Eleven Months

Well kid, you’re almost all grown up.  This is the last month we can say that you’re “so many months old” you’re rackin’ up your time, and pretty soon we’ll be saying, “She’s a year old,” and then two, and so on.  STOP IT.  Stop growing up on me!

 This month has been a crazy one for us.  We’ve all been sick, and currently are still sick.  Your parents were lucky enough to share bronchitis, while you had some mystery illness that left you with a fever for almost a week, with no discoverable cause.  It’s been fun, let me tell you.  We’ve had two snowstorms that have closed school for you, so you’ve officially had your first two snow days, although they weren’t closed for snow, but for the amount of ice on the roads.  This month we also took our first extended road trip, which was quite interesting. 

We had to travel to Durant, Oklahoma (which is right on the southern border of Oklahoma) for your great-granddad’s funeral, so we figured we’d just do the hop-skip-and-jump over to Dallas, since it was only an hour and a half more.  In theory it worked on the way there, but not so awesome on the way back.  On the way there, we stopped in Durant for 2 days.  We took our sweet time, took as many stops as needed, and it was only about 3-3 ½ hours.  No rush.  We stayed in a hotel the first night, and although you were fussy in the hotel at night, the car ride was smooth.  The next day we had the funeral, which was mid-day, so we packed up, headed to the funeral, hit a few bumps in the road, and ended up leaving for Dallas probably around 6ish.  This car ride was also smooth, because it’s just a little bit longer than the distance; we travel to go to Tulsa.  Our second hotel was not so awesome, but you did great in it, and slept through the night.  Too bad we had obnoxiously loud neighbors the entire night until about 4 am.  If it’s not one thing, it’s another.  We left the hotel around 9:30, and went shopping at a few places we don’t have in Oklahoma that we missed from Arizona, and had lunch, and were headed back on the road to home.  We couldn’t be as lax on our way back home, because I had to be to work the next day.  You did great (aka slept) for the first few hours, but you made the last few hours double, and we stopped every 20-45 minutes due to your screaming, and just wanting to be out of the car.  I get it, I totally understand, but ugh, I much rather would have had that on the way there when I had a day or two to recuperate than getting home so late on a Sunday, unloading a very unhappy you, the car, having to do laundry, and then get up and go to work the next morning.  We will work on it though.  You really didn’t care about some of the places we went, but we went to IKEA to look for dressers and you loved it there.  You loved the entire store, from the cafeteria when we had breakfast, to the children’s section.  I think it’s just the way the store was made.  You were all smiles all the time.  IKEA makes us happy too.  We ended up buying a whole lot of crap we didn’t need, and not picking up dressers because they wouldn’t fit, but we did find some nice stuff to get eventually… on our next trip to Dallas (haha.)

When I took you to the doctor earlier this week, you were 19 pounds, 7 oz.  You’re almost at the big 2-0!  I’m not really sure what we’re supposed to do at this stage, because when you hit 25 pounds, a lot will change.  We can no longer use your changing table or the changing thing on your playpen, and we can’t use your swing, and I’m sure there’s a few other things we won’t be able to use anymore, and then our world will end.  I’m not sure what will we do without you swing because honestly, we still use it when you’re being super difficult at night, or even during the day, and most of the time it works.  I suppose that’s all part of growing up. 

 You aren’t quite walking yet, but you are getting around quickly.  You’ve started standing and letting go, until you realize that you’ve let go, and then you panic and either fall, or quickly grab on to the nearest thing.  You’re close though, and that’s scary.  I’m not ready for you to be so mobile yet; you’re exhausting enough as it is.  You’ve also started eating more solid foods.  So far, it’s just puffs, and cereal like items, plus some freeze-dried yogurt bites, but you’re getting the hang of it.  I think when you get more teeth it will be a little easier for you.  You really want to try a lot of different things; your little mouth isn’t ready for it yet.  You really gave me the eyes on four different occasions, all when I was eating a pastrami sandwich, so I don’t know if it just looked good, or smelled good or what, but you looked at me like a ravenous animal, and licked your lips for each sandwich I ate.  You constantly try to grab what I’m eating, and sometimes I will give you a little taste, but it’s never been like that.  You are a silly little thing sometimes.

You are still the happiest baby I know.  Tons of things make you happy.  Seeing the dog I think tops everything.  He just exists in your presence, and your world is complete.  You still love baths, and seeing daddy pretty much every time he walks in to the room.  You even know that at night when the phone rings, he is calling for us to come get him from work, and many times, you will talk to him from across the room.  You love to run around in your walker, and it’s giving you an opportunity to bond with the dog as well.  He is getting less skittish with you, and I think that’s in part to you learning that you need to be gentle with him.  You’ve learned that if you stick your hand out, and let him come to you, he will be more patient with you, than if you were to just go up to him.  You love “group hugs”, and if it was possible for you to explode from happiness I think that being in the middle of a group hug with Momma and Daddy, or seeing the dog would do it.  You love to ride on top of Daddy’s shoulders, and you love your newfound freedom of not having to go everywhere in the car seat, because now you can (almost) fit in highchairs at restaurants, and in the carts at the grocery store.  If the weather were nicer, we would probably take you on walks outside more, because you love to ride in the stroller as well.  We still constantly hear what a pleasant and happy baby you are, and you truly are (except in the middle of the night) and I am not sure how we got so lucky to have such a delightful baby.

I love you baby girl.

Love,

Momma