11m

Things have been so busy lately that we forgot your 11-month birthday. But don’t feel bad because the day before was our 8th wedding anniversary and we forgot about it, too.

The older you get the more I realize how different you are from your sister. You are so much more active, which is saying a lot because Georgia was quite a busy baby. Wherever we go you seem to gravitate to the most dangerous, non babyproofed area. At our house that area has always been the stairs. So after I caught you falling down the stairs last week, your daddy gladly put up a gate at the bottom of our steps. You now perch longingly at the bottom of the steps awaiting someone to open the gate and let you climb the stairs again.

You’re not as verbal as your sister, but that may be because it is difficult to get a word in edgewise when she’s around. We’ve noticed to talk a lot more when your sister is at school on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You say “mama,” “dada,” “ROAR”, but the coolest thing you do is say “gogo” when you push your little cars around.

Speaking of cars, you love all things boy: cars, balls, wheels. It absolutely amazes me that you hone in on more stereotypical boy toys. We have an awful lot of girl toys around here, but you prefer dude stuff. You also spend much of your time these days taking things in and out of containers. The fun never ends around here!

You like to do big kid things like your sister does; especially coloring. You’ll grab a crayon from the pencil box, crawl over to the easel and color away. You usually get a couple of scribbles in before I have to rescue the crayon from your mouth.

Your top two teeth finally popped through! They had been hiding just under your gums for a couple of weeks, but finally made their big entrance last Monday (Sept. 29 for the records). We’re pretty glad to have four teeth behind us because you are an exceptionally grumpy teether.

Your hair is really growing in. And it’s still red! You appear to have your daddy’s insanely thick hair, and his numerous crazy cowlicks (including the one in front) and his distinctive angled hairline. I love it all!

Other milestones and hobbies: you slept through the night four nights in a row once this month; you pull yourself up to stand, but you don’t stand independently; you can walk behind your push toys and get frustrated when you hit a wall or piece of furniture because you haven’t figured out how to turn yet; you can walk on your knees unassisted; you enjoy pulling hair, especially sister’s hair.

The fact that you are going to be a big one-year-old in three short weeks is slowly sinking in. I had a sentimental moment at Costco Saturday because I realized it would probably be the last time I bought formula. You’ll start drinking whole milk when you’re one. Sigh.