11 Months

I am in denial that Matilda continues to get older so I won't even mention that she is only 1 month away from the 1 year milestone. Where does the time go? I just don't understand. Anyway, that is a different post for a different day (and that day is only one. month. away....but I digress).

The past month has been a wild one for us. We were fortunate enough to get to go on our first family vacation as a threesome to Florida. Work got crazy for both Nate and I, and we both were desperate to get home to soak up every ounce of Matilda and her new found social butterfly skills.

The 11th month brought waving hi and bye....At times spot on, at other time at about a :15 delay. Either way...adorable.

....blowing kisses. Or should I saw locking in her own kisses. She get her hand up to her mouth but doesn't then actually blow the kiss.

....the beginnings of her snuggling toys/dolls. There were times the past few weeks where Matilda would be rooting through a box/bag/bucket of toys and pull out some stuffed toy of some sort, make all sort of cooing noises and snuggle it. My heart literally melts every time I see her do it.

...Independence. From the strong desire to feed herself to wanting to turn the pages of her books, this little one is starting to show us she has preferences..

....So Big. But in our house...we don't quite do So Big the typical way. We do "so cute", where we say how cute are you, and TIllie shrugs her shoulder and puts her head to one side. I know, I know. All the mothers of daughters out there are probably shaming and judging me that I should have taught her so smart over so cute. But guess what. It is so cute. And there will be plenty of time for me to tell her how smart she is. But with thighs like these...how can you not mention the cute word every now and then?

....the first glimpse into my life in 10 years from now, as she got angry when I took a toy away from her the first time. She gave me a face that literally sent chills to my spine, and then started crying. Awesome.

....and no. The 11th month did not bring crawling. Nate and I could not be more happy. Daycare could not be more perplexed. Because she is moving. Getting places. But no one can really quite put their fingers on how she is doing it. Lots of small, stealth movements I guess. But I am pretty confident she will be crawling soon. Any day really. Which means we need to baby proof and step up our game. Stat.

..Finally, the girl could still be called Munchie....not sure how long the finger sucking will last but for now it is here to stay.

It's hard to believe this one is past her first double-digit anniversary, and is moving toward toddler-hood, which I have heard has its own set of joys and burdens. But for now I am basking in the remaining days of babydom.