11 Months Old!

The days, weeks, and months are really starting to fly by.  It scares me to think about how fast the next few years will go and before we know it, Allie will be all grown up...it makes me already dread the teenage years.  I try to soak in every moment and etch it into my memory, but as she moves onto each stage, I find it harder and harder to remember the previous stage.  Her first smile, her first babble, first time she sat up, first time she belly laughed, her first tooth, first time she rolled over, first time she put her foot in her mouth, first time she crawled, first time she pulled herself up, first time she 'cruised'...all things I felt like I waited forever to happen and now they all seem like distant memories.   I think this is normal...or maybe I'm suffering from early stages of dementia, I don't know. Thank God for pictures and videos!


Speaking of pictures, it's getting nearly impossible to keep her still long enough to take her monthly pics.  So this is the best I could do...I followed her around the room for 10 minutes making crazy noises behind the camera trying to get her to look at me. 

She still loves books

And now loves climbing EVERYTHING

"Oh crap, did that say 11 months? Don't show this to anyone, it's our little secret!"

How could you say no to that sweet face?

Much to my dismay, she hates wearing bows and usually rips them off within seconds of me putting them on.

 Get this thing off my head!

 And it's off...

 Ok now I'm embarrassed my hair looks awful, maybe I should put it back on...

She has so much personality right now and is learning new things every day.  Her new favorite game Nana taught her is "Where's Allie" (otherwise known as peek-a-boo).

My favorite is when she just puts one hand over her face and peeks through her chubby little fingers like you can't see her.  


Her favorite activity is to empty everything out of her toy box.  I keep a toy box in every room just to keep her entertained and she doesn't even care about the toys, she just likes throwing them out of the box.  

 And then she likes to roll around with her stuffed animals...

 Which apparently makes her dizzy...

She never plays with one toy for longer then 30 seconds.  She has a very busy mind and short attention span. 

 And she always stops what she's doing when the hot dog dance comes on (Mickey Mouse).

She loves to share and will even put her paci or her food in your mouth (not that you want her slobbery paci or mashed up food but it's a sweet gesture).  She's so sweet and will go to almost anyone without crying.   She did cry for the first time a couple of weeks ago when we dropped her off at childcare at church...not gonna lie, I smiled a little on the inside, it feels good to be wanted :).  But that was the first and only time that she's cried when we've left her.  And she was distracted by toys and other babies within seconds and completely forgot about mommy & daddy.  She loves to play with other babies and I often feel guilty that she doesn't get to play with babies her own age.  I should probably look into a play group or something, but I don't even know how to go about that.  Craigslist? Just kidding, I'll look into it.


She loves feeding herself and will rarely let me put anything in her mouth anymore.  She's weird about textures and likes to feel the food before she puts it in her mouth.  If it's slimy or gooey she usually makes a nasty face and throws it on the floor.  She doesn't like for her hands to get dirty, she definitely gets that from me.  She usually wipes her hands off in her hair, which I don't think she realizes makes her hair dirty and sticky.  She pretty much needs a bath after every meal.  She's still eating a lot of baby foods, but she loves most table foods we give her...egg yolks & avocados excluded. 


She's 'walking' with her musical walking toy (the standing one, not the one she sits in...that one didn't work out so well).  She's a little on the lazy side and will just sit down if her legs get tired which is usually after 3 or 4 steps.  


She's adventurous and curious, while still being cautious.  She's sweet and funny and always makes me laugh and melts my heart every hour of every day.  I can't wait to celebrate her first birthday in one month!