Elyse Love ~ 11 Months

Wow...we have an 11 month old.  I'm a momma to an 11 month old.  My baby girl is 11 months old...How is that possible?!?  

This is what I was fighting most of our photo shoot today...

Weight/Height: No official measurements this month.  We did try to get her height and she is around 28" long.  She's definitely still growing because this baby girl LOVES to eat!  However, I still think she's pretty petite which is helpful as I pick her up!  

Clothes: She's in mostly 12 month things now just because everything new we bought for the winter is 12 months.  She's still wearing size 3 diapers & I'm not sure if she'll still be in them for the rest of the month or not.  For the length she definitely needs the 12 month size, and even some of the 12-18 month stuff doesn't look too big on her.  I'm glad that for the most part she is staying true to her size, it definitely makes shopping for her a lot easier!

Food:  She is still a wonderful eater.  We had a couple of days where she was refusing to eat her veggies & really only wanted to eat what was on her plate, but we're back to eating practically everything now.  She still doesn't care for tomatoes, but per her Papa's request, we'll keep putting them in front of her & hopefully she'll decide to like them.  We have started feeding her even more table food this month and have given her grilled cheese, cheese quesadillas, pasta noodles, etc.  She loves eating the food off our plate & I just pray that she continues to be such a good eater.  

She is eating 3 full meals a day, 2 snacks, & either nursing or taking a bottle of milk 4 times a day.  Her 2 day-time bottles have definitely decreased in quantity so I'm thinking it probably won't be that difficult to wean her for those two feedings...but the morning nighttime feedings may be more difficult. 

Sleep: For now...I hate to even type it out...but sleep is good.  She is going to bed anytime between 7-7:30 & waking anywhere between 6-6:30.  We are leaving her in her crib until at least 6:30, even if she wakes before then.  Most nights she cries out at some point, but quickly puts herself back to sleep.  She is still taking 2 naps a day, 1-1 1/2 hours in the morning & then 1 1/2 -2 hours in the afternoon...normally.  She's been fighting a cold or teething or something the last few days so we've had some different napping schedules, but today she seems to be back on track.  

Activity:  NOTHING is safe!  I mean NOTHING!!  While she's not walking yet, she is pulling up on EVERYTHING and can make her way around any piece of furniture or any stationery object.  Hubby has installed child magnetic locks on all of our kitchen cabinets & bathroom cabinets to keep her from emptying them.  She doesn't want to be held for any extended period of time and definitely starts to get restless if she can't get down.  I honestly don't know when she'll start walking.  She's such an efficient crawler that it wouldn't surprise me if she was a late walker.  I have a feeling she's going to look at walking and say "what's the point?" since she can get practically anywhere she wants by crawling.  She also loves to read, play with small handheld objects like clothespins or balls.

Personality: Oh man are we in trouble.  This girl is definitely personality like you wouldn't believe.  She has this ridiculous crinkly, nosed grin where she dips her head & gives you this adorable cute smile.  She has also begun to learn that she can manipulate us & if she falls down or bonks her head sometimes she will wait for our reaction before she starts crying.  We are trying to have delayed reactions to make sure she's really hurt before rushing to her.  She just lights up the world she's in everyday & makes everyone smile.  She has started smiling at strangers again but if she's in a crowded or unfamiliar place (Our church's trunk-or-treat & a MSU bears game for example) she will be pretty quiet until she feels comfortable.  

Communication:  Elyse jabbers all the time...mostly to herself.  She loves to "read" books outloud and will sit in the floor for what seems like hours just going from book to book to book turning the pages & looking at the pictures (even if she does normally read them upside down).  She is saying "mama" & "Baba" for sure and also says something that sounds an awful lot like "Uh Oh."  She also makes a sound with a long "G" sound like Guh, Guh but we're not sure what that means yet.  There are also a few times where she says "dada" but it's not as consistent.  She is waving bye bye and has also started to learn the sign for "more" at the table.  Sometimes I wonder if "mama" actually means more, but any way I can hear "mama" come out of her mouth I'll take it!   

Likes:
~books. I really think this girl is going to be a reader.  When we sit in her nursery, she just stares up at the bookshelf and loves to help me turn the pages.  I so look forward to those times when she just sits on my lap & listens to a story.  

~Peek-A-Boo.  She loves to play peek-a-boo with us and just this week has started to pull up a blanket over her face, pull it back down again, & laugh...I think she's got peek-a-boo figured out.  

~moving.   Do not try to keep this girl still...she's on the go ALL THE TIME!

~clapping--I'm not sure if clapping & the sign for "more" are the same, but she has recently learned to clap her hands together & she loves it!  

~magazines.  She loves to tear them apart, crinkle them up, and put them in her mouth...we try to stop her before they go in the her mouth!  

~Cheerios.  Man, don't try to take her snack-catcher of Cheerios away, the water works are definitely guaranteed to start!  

~Emptying things.  She loves to pull books off of shelves, empty her dishes drawer, pull clothes off the couch, or pull clothes out of a laundry basket.  

 Dislikes: 

~diaper changes: yeah, no changes here.  She's decided that she wants to roll over every time we try to change her diaper or her clothes so we have quite the Elyse rodeo.  I think the changing pad on her dresser is quickly going to be outdated!  

11 Month Milestones:

~First Halloween--October 30 & 31, 2011 dressed as a peacock!

~Playing Peek-A-Boo

~Standing on her own for short periods
~Learning to clap & wave bye-bye