11 Months!

Dear Meerkat:

Eleven months old already??? One more month until you're ONE! One more month of babyhood. Then, you start to become a "big girl." Although, in so many ways, you're already showing your big girl independence.

You play independently for long stretches. It's so much fun to watch you examine your toys. You'll spin things in your hands, over and over, figuring them out. You push buttons, fill and empty things, climb, walk, and what I can only assume is make believe. You'll put your toys in your mouth and wave your arms around like crazy, and hum or squeal. You jibber jabber in your playpen at nothing.



You've pretty much outgrown your jumperoo. I'm sad because you loved it so much for so long. It seems like we just bought it, and already it's time to take it down... or pass it on to a cousin.

Since we're talking about toys, let's talk about your favorite toy this month. We bought you a small toy kitchen, about 14 inches tall. And you LOVE it. It sings and makes sound effects. When it plays a song, you will wriggle and wiggle and dance. You love the faucet the most, it seems. You will continuously make it say "on/off on/off on/off." It came with a toy pot, a large toy spoon, and some toy food. If we pretend to feed you from the toy spoon, you'll smack your lips and make a "mmm" sound. It's really adorable, and amazing to me that you already have such a vivid imagination. It's hard to believe that so few months ago, you couldn't even reach out for a toy.

Oh yeah... another thing about your kitchen. You like to climb on top of it. Today, you opened the oven door and balanced precariously on the little lip between the nothingness of the open oven and the nothingness on the other side. We decided to just get you the crap down and not worry about snapping a picture of that little incident. We have to watch you very closely, because you will stand on anything that's available. Your balance is good though. Maybe you'll be a gymnast, or a dancer.

This month, you have sprouted more teeth! You now have 4 (two on top and two on bottom) and one more coming in as I write this. You have a good bite now, and so we are giving you more table food. You like macaroni and cheese a lot. You also really love snack time. The crunchies and puffs are your favorite, though you won't turn down a yogurt bite either. You didn't care for black beans the last time we gave them to you, but you love great northern beans. Daddy hates them. He thinks they stink. Mommy thinks they look, taste, and smell delicious! But mommy has always liked beans of all sorts.

Your hair is longer and thicker, but it's hard to tell because it's so curly. I can tell because I wash it, and it gets really long when I detangle it. But then it springs right back against your head. You don't like it when I put bows in your hair anymore, but you'll tolerate them once they're in.

This month, you still babble unintelligibly. And, you say mama and dada, but still with no recognition of the meaning. But, something that you've started doing this month is immitating. We went to OH for your cousin's graduation, and while there, you had a little chair in the yard with fish and bubbles on it. Mommy would say "bubble... bubble... bubble... fish!" and point to the pictures to show you which was which. After a couple times, I would say "bubble" and you would follow it with "Buh" or "Buhpp" and when I would say "fish" you would follow it with "Gih" It was very clear that you were trying to say what I was saying, even though no one would ever guess those were the words you were saying if they didn't hear me say them first.

Oh, and on this visit to OH, you FINALLY got to meet your great Grandma R and Aunt K this month. They've been waiting so patiently to meet you, and thankfully we were able to stop by on our way home this time around. They were so happy to see you, and you entertained them big time! You ripped up a magazine and rode around on it through the living room. You played piano. You crawled around and babbled. Then you ate and passed out. It was a blast.



You are still happy this month - happy about everything. We laugh; you laugh. We move; you laugh. We turn on the TV; you laugh. We play with a toy; you laugh. We put your paci in our mouths; you laugh. We wake you up; you laugh. We put you to bed... okay, you don't always laugh for this. In fact, you mostly hate going to bed. But the other night, when I was putting you to bed, you giggled like a crazy woman for no reason for several minutes.

The newest and most exciting thing you're doing lately is letting go of what you're holding onto and remaining standing. You haven't taken any steps yet, and you're still a little afraid of standing alone. But you do it. And you did it a lot at your Grandma S' house. You stood for well over a minute and a half.

I doubt you'll be walking by your birthday. But I think you'll be walking before 13 months. We'll see if I'm right.

I can't believe this time has gone so fast. Keep growing and developing! Mommy can't wait to see what comes next. You continue to amaze and surprise me every day, and you fill my heart with more love than I can explain in words.



I adore you, Meerkat.

Love,
Mommy