Eleven Months

I almost decided to not do an eleven month post.

Reason Number 1: Although I have scheduled this entry to post on her actual eleven month birthday, it is being written waaaay closer to her actual first birthday.

Reason Number 2: These posts are a lot of work.

Reason Number 3: It really upsets me having to write about my baby growing up. 

I know you're tired of hearing that last one but seriously... it is on my mind a lot lately. Even more so than usual since I am planning a first birthday party. And now that Janie is doing more and more things that babies don't do until they are almost toddlers it makes it more of a reality. It's a good thing. She's supposed to grow up. I'm just not sure that I will get another chance at a baby. I would really like one {or two} but we are not discussing or contemplating any more children at this point in time. I just need to get past this emotional hurdle and I'll be able to move on. I think... 

Janie has made some big changes in some areas and no changes in others. She is a little ball of personality and is not quiet about it one bit. But, she is lovely.

Drinks 4 bottles of soy formula No change here, and this won't change until we see her pediatrician in January about her diet.

Eats three meals of purees plus one snack, usually puffs Over the course of the last month, Janie got sick with an ear & sinus infection. While she had that, she wasn't wanting to eat as much. She didn't drink her bottles and she refused some of her purees. I know she had trouble breathing out of her nose, making drinking difficult, so I chalked up most of her refusal to eat to that. But the thing is, when it started to clear, she still didn't really want her purees. We had been giving her lots more table foods and I think she just wanted to feed herself. So... we went with it. We have stopped purees and are strictly on table foods now. It's going pretty well. Janie will eat most anything we give her, though as with most babies, about half of it ends up on the floor. Or on her face. Or in her lap. It's a fun stage, that self-feeding... I don't mean that. HA! I am happy that we can start giving her whatever we are eating, with the exception of dairy. Hopefully that will change soon!

Getting food IN your mouth can be a challenge...

Takes 2 naps a day Two naps it is. I think the goal is that she should be on one nap after her first birthday, or sometime close to it. I'm pretty sure Janie could handle that a little better than Nora could when she was this age, but Janie still enjoys her sleep and I'm not about to take that away from her!

Sucks her thumb & rubs her head I'd like to think that one day Janie will just stop sucking her thumb but the longer she does it, the more I worry that she will have a bad habit to break down the road. She still likes to self-soothe by simultaneously sucking her thumb and rubbing on her hair. That's her tell when she's sleepy.

Crawls quickly Crawling is Janie's preferred method of getting around. When she wants to get somewhere, she crawls and she gets there fast. But... she has started to take steps. She is not brave enough to try walking on her own, say between pieces of furniture or anything, but she will walk to mommy if it is a short distance. She LOVES it and I do think it is great but it is also quite terrifying! Every day she gets a little bit better at walking on her own. It's just a matter of time!

Moves between furniture Janie is very good at moving between close pieces of furniture, like moving around the table between all of the chairs, or around the coffee table with the couch.

Tries to stand alone, mostly unsuccessfully She can stand on her own quite well now. I will find her doing so on her own, too. She will crawl over to the fridge to play with the magnets and stand up and just play, not holding on to anything, but just standing. She loves being a big girl!

Has 2.5 teeth Janie has had not one tooth on top break through but 4. She has also been drooling a TON lately. I'm not sure if the bottoms are coming in as well or if she's just moving the top ones down. They've all cut through on top so I am thinking there may be more coming in the next month or two! Poor baby girl! The good thing is that it doesn't seem to bother her, other than the constant drooling which leads to chapped baby face. Bothers me more...

Talks in baby babble with ma's, da's, and ga's Janie girl will tell you stories. She loves to talk! She will stop mid-bottle and tell you a little bit, drink some more, and just keep on telling while she drinks her bottle. I can only assume that she will be the child who won't finish their lunch because she was talking too much. I have heard her "sing" once or twice lately. Nothing recognizable of course, but connecting her babble with a little melody of sorts. It was super cute. I hope to get a video of it some time soon!

