11 Months Old

It is a bit surreal to be saying this, but you are officially 11 months old.  One month from now, we'll be celebrating your first birthday!  When I look at you and watch the way you interact with the world, it is easy to see that you're clearly turning the corner into the world of toddler-dom.  In fact, just a few days ago, you took your first steps; thus, you've officially toddled!  You aren't sturdy at all and can only take 2 or 3 steps before you either sit down or fall forward into the arms of the person waiting for you.  I have found that if I let you stand with your back leaning against a chair, couch, or ottoman, you're excited to take a few steps across the floor to reach me and get a hug.

You've also taken on that endearing (and exhausting) trait of being curiously into everything.  You would rather pick up your sister's shoe and bang it on the floor than play with the basket full of toys sitting on the ground next to you.  You have figured out how to open cabinet doors, and you love to pull everything out of the cabinets and bang those things on the floor too.  You also love getting into the laundry baskets or drawers and pulling all of the clothes out on the floor.  When I am folding laundry, you immediately grab it and pull it on the floor too. 

The hardest part about your growing curiousity is your ability to get from one curious object to another at warp speed.  You can navigate the stairs, both up and down, with lighting speed.  You can crawl across the floors so fast that I can't even go to the bathroom without you getting into the dogs' water bowl.  The other day, you crawled so much and so fast that you put a hole in the knees of your pajamas; they were hand-me-downs from Barrett and had been well-loved, but still. 

You have become more vocal than you've ever been.  You imitate sounds and noises that we make, like patting your hand over your mouth while going "ahh."  You also say "hi" all of the time.  Last weekend, your daddy got you to repeat "hat" when he would point to his Blues cap.  You also love to yell when you are not getting your way. 

One thing we've noticed about you is that you are generally very good with the dogs.  You don't grab their eyes, nose or ears, which is typically what kids go after when they're with a dog.  Instead, you like to just rub their backs and pat their heads.  Even dogs other than ours, you are very good with. 

You are still an eating machine, and in the next month, we'll officially begin to transition your diet away from breastmilk.  You're already eating real food, but it's been more for fun and learning.  You're doing really well and eating a variety of things, so you're ready for that next step.  Your still in that endearing messy eater phase, and the dogs love it.  If you don't like something, you just pull it out of your mouth and drop it off the side of your chair for the dogs. 

You are still the chillest child I've had.  You love to watch your siblings play and are starting to imitate the way they play and the things you see them do.  I've also seen that look of pride in your eyes a couple of times when you've accomplished something that you see them do, like pushing a toy car across the floor or throwing a toy that the dog fetches.  There is no doubt that you are going to try to do everything you can to be just like your older siblings.

We are so blessed that God gave you to our family.  No matter what we call you:  poo-pants (Audrey), Fletchy Fletch (dad), Fletch Fletch (Barrett), or Fletchy-wetchy-poo (me), we all love you more than you can imagine.