11 months!

My dear Punkin Pie,

You are 11 months old today. I can't believe that we are starting to talk about, and plan for, your first birthday party. Has it already been nearly a year since we brought you home from the hospital, practically swimming in your infant car seat? Amazing. You have grown so much and changed so much in these 11 months, and are becoming such a strong, wonderful little person.

You are just beginning to cruise, although crawling is still your preferred mode of transportation. Cruising seems to be a bit tough for you, with your muscle tone and motor planning challenges, but with the right motivation (read: mama's keys, cell phone, remote) you will easily side-step your way down the couch or coffee table. You are having a tough time with balance and are too stiff to bend your knees to lower yourself to the floor, but you are actively working on these things. We don't know if you will walk by your first birthday but you could certainly surprise us! Right now, you just melt my heart by looking for me and calling for me when you are tired of standing, so I can help you back down. You used to throw yourself back but after a few too many bumps, you are happy to wait for mama!!

You have begun eating everything in sight, and now will refuse pureed foods. Occasionally you will eat a jar of Stage 3 food if we are out somewhere but you prefer the real stuff. You will spit purees when you are tired of them, and if we say, "No spitting!" you will laugh and shake your head 'no.' What a punk! Some of the things you really like to eat include: oatmeal, rice, peas, beans, broccoli, spinach, pasta, toast, waffles, fruit (especially pears and mangoes), diced carrots, ground beef, chicken, and quinoa. You love cheese (though have to eat it sparingly) and you have warmed up to yogurt. You love anything you can bite with your front teeth, especially crackers and freeze-dried fruit. Yummy!

Speaking of teeth, you have 7 as of today - four on top and three on the bottom. We are anticipating #8 any time. And then we wait for the molars. That is terrifying. I can't believe you will soon be old enough to have molars!

This past month you have become much more verbal. You now say: da, ba, ga, ma, na, va, and ta. You make me smile daily when you say, "mama," even when you say it because you are sad. You also have learned to click your tongue and make popping and kissing sounds, and finally have started imitating the sounds that mommy and I make. You now squeal when you are excited and shriek when you are mad. You have quite the little personality! Sometimes you will string a lot of sounds together to have a little chat. It is incredibly cute. You say "mama" appropriately. I guess that is your first word. (Yay!)

You are also starting to put together some signs. You wave 'hi' and 'bye' when you feel like it (never when we want you to) and ALWAYS wave at the cats. You now will sign 'more' at meal and snack times and sometimes sign 'milk' when you are especially tired and want a bottle. You shake your head 'no' although at this point it is a little more of a full-body experience. You love to clap your hands, sometimes on cue, and you will do this great Stevie Wonder impersonation when we say, "dance dance dance!"

The other day you figured out how to release balls into your ball toy:



I probably tried to show you a million times in the last two months. You were not interested. The other day, you became interested. So exciting! Next you will probably try to stick a pizza in the VCR. You are /obsessed/ with the VCR, DVD player, and cable box but you always stop poking when mama says, "no."

Some of your favorite toys include the piano, wooden drum (though mostly you like to suck on the stick), and the pop-up toy. You want mama or mommy to pop the animals up and then you close the doors over and over again. You also love the box in which mama put all of your old baby hand toys. You love to pull them out and litter the room with them. Making a mess is fun! You also love your Fisher Price Play Wall that Nana bought for you. You like to stand and grab the toys, make the music, and play peek-a-boo with the curtain wall.

You now go to child care with Marcia four days a week since Mama went back to work. You like being with Marcia and she takes good care of you. Mama misses being home with you, though it will be nice to catch up on the bills a little bit!

The biggest news is that you have stopped taking your reflux medicine. You took it for over 10 months and we never thought you would be able to stop. You haven't had a single issue with spitting up or acid reflux and have started eating everything in sight! We are so excited to not have to give you medicine anymore. We are so happy, and know that you are, too.

Baby girl, you have become so much fun now that you can explore your environment and tell everyone what you want. You have become much more relaxed and happy, and everyone loves your big smile and loud belly laugh. You are such a joy to be around. I love you so very much.

Love,
Mama