Signs "all done" and "more" Janie isn't signing anything more than these though we have been working on "up" and "eat" with her. She is also choosing to more so yell when she wants more food rather than signing it. I kind of don't blame her. She probably needs to do that to get our attention for more food! She definitely knows how to sign more, though, so we keep encouraging it!

Claps, waves, points, and blows kisses Janie also really loves to play Peek-A-Boo. And mostly while she's eating, leaving lots of yummy food all over her face and in her hair. Lovely. But... adorable. And since Janie does it and gets attention, guess who also likes to play Peek-A-Boo... Nora! This is also true for the walking. I know this will come as a surprise to you all, but Nora can walk a few steps to mommy, too!!

Playing Peek-A-Boo!

Bounces when she is excited, especially at pick up Janie LOVES her momma! When I leave the room or put her down - oh, man. She is a mommy's girl. She bounces when I hold her. She screams when I leave her or put her down, or go out of sight. She also gives me hugs when I hold her. At least, that's what I'm calling them. She will randomly lay her head down on my shoulder. And then look up. And then do it again, and again. It's very sweet. Sometimes she is a little aggressive with her hugs and whacks me in the chin with her head, but she is a sweet little snuggly baby and I can take a hit every now and then for that!

Loves & follows her big sister Nora Janie does love her sister, too. She wants to play with everything that Nora does. This is fine except for that it is what Nora is playing with. If Nora is into it, all is great. If not, Nora gets upset. But Janie will follow her around nonetheless. Janie laughs at Nora. She loves her hair. Janie has a thing with hair. She pulls on mine constantly, too... I think both Nora and I are looking forward to a day when they can have a pretend tea party together.

As a wrap up, at eleven months Janie...

Drinks 4 bottles of soy formula
Eats three meals plus snacks of table foods
Takes 2 naps a day
Sucks her thumb & rubs her head
Prefers crawling
Can take a few steps 
Moves between furniture
Stands alone
Has 6 teeth
Talks in baby babble with ma's, da's, and ga's
Sings
Signs "all done" and "more"
Plays Peek-A-Boo
Gives hugs & blows kisses
Loves her mommy
Loves & follows her big sister Nora

Janie is a growing girl and her next post will be her last in her first year! I cannot believe it!!!

Day of Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a bit different this year for our family but we had a great day with family and yummy food!

My cousin Brad was in town for a visit and to run in the Turkey Trot so Nora and I started the morning out in Dallas to watch the big event. The weather was great for a morning run!

Nora and I trotting. Not officially, but we did.

After the race, posing with Brad & Pops.

After the race, Mom, Dad & Brad were going to the Cowboys game so that meant that someone else was in charge of the turkey... And that someone was me!!! Yes, it is true. I cooked my first turkey this year!!! I think that it went alright... We had one minor set back in that it did not thaw in nearly the amount of time that I had planned for. But, the cooking time ended up being less than expected, so all went as planned for dinner. It's a good thing that I checked on it when I did because it ended up finishing about 45 minutes before the timer I had set!

Although we had 3 adults and a toddler {and a half} eating, we made the whole feast. We had about two side dishes each, but it made for good leftovers and we even made turkey noodle soup with the leftover meat.

Nora had her mind set on having turkey and cheese for Thanksgiving. It's funny, because she thought the turkey was chicken and refused to eat it. She kept saying, "I want the turkey, mommy!"

It was a good day! We have so much to be thankful for in our lives. We are most thankful for these two little sweethearts!

We did end up going to my parents' house later in the week for our family celebration. We ate even more and got even more leftovers. Family holidays are the best!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Getting Guerried

I have a dear friend named Laine that I have known since high school. It has been ten years since we (or our parents) have lived in the same state so we have not had nearly enough opportunities to enjoy a glass of wine together, exchange a hug, talk about our lives, or even just vent as we women need to do sometimes. But we did both make time to chat on the phone and even visit each other as frequently as is possible with busy work and life schedules. To me, Laine is one of those friends that I can count on for advice, comfort, and to always be there whether a little or a lot of time has passed. I love friends like that! I so wish that we lived closer.

