Happy 11 months, Caroline, and Happy (first) Valentine’s Day!

Caroline is now officially one month away from being a TODDLER. I can hardly believe it, except for the fact that she is clearly demonstrating just the right amount of stubbornness and sass that (I’m told) comes with toddler-hood. She will shove her baby hands in my face, make raspberries with her mouth full, and throw her sippy cup on the ground repeatedly, all while giving a look that says, yeah…I know what I’m doing 😉 She also can be  demonstrably sweeter–giving nice, long baby snuggles in the morning, getting excited when you walk into the room, releasing deep belly laughs, and revealing her little sense of humor. She loves being teased!

This is the outfit she selected for her 3rd day of daycare and very first Valentine’s Day! Of course no morning is complete without giving Ellie Friend a kiss on the trunk.

Her hair is getting longer and her baby bangs are in that awkward “growing out” stage…she usually is fine with wearing the bow until she gets upset about something (else) and then yanks it out like it’s to blame for her hunger/sleepiness/missing Mommy/having to go into her carseat.

I imagine this conversation has something to do with Ellie Friend eating Caroline’s cheerios when she wasn’t looking. We’ll see if that ever happens again.

Here is a snapshot of Caroline at 11 months:

• The biggest milestone at 11 months has been MOBILITY. Caroline went from sort of army crawling to now booking it across the room in a blink of an eye in a full out crawl–with the goal being to arrive at a step. ledge, or platform so she can pull herself up. She is the cutest balance of adventurous and cautious. She does not like to fall down or be surprised by something (like if she pulls up on a bin and the bin moves). She moves her feet and hands in the careful manner I’ve seen used by rock climbers–each hand and foot placement is a risk assessment prior to commitment. It’s almost like you can see the little wheels turning in her mind.
• Once she pulls up, she will ALWAYS find the most dangerous item within her grasp. It’s unreal. The power strip, the hammer, the bag of salt in the hall closet. How does she know??
• She is so squirmy when we change her diaper. She will flip over, roll over, grab everything out of the diaper caddy next to the changing pad–diaper cream, diapers, small toys, etc. She MUST be holding something if you have any chance at all of actually getting a new diaper on her.
• We have a clapper! So cute. She went from clapping toys together to full on regular hand clapping.
• We also have a whistler! I mean. I can’t even do that.
• She is now drinking 5 oz of milk at a clip, up from 4.5 oz. I send 3 bottles to daycare and nurse her at night. I still don’t feed er in the morning before daycare.
• She actually can play. With other kids, and with toys. We took her to a baby play area at the American History museum and she could actually play there. I went to Joy’s house to see her kids and all three kids actually played together. So amazing to watch!
• I am proud of us (meaning Mike and me) for doing much better broadening her food options. This past month, we’ve added turkey, ham, small chunks of things we eat. Daycare offers catered foods that include toast, crackers, quiche, and spaghetti. She still loves strawberries most and the best way to get her to eat green purees is to mix it with applesauce.
• She is still an amazing sleeper. She does enjoy her routine of dinner, bath (every other night), jam jams, nursing, and she is OUT usually by 7:45 and doesn’t stir until the next morning between 7:30-8. Some days we even have to wake her to go to daycare!

Here comes trouble!

Don’t be fooled by that angelic face. She is on a mission to grab that power strip behind me.

Happy 11 months, Sugar Bear!