Happy 11 Months Annie!

I admit that 11 months snuck up on me. I feel like when people have asked how old you are I barely had time to tell them that you were 10 months old. But it doesn't matter if I feel like a month has passed or not, it has, and you are now only one month away from being a year old.

 

Although you are still tiny in stature, you show off all the time how big you really are. Just days after turning 10 months old (and not long at all after you'd started pulling up), you starting cruising around our furniture with ease. We've created a barricade in our living room for you and you can easily make it around the room without any issue whether you are crawling or cruising. You continue to crawl crookedly with one leg underneath you in almost a sitting up position, but despite your non-traditional crawling form, you are a fast crawler! I admit that when you started crawling I thought your crooked crawl was just a stepping stone to crawling in a regular manner, but now that you are SO fast crawling crooked, I doubt you'll ever crawl regularly. I will NOT predict when I think you will walk because I have been burned by all your siblings with my predictions. However, there have been a few times where you act like you might take a step . . . but once again, I don't know! You have no problem standing up only using one hand to hold onto something and you can even pull up against a wall. One day you started acting like you were going to climb onto our ottoman bench!

This month you learned how to high five! You can give a high five with each of your hands, and you love to play giving high-fives. You've been waving for a couple of months now, but I think you have progressed to doing it more unprompted by us and at the appropriate time. Just a few days ago we were walking around Target, and Troy yelled "bye-bye Annie" as he went with Trent to a different part of the store. You promptly waved and said "bye-bye" back. I loved it! It was the first time I'd heard you say "bye-bye."

You are definitely a vocal baby, not only saying a few words (mama, daddy, eh-a (Ella), bye-bye, and maybe a couple more), but also by the noises you make. Although you've signed "more" a few times, you much prefer to grunt or yell at us to tell us that you are ready for more. For many months now I've been able to hear you yelling happily in your Bible class when I'm in a different area of the church building. You also had us all laughing one night with not only the noise you were making in the video below, but also because you were so straight-faced the whole time!



I admit that I'm writing this post really late (like two months late. .  .) and it is possible that I will get some details wrong, BUT I think when you turned 11 months old your four front teeth on top had come in for a total of six teeth. Your two bottom teeth continue to be just SO cute though! I don't know exactly what it is about them, but your toothy grin is great! You also continue to do funny things with your tongue! I'm amazed at how you are able to twist it all over the place.



You were an elephant for your first Halloween, and you tolerated your costume well even though we had warm weather. I think you enjoyed the pumpkin patch as well.

Annie @ 10 months

Luke @ 11 months

Troy @ 11 months

(I didn’t start writing these monthly posts for Ella until she was 17 months old)

Happy 11 Months Luke!

It is hard to believe that a year ago I was busy making final preparations for your arrival. These past eleven months have gone by quickly, and it doesn't seem like you should be approaching a year old already. This past month in particular has been a very busy one for our family, and unfortunately I didn't take as many photos as usual.

You are into everything! You crawl quickly everywhere, and you have become an expert at pulling up. You can pop up and down so quickly! You can "walk" along things as you hold on. You have also become quite a challenge when you ride in the grocery cart, because you have mastered wiggling around the seatbelt, standing up, and trying to climb in the back. The first photo below shows how I barricaded you in one day at Target to keep your from climbing out. And you are SO fast at wiggling out! You have also started climbing a little bit this month. You have climbed up the bean bags I've been using to barricade you in.

This month brought your first two instances of cuts/bumps/bruises. First, you cut your tongue when you were crawling with you cup. Later in the month, Troy was pushing you around in the stroller in the front yard when he accidentally pushed the stroller off the curb. The stroller lost its balance, and fell over and you hit the side of your head on the curb. You handled it like a champ though! Troy told Daddy, "Daddy, I forgot to turn." Troy's response was so sad and innocent all at the same time.

You went swimming for the first time this month, and I think you really enjoyed the water (minus getting a little cold). Overall, I think you really enjoyed hanging out at the lake.


You still like to eat, but you've slowed down a little bit. I'm certain your favorite food is yogurt. You get so excited when you see it, and if we bring it out with other foods at the same time, you want it and nothing else.

You learned to sign "finished" this month, and I also think you signed "milk." You continue to babble up a storm, and you know how to yell at us to get our attention. This month you started showing us how "offended" you are when we take something away from you or tell  you "no." You've also started looking up at us before you touch something you know you aren't supposed to touch. It is pretty funny!

You enjoy putting objects into other things like baskets or buckets. You entertain yourself for a long time putting things in and out. You like to play with balls, and one of your favorite activities is playing "soccer" with daddy, Ella, and Troy. You also continue to enjoy looking at books.

You stayed for an extended period without us for the first time at the end of this past month. You did great, and had lots of fun being spoiled by your aunt!


Luke @ 10 months
Troy @ 11 months
I didn’t start writing these monthly posts for Ella until she was 17 months old, but I do have this photo of Ella with her 10 month sign :)