I remember when Laine was trying to decide where to go to college and was very torn about staying in Texas or going out of state. She was pretty upset about moving away from great high school friends and going somewhere unfamiliar. I was pretty upset about her going out of state for school. But if Laine didn't go to Kansas for college, she would not have met her best friend Katie. Or lived in Kansas City. And therefore, she would not have met the man who makes her happiest in the world.

I was so honored to stand by the absolute sweetest person I know on her wedding day this November. Everything about your special day was perfect. I cannot tell you how happy I am that you have found your happily ever after, Laine!

Me with the BRIDE!

Laine & Michael

This table was amazing! The whole venue was beautiful!

Forever friends!

A perfect ending.

Reunited with the babies at home!

First Haircut

I have debated getting Nora's hair cut SO many times. Her hair has had a life of it's own since she was about six months old. If you need further proof of her wild mane see this post.

I had a hair cut scheduled and decided that it was time to see how she would do.

Happy with her haircut!

We prepared before hand by looking at pictures and even watching a little girl getting her hair cut that a friend had shared. We talked about the black "dress" she would get to wear and the big chair she would sit in. We talked about the special scissors that would cut her hair.

So then, all I could do was wait and hope for the best. She was a little apprehensive at first when she got there, but I was still getting my hair worked on so it gave her enough time to get comfortable.

When it was her turn, she let our hair stylist get her hair wet and then climbed up into the chair, just as we had talked about! She didn't skip a beat. She was curious and I could tell she wanted to watch, but she did so great at her first hair cut. I was so proud of her! And she looked like such a big girl with her hair styled... {sigh}.

Cheesin' it up

What a big girl!!

She raved about the hair cut to her Mimi and Pops who watched her that weekend. She apparently kept telling them that she cut her hair "just a little bit". I can only hope future hair cuts will go as smoothly!!

Oh, Nora

Nora surprises us every day with something: how much she knows, how much she remembers, what she repeats, the stories she tells, the tantrums she throws, what makes her upset, the amount she loves her baby doll... The list goes on.

Nora and Baby Jo aka Nora's official "I have to take it everywhere" toy

She is really vocalizing her feelings - happy or sad - and also wanting more independence - "I do it mommy." She has opinions. About everything. I can't tell you how many times in the car ride to or from school I hear a sentence that starts with "I want the..." It usually ends with bar, juice, book, phone (play phone), baby Jo, bag, sock - anything, really. She doesn't always want to eat what we give her. She asks for ketchup at every other meal. She wants a certain parent to put her to bed (usually mommy) and to get her out of the car (again, usually mommy). She (thankfully) has not started to want to pick out her own clothing but she has started showing interest in choosing her own bows and shoes. She does NOT want to use the potty. Then again, she doesn't want to use her diaper either...

Nora definitely has preferred activities, though. She loves to read books. She has to have one in her bed with her every night. We're planning on redoing her room around the holidays this year and are seriously considering removing the chair but she loves to sit and read in it, so we'll see. We have books coming out of our ears at home, which we both love. She also loves her color books and stickers. We do a lot of coloring these days, though some days more than others.

She also loves completing puzzles. She likes to do all of her puzzles and is really good at them, even when the spaces are not defined for each piece. I know she likes to do puzzles at school, too. She is a champ in the puzzle department.

Nora saying the letters in her name.

Nora singing her ABC's while puzzling.

Nora loves listening to music in the car and sings songs to herself all the time. I think she makes some of them up, but I'm not entirely sure. She wants to listen to songs on repeat. I have listened to some songs over and over again for the entirety of the car ride home. Her most favorite song (and most requested) is "Shake It Off," which is only on mommy's phone.

Dancing to "Shake It Off"

Nora has started a lot more make believe play lately. She really likes to rock, sing to, and read to her babies. She makes them use the potty (even though she won't!!) and puts them to bed. She also likes to play in her kitchen. She will cook and go shopping with a big red bag. She will make us coffee and milk and bring us food to eat. She pretends to talk on the phone. Nora will play with the dolls in her doll house, too. She's a cutie!

Rocking her baby in the Bumbo chair.

Nora is going to move up to the next class at her daycare this week and next week. We are very curious to discover the new things she will do as she grows!