11 Months Old

I know, I know...who spends their New Years Eve writing a blog post?  But I am already a week late on this, and L's first birthday will be here in the blink of an eye, so I am determined to get this post in before it is next month/2013.  My how the times have changed.  Even last year when I was pregnant and on bed rest, I put on my sequin maternity skirt and bed rested it up at a friends house for a small gathering:

Needless to say, this year has been much more low-key but fun all the same!  We met some friends downtown after Lilly's afternoon nap for First Night 2013 (the Children's Celebration).  Dan's office happens to overlook the spot where the acorn is dropped/the fireworks go off, and they do an early acorn drop and fireworks show for kids, which is really nice.  We walked around for a bit and then grabbed dinner and headed up to Dan's office for the show.  All in all it was a fantastic evening!

Anyway, we all know these posts are long enough as it is, so without further ado here are Lillian Grace's 11-month stats!

Weight/Length:  SO, I clearly did not weigh homegirl today, BUT we did make a quick trip to see Dr. V on the Friday before Christmas (just a cold don't worry!) and Lilly weighed 22 pounds.  Chunker!  I am dreading can't wait until her one year appointment so I can see her %.  I will say that she is pretty long, and while still a little chunkster, she has really slimmed down a lot since she became mobile.

Sleep: Not much change here, again praise Jesus (I know I say that every time!)!  Lilly goes to bed sometime between 7:30 - 8:00 pm and her wake up time varies, but it's normally between 8:00 am - 9:00 am.  The only real "change" I've noticed in this category is that naps aren't quite as consistent as they used to be.  Lilly is still on two naps a day (I DREAD the day we have to give that up!), but length has started to vary some.  Some days she will still give me two 2 or 2.5-hour naps, other days she'll sleep for 1 hour in the morning and 2.5-3 hours in the afternoon (or vice versa), and still other days she'll only take an hour-long nap both times (that is rare, thankfully!).  

Feeding:  Still nursing and also weaning.  This month I cut out her lunchtime feeding, so she now nurses before breakfast, after her afternoon nap (sometime before dinner) and before bed.  The nursing sessions are getting shorter and shorter, so I don't think weaning completely will be too terrible.  I'm sure it will be a lot easier on her than me!  Cutting out that before bed feeding may just break my heart into pieces.  

Lilly is a pretty good eater, and still mainly eats whatever we're eating, but I've noticed that she's become slightly picky.  It used to be that she never tried a food she didn't like - she'd pretty much eat anything I put in front of her!  She's just a little pickier, both with textures and tastes.  For some reason this month she decided that she could care less about meat. She's also still doing the thing where she'll eat something several days in a row and then all of a sudden decide that it is poison and she hates it.  She loves dairy, though - she has never once (knock on wood) turned down any kind of cheese or yogurt.  Hopefully this means she'll do okay with the transition to whole milk!

New things this month that she tried and liked: chili, Granny Booker's candied yams, animal crackers, edamame, chinese pork, pork bbq and ribs.  I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting.  Favorites (aka she'll eat these pretty consistently): cheese, yogurt, applesauce, bananas (dried and ripe), black beans, edamame, graham crackers, peaches, pasta, macaroni and cheese.

Firsts This Month: I'm sure we had a lot, but the most memorable ones were Christmas-related: going to the mountains to get our Christmas tree, Holiday Express and first time seeing Santa, Christmas (TECHNICALLY that should be in next month's post since it was the day after her 11-month birthday, but whatever!).

Developments:  We have seen a lot this month, development-wise.  I'm sure I'll miss some things, but I'll try to hit the big ones.

Lilly's personality develops more by the day, and she is a serious ham (like her Daddy!). She is so expressive - I think she gets that dramatic flair expressiveness from mer mama.  She talks and babbles ALL THE TIME, and loves to sing and dance.  The words she says consistently are: mama, dada, Layla, no-no (I am surprised this wasn't her first word as I feel like that's all I ever say!   "No no Lilly, you can't eat Layla's food.  No no Lilly, don't play in the toilet.  No no Lilly, we don't throw our lunch to Layla if we don't like it."), bye bye, all done, hey (said in a high-pitched, screechy voice which is hilarious - I'll try to capture it on video at some point), and uh oh.  Also Elmo, which she pronounces "Melmo."  She doesn't really watch TV, but when she had a cold before Christmas and was extra snuggly we turned Sesame Street on a few times and she would sit still and watch/snuggle for approximately five minutes tops, and now Elmo is apparently her favorite.  If you ask her, "How big is Lilly?," she will hold her arms over her head and wait for you to say "SO BIG!"

