Eleven Months

My baby is 11 months today. My baby is 11 months today!! I absolutely cannot believe that the next time the 24th of a month rolls around, she will be celebrating her first birthday! BIRTHDAY…as in she will be a full year old!! I can’t believe it.

To be honest, she is becoming less and less like a baby everyday. She is absolutely turning into a little girl – a liitle girl who interacts with the world and the people in it more so than the baby who used to just observe the world. A little girl who, just this morning, watched her parents give each other a kiss and decided to blow her own kiss, complete with puckered lips and a “MWAH!”. It was so cute. She loves to blow kisses and wave bye-bye and hi any time some says either of those words. Her latest challenge has been her balancing act. She is learning to stand unassisted. So, she spends approximately 80% of her day pulling up on objects (her favorite one being her mommy), letting go, and balancing on her two fat feet for as long as she can. Then she falls on her padded little butt, giggles, and pulls up again to start the cycle over. She stands for noticeably longer periods of time everyday.

She is such the social butterfly. She loves to play with other babies and has a knack for flirting with and charming any adult that she comes in contact with – that is, if she likes you and decides that you are worthy of experiencing her cuteness. She is very much like her momma in that he basically doesn’t pretend for anyone. She keeps it real so, whatever she’s feeling or thinking, she will express that to you in one way or another.

She also loves water. We found this out last month when we were at my family reunion in Savannah, GA. She absolutely LOVED the beach. She squealed louder and more happily with each wave that came in. And yesterday, we went swimming at a pool party (at the same house where my baby shower was held exactly one year earlier – memories…) and she learned to kick and blow bubbles in the water. She loved the splashing and made it her personal goal to cover her entire face with water from her splashing.

It has just been so incredibly exciting to watch her grow over the past eleven months. Her personality is so strong (and so much like her momma’s) that I know that there will never be a dull moment in raising her. She is, indeed, the most incredible blessing. But, wow – eleven months can fly by…