Eleven Months

My baby Charlotte is almost a toddler. Today she is eleven months old. A year ago, I was almost done with my last week of work before maternity leave. Now, I'm starting to plan Charlotte's first birthday.

Charlotte continues to amaze us. She seems to learn something new everyday. Her oral comprehension improves all the time. Charlotte will respond to simple verbal requests, such as when I ask her "Where is Tandy?" and she excitedly says "Tuhh! Tuhh!" She knows what "No" is, although we try to use it only for very serious things, like when she is trying to play with the electrical outlet. Last night, she was playing with her little hairbrush, and I asked if she wanted to brush her hair, and she put the brush to her head. Then I asked if she wanted to brush Mommy's hair, and she smiled and put the brush against my head. If I ask her to touch Mommy's nose, she reaches out and touches it. I am just astounded. It is just so incredible to witness. This new development, of course, means that Chris and I need to be a little more careful with the words we use. It's clear that she is understanding more and more all the time.

Okay, and tonight, she was getting fussy as it was nearing her bedtime, and she suddenly furiously started signing the words for milk, food, more, and please, over and over again. Umm, when did this happen? I wasn't quite ready to nurse her, so her signing quickly devolved into crying, but still. It's just so cool to finally have her let me know what she wants.

She will walk when we hold her hands, and she is getting more and more adventurous with cruising along furniture. Occasionally she'll "step off" and stand for a second before falling down. This bravery is coming with more falls and bruises, but Charlotte generally handles it like a champ. She likes to dance ( as in bouncing up and down) to Beyoncé's "All the Single Ladies" and gets a kick out of the Muppets. I wondered when she would ever actually use her sippy cup, but she actually guzzled down diluted apple juice the other day when we were out for lunch while our real estate agent held an open house.*

 We bought a 4 x 4 cubby bookcase at Ikea and Charlotte loves to pull open the bins and pull out her toys. It's so easy to clean up her toys after she goes to bed!

Life is just so much fun with our little girl. She can melt away any anxiety about this housing nonsense just by smiling and laughing. How did we get so lucky?

 Charlotte continues to go after Tandy's food and water, so we have to always put them on the counter.

Charlotte is already getting over her aversion to grass. She's not thrilled with it, but she's much more comfortable.

 

And this weekend, we are pretending to be just like any other couple without kids when we go to St. Louis for our friends' wedding. My mom is flying up from San Diego to take care of Charlotte, so it will be the first time Chris and I have both been away from her overnight. We're excited to enjoy this whirlwind trip and actually sleep in on Saturday and maybe sleep on the plane, but I know we'll miss her. My mom, on the other hand, is so excited she practically begged us to go sans bébé.

Next up - Charlotte's first birthday! Both sets of grandparents will be there for the big day, and we're going to have a pool party at the new house. Her birthday is the day before Father's Day, and two days before Chris's birthday, so it will be nice to celebrate with the family.

*By the way, we're in escrow with a new buyer for our house.  But I'm not taking anything for granted this time until we close those papers. I won't make that mistake again!