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Isabella is 11 months old today.And every day she is seeming less and less a baby, and more like a little girl.
In the past month, she's changed a lot. Her hair is noticeable longer (alas, her early Maddox Jolie-Pitt faux-hawk is all but a distant memory now), and she definitely has a very clear idea of what she does and does not want to do at any given moment. Apparently, she's stubborn (or, the PC term for it now: tenacious). I wonder where she gets that from?
But the biggest differences I've noticed in the past month are cognitive. Her memory is much, much sharper, and the range of objects she can identify is growing seemingly every day. Most impressive (at least to me, and remember, I am easily impressed) is that when asked to "Find Goodnight Moon," she will pick it out from a stack of books sitting before her and hand it to me. She can also point to certain characters and objects on the book's pages as well.
Her play has changed too. It's much more activity-focused, and toddler-like. She absolutely loves to take a plastic watering can on walks and pretend to water bushes, shrubs, and flowers along our route. The addition of this watering can seems to have enabled her to conquer her stroller-phobia. You cannot even imagine how happy this makes me.
She can now bring herself to a sitting position from her back and her tummy. We first discovered this a few weeks ago when we went to spring her from her crib following a nap to discover her sitting upright, staring at us.
Isabella is pulling up on everything now, including the stairs, and has become a wicked-fast commando-crawler. Our pathetic and half-assed baby-proofing efforts did nothing to stem her curiosity about the inner workings of our wood-burning fireplace or the heating vents in our floors, so we've had to resort to measures the likes of which I promise you have never seen before. There's a post coming on this topic later in the week.
She will lean her head toward you when you say, "Give me a kiss" and she'll reach out her sippy cup to touch my glass to do "Cheers."
She also likes to brush my hair (read: whack her brush against my forehead) when having her diaper changed. This one is fun for everybody!
And I think she's started to say what might amount to her first word, other than "da-da." She's almost saying, "duck." I think. Sort of. Maybe. Of course, it sounds more like "Du," and for all I know she's saying "Duh," but she does say this when she sees a duck in one of her books, or is playing with her yellow plastic duck in the bathtub, so maybe she is trying to say it. Who knows.
And finally:
Current Teeth Count: Zero. (They are in there somewhere, right?)
Current Likes: Drinking her bath water, Running food-coated fingers through her hair
Current Dislikes: Saying "MaMa," the name of the person who experienced nightly injections in the thigh and ass, numerous invasive medical procedures, the draining of her bank account, and major surgery to bring you into existence. Hi! Remember me?
And oh yeah, naps.
Next month, my baby will turn one year old. How is this even possible? It was just last month when we were worried she didn't have knee caps, wasn't it?
Can I be her honorary grandma? My youngest grandchild is 7 1/2 now and I am in dire need of a baby in my life! How cute she looks in that red outfit!!
love the photo and she acts so much Lore... but be thankful she can't crawl onto the bookshelf... the 2nd lvl!!!
She is so cute!! I cannot believe she is 11 months, though. I started reading your blog around this time last year and I remember how happy I was for you (anonymously) when she was born. She has grown so fast!
She sounds wonderful, head-whacking and all. And, don't feel bad, I think that most babies said Dada first, something about it being easier than Mama. It is so hard to believe that she'll be 1 year old!!
How quickly a year can pass! She's absolutely beautiful Kristi and has the best wardrobe!
As for the Dada word, my nephew has been saying it forever (course he's 15 months), along with Uh oh and no. But no mommy, mama, nothing of the sort yet. We are waiting.
I can't believe how big she is!
Kenju-Of course! The more grandmas, the merrier!
Shannon-Oh wow. But I'm sure it's just a matter of time before she's doing that too.
Sasha-I know. It's amazing, isn't it?
Dawn-I feel better every time I hear that. I do hope she says mama soon, though!
Liz-My ego is very glad Isabella isn't the only one who refuses to say mama!
Shannon-I can't believe it either!
I LOVE that dress! How cute is she that dress??
I'm just amazed reading all of these things that she does. She's so young, but so much is happening! As always I love her sheer adorableness!
11 months already? It seems like just yesterday I was sitting here waiting to get an update of the delivery! My how time flies.