ELEVEN Months Old!

I am so not ready for Norah to be one! Every day she loses more and more of her babyness (is that even a word?), and more little girl qualities start to emerge. She is so on the verge of walking. She loves to stand up in the middle of the room, pick stuff up, and throw it. We think she may be a professional wrestler. Her other move is to stand up, lift one leg off of the ground, put it down and then lift the other. Our friend Megan says this move happens right before real walking. We think she looks like a dog at a fire hydrant.

She has mastered the art of pulling things out of boxes, drawers, cabinets, and baskets. She has no interest in putting them back. I am done buying toys, as her favorite things to play with are furniture and other household objects. A Netflix envelope keeps her entertained for at least 20 minutes. She still loves her books and now will hand them to me when she wants to read. The ones with texture are far and away her favorite. We are still doing our music class and now she actually plays with the musical instruments instead of just licking them.

She still loves the snail rocker and can climb on and off by herself (she can also turn on the music by herself--it drives me nuts). She's really into dancing and she and BVZ dance to the Grateful Dead every morning when they wake up. Which is at 6:00 am. Speaking of sleeping, for the most part, she now sleeps all night in her crib. Once or twice a week she sneaks into our bed by screaming at 1:00 am, but more often than not, she makes it until morning on her own.

She is eating more and more real food every day. She's particularly into tofu and grean peas. She's also a total carboholic and loves any kind of pasta or bread product. She's crazy for any kind of cheese. I think our days of being able to give her purees are numbered, as she has been turning up her nose at anything offered on a spoon. She is obsessed with her straw sippy cup. She's got mad bottle skillz, and our days of fighting the formula battle are over. Of course, this happens three weeks before we transition to something new (whole milk), so our battle may start all over again. When she drinks her bottle she likes to shove a hand down my shirt. I think it's a comfort thing.

I think she is starting to recognize the other babies that we play with and is genuinely excited to see her friends. She takes toys from other kids and has toys taken from her. Sometimes she will offer one to someone else. It is really sweet to watch. She has also started to show and seek out affection. She gives hugs and can wrap her arms around your neck. Her kisses still involve a lot of slobber and teeth, but she's getting better. One of her top teeth has finally broken through, although beyond that it hasn't made much progress. She loves to walk around the house and look at pictures of everyone. She always laughs and smiles especially big when she sees the pictures of her cousins. She takes great pleasure in turning the hall light switch on and off.

She is a non-stop talker these days. We've got mama, dada, quack, and Ri Ri (Amy and Mark's dog). Otherwise, it is babble, babble, babble, all day long. She also likes to just randomly yell and then laugh. She cracks herself up multiple times a day. We play lots of peek-a-boo, hide and seek (which is basically me running into the garage to do laundry while she waits for me in the living room and laughs), and fort. She thinks if her face is hidden than the rest of her is too. She waves and claps and points. We are amazed by every little thing she does.

Every single day I am reminded just how lucky we are to have such a happy and healthy girl. I appreciate every moment we have with her and thank the universe that she is ours.