Elevensies

It seems impossible to believe that Willow is already 11 months, and that next month she will have her first birthday! I am amazed at how fast time has gone by.

Here's what she's been up to the last month in terms of development.

• Walks short distances (anywhere between 6-12 steps) but prefers to crawl still. She is an incredibly fast crawler, and sometimes I have to jog to keep up with her. 
• I've noticed that she is starting to 'sing'. When we are listening to music, or there is a song on Sesame Street or The Princess and the Frog, she 'oohs' and 'aahs' along with the music in a different pitch than her usual babbling. It's pretty cute!
• She dances! She has several new dance moves. Sometimes she does just one at a time, but I've also seen her do them all at once which is hysterical. She waves her arms to the beat, stomps her feet, wiggles her body, and bounces up and down. She will do this either while standing, sitting, or on all-fours. 
• Started drinking from a straw. For some reason, this took her awhile to master. Finally, finally, she can do it. 
• She opens the cabinets all the time--it's one of her favorite activities because then she can take everything out of the cupboards/wardrobes and make a royal mess.
• Climbs up the slide at the playground 
• Opens her dresser drawers and excitedly removes all her neatly folded clothes. She can also slide her toy box drawers open to gain access to her toys 
• Increasing attention span for activities like reading books and, unfortunately, watching television. The other day, she sat quite still while I read fourteen board books to her in a row! I was shocked!
• Willow is a very social baby. There is nothing she loves more than going outside to find other babies/toddlers/kids to play with. She likes the babies in her board books, and the little kids on Sesame Street too. 

It is so RARE that Willow relaxes. She is always moving, moving, moving! An extremely active baby; so, I had to laugh when I saw her just 'taking it easy' on the couch yesterday. What a silly girl! She reclined for a whole minute...but was still kicking her right leg around. 

Her listening comprehension is also improving as I observe her understanding more phrases.

Here are a few simple sentences that she understands:

• Learning what 'no'/'don't do that'/'stop' mean 
• "Give ___________ a kiss" (daddy/mommy/kitty/baby) 
• "Want to eat?" 
• "Say goodbye" (usually waves goodbye after some prompting) 
• "Say hello" (will put the phone on her ear) 
• "Give your baby a hug" 
• "Where is your baby?" or "Where is your kitty?" (she will find the toy) 
• "Do you want to read a book?" (will get a book to read) 
• "Hi-Five!" (will give a high-five) 
• "I'm going to get you!" (will crawl away, squealing, because she knows she will get tickled)
• "Dance!" (will do her silly wiggle) 
• "Clap your hands!" 
• "Clap your feet!" (she likes to do this when she is getting dressed) 
• "Let's go outside!" 
• "Bath time" (although recently she hates baths again. sad) 

Now if only she would understand other phrases like: danger; don't eat that; sit down; it's time to sleep; do you need your diaper changed? 

What a typical day looks like for eleven-month-Willow: 

• 6:30--wake up, get changed, nurse 
• 6:45-8:30--play time, cheerio snack, maybe skype 
• 8:30-10--nap
• 10:00-12:00--nurse, play time, maybe go outside, eat lunch
• 12:00-2:00--nap 
• 2:00-4:00--play time, maybe watch Sesame Street 
• 4:00--Daddy gets home and plays with Willow while Mom makes dinner 
• 5:30--eat dinner then play some more 
• 6:30--bath time on some nights 
• 7:00--pajamas, brush teeth, put toys away, nurse, and then sleeping for the night 

She's usually still waking up in the middle of the night to eat. But it is starting to be hit or miss. Sometimes she  wakes up, and sometimes she doesn't at all--like last night. I'm sure that just as she starts to sleep through the night again, we will have to go through jet lag all over again. 

Some Current Favorites: 

• Singing/music, especially The Princess and the Frog and Sesame Street (Elmo!) 
• Her stuffed tiger, and soft bunny/blanket 
• Her pink blanket 
• Steamed green beans 
• Outside/playground/walks 
• Other kids/babies 
• Making messes 
• Technology
• Board books with photography of other kids/babies 
• Bananas 
• Drinking yogurt 
• ANYTHING that she shouldn't have, especially: 
• wires
• computers
• garbage/trash cans
• the water cooler

Common messes caused by Willow: 

• Dumping the box of q-tips all over 
• card games, puzzle pieces, scrabble pieces, poker chips...ALL OVER 
• Removes clothes from wardrobes and dressers 
• Empties kitchen cabinets 
• Throws her food on the floor during lunch or dinner 
• Dumping the garbage cans over 
• Removing all the wipes from the container during 'nap' time

But, between all the messes, temper tantrums, and stubborn attitudes, I think that this has been the cutest, most fun stage to experience so far. She is always active, non-stop motion, and learning to discover and explore. She is giggly, wiggly, and fairly 'innocent' still. She babbles a lot, says 'mama' and 'dadda' often. She likes to give me kisses and sweet little hugs. I love her chubby little self! 

Eleven Month Photos:

Sorry--the lighting is terrible! We went outside on an impulse, and didn't really plan for a great time with the sun.

Later that day...

 She has discovered that her reach is big enough to get what she wants.

Caught red-handed. Literally. 

On to the next shenanigan. She likes to climb up onto the back of the couch (here she is getting ready to do so), and then lunge herself over the gap onto the window sill. This is how she gets to our home phone. She likes to play with the land line so much that she actually broke it last week. Now we need to buy a new phone! 

We love you, Willow Rose! 

I cannot believe you've been around for nearly one year! You've impacted my life in every possible way and I couldn't imagine my life without you in it.
Hugs and kisses!

xoxo
-mommy