 minutes. If I stop too soon Gerritt whimpers softly so I have to resume the back rubbing until he is fully asleep.
This past Saturday Gerritt used his potty chair for the first time. He went poo-poo while sitting in it right after breakfast. I was so proud of him, I wanted to take the photo of the deed until my husband stopped me. Pee-pees are more difficult to catch, but it is never late to start the potty training.