Dear Laurel,
Today you turned 11 months old and the countdown has begun to your first birthday. You are growing so fast and it seems like new things are happening each day. You are pulling up on everything and moving around pretty well. You are standing on your own for several seconds before losing your balance and have even taken a few steps!! There have only been 3 or 4 occasions where you have taken some steps, usually 3or 4 before you fall, but of course you refuse to walk once we grab the camera or video camera. It definitely seems like you will start walking by your first birthday. It’s very exciting to see you take your first steps, but it means you will be walking everywhere and getting into EVERYTHING! You already crawl your way into trouble now. You still love water bottles and have learned the location of the recycling bin, which has become a toy chest for you full or bottles and cardboard to play with. Your eyes light up like you have discovered gold when you start pulling out the contents. It’s quite hilarious.
You are beginning to discover table foods and you seem to like most foods. Your favorite by far are Mum Mums, which are specifically made for babies your age. They are rice rusks and taste like rice cakes or rice krispy treats (minus the sugar). It’s a healthy snack, so I am glad you enjoy them so much. You start going crazy for them at the sight of the package. You start smacking your lips and raise your hands with excitement. Even the people at daycare are surprised how much you enjoy them. Just this past week we introduced Cheerios and you seem to really enjoy those also. You are still learning to appreciate textures, but little by little have started tasting more foods.
Your personality is starting to come out a little bit more now. You seem to be quite the comedian. You are often laughing and smiling and you love people watching just like mommy. You do not seem as quiet as your daddy, but I guess that’s ok. You enjoy music and often clap and bounce when you hear it. You are a bit mischievous and pretend not to understand the word “no” when you are doing something you are not supposed to do like pulling on the blinds or messing with the tv components. When daddy or I say “no” in our stern voices and stern faces, you just smile and keep going. I hope you understand no soon!
You have one more week until you get your Doc band off and we are very excited about that. The only thing I am not excited about is you hitting your head on everything no that you don’t have anything to “protect” you from getting hurt, but I am sure you will quickly learn. I just hope there are not too many bumps and bruises along the way.
You have not really starting saying any new words yet, but you are starting to vocalize more. You definitely understand your name also, which is very cool.
So as I mentioned, the countdown begins to your first birthday. We plan to have a small gathering at home with family and a few friends, but it will definitely be a memorable event. Can’t wait to celebrate with you!!
Love you dearly!
Mommy