She will also give high fives, but only when she wants to.  Lilly is mimicking everything (Daddy will start having to watch his language, ha!), from words to sounds to actions.  She has really mastered waving, and actually knowing when to wave.  When someone new enters a room or when we are in public and she sees someone new, she will wave and say "HEY!!!" in her high-pitched excited voice.  It's super cute. She will also wave and say "bye bye."

She is cruising big-time, and actually took her first steps this month (luckily both Mommy and Daddy were there to witness it!) but does not consistently do so.  She will walk from object to object all day long as long as she has something to hold on to, and a few times she has taken 1-2 steps to get to Dan or me.  I have been saying for two months that if she walked at any moment I wouldn't be surprised.  Santa brought her a walker for Christmas, which she loves and is very good with.  Her new thing is climbing...she tries to climb onto EVERYTHING.  She will hang onto the coffee table and lift her leg like she wants to climb up on it, and she LOVES the stairs.

Lilly has 6 teeth - 4 on top and 2 on bottom, which 2 more breaking through on the top as we speak.  Eek!  She is getting really good at using them to bite things, and she loves eating things that are crunchy because she loves the sounds her mouth makes!

I'm sure I missed some, but those are the highlights!  Another thing that is not really a development for Lilly but is big news nonetheless is that she and Layla are actually (knock on wood) starting to get along!  Layla used to stand up and walk away whenever Lilly crawled anywhere in her general direction, but lately she will stay put and let Lilly pull her hair and "pet" (read: hit, tug on, drool on, pull on, etc.) her.  Lilly also tries to "throw" Layla's toys for her.  She'll pick one of Layla's toys up off of the floor and make a throwing motion and pretty much drop it, but Layla plays along - she'll pick the toy up and put it back in Lilly's lap.  A few times, I've even seen Layla give Lilly kisses.  I hope this is the start of a beautiful friendship!  :-)

Likes: Not too awfully much new to report, she's generally pretty happy.  Lilly prefers standing to sitting and loves walking around (while holding onto things of course).  She loves being outside.  Reading - this child will sit still and let you read to her all day long!  Layla.  Bath time.  Snuggling (when she first wakes up, is sleepy, or is feeling icky/teething).  Talking, cooing, babbling.  Nap time/sleep.  Sucking her thumb.  Her lovie.  Songs and singing (Daddy's silly made-up songs are still her favorite).  Laughing.  Crawling.  Cruising.  Dancing (both by herself and with Mommy and Daddy).  Standing.  Being naked.  Squealing.  Public outings/people watching.  Blocks.  Walks.  Rides in her car.  Babies/other children close to her size.

Dislikes:  Still mostly repeats from last month: sitting in the high chair but not eating.  Getting lotioned up before bed (although this is finally getting to be less of an issue, it's still not her favorite).  Additionally, putting on PJs or changing clothes.  Mommy trying to feel for new teeth.  Being tired.  Her car seat (even though we moved out of the infant car seat to a bigger/more comfortable, she's still not a fan!).

What I'm Thankful For:  We had such a blessed Christmas and were so fortunate to be able to spend it with friends and family, so I'm thankful for that along with safe travels.  I'm also thankful that Lilly is going to have a COUSIN on my side!  My little sister is pregnant, and we could not be more excited for Auntie Katy and Uncle Josh.  I'm thankful for an amazing 2012, and excited to see what 2013 has in store for my sweet family. 

What I'm Looking Forward To:  I am both looking forward to and dreading Lilly's first birthday.  I am trying to figure out when my baby girl became a big girl.  We are throwing her a little party, which I am excited about, but I'm sure I'll be stressed about before it's all said and done.  I'm looking forward to a fancy night out on the town with my husband for the Inaugural Ball - there's something fun about getting all dressed up even if Dan will be working!  And I'm looking forward to a wonderful 2013.

Next Pediatrician Appointment: Lilly's on-year appointment is currently scheduled for Friday, January 25, but I'm going to see if I can possibly move it to the 28th.

How Mommy's Doing:  Nothing really to report here.  I'm both excited and devastated about the weaning process, and am also both excited and devastated about a weight loss competition that Dan and I are participating in that starts January 1.  

I figure if anyone is still hanging in there at this point it's for the pictures, so I won't keep them from you any longer.  As usual there are way too many because I can never narrow them down.  It is so hard to get L to keep still long enough for photos these days, but what I can get is normally hilarious!

Happy 11 months to my sweet girl, and Happy New Year!

Sarah