Tuesday, September 8, 2009

11 Months



Jillian turned eleven months old yesterday. Less than one month until her first birthday. It's hard to believe that I will soon be saying that I have a one-year old.

It has been a busy month at our house between several camping trips, BBQ's, fishing and the usual day to day life of work, cleaning and errands. We have always been busy, but toting a now toddling baby around adds a new dimension to our already hectic schedule. This past month has of course brought a lot of changes such as...
  • Walking - she can now make her way halfway across rooms in an upright position. At times as she closes in on you she almost seems to run even. She is certainly not graceful. I'd really describe her walking style as fearless and adventurous.
  • Climbing - I really thought this would happen until much later. She climbs on and off her chair (as you saw). She can get down from many high objects like the couch. She'll take advantage of toys placed in front of objects to climb up them. She sticks her leg on the ridge of the bathtub as if she is trying to climb out. As long as she stays in her crib...we best lower it another notch.
  • Talking - After mastering "yay" she has also learned "yeah". We are sticklers for good grammar at our house. She can clearly say "Dada" when she is talking of Jeramy. And yesterday she seemed to be using the word "Dog". Now if she'd have a little appreciation for me and pick-up the word "Mama". I mean I did give birth to her and all. Jeez.
  • Drinking from the sippy - She has been able to drink from her sippy cup for a couple months now, but usually it has just been water. Given her proficiency, we decided to start taking away the bottle during the day in trade for the sippy cup. After finding out that she won't drink formula from a sippy cup with a valve, we found that she would drink it from the munchkin ones. So we are pretty much switched with the exception of the bedtime and nightime bottle (yes, she usually still wants a little something in the wee hours of the morning).
  • Riding in a convertable car seat - Jeramy just picked up a couple today. I'm really going to miss the convenience of the infant carseat and the ability to avoid waking my sleeping baby.
  • Eating finger foods - purees are definitely on their way out. After about 5 or 6 bites, she spits the food into her fingers so that she can play with it. I've found that she really likes pasta, cheese and meat. So we are beginning to explore what meals she can feed herself. Because really, spoon feeding an infant who spits her food out is not particularly rewarding (not to mention extremely messy).
  • Ponytails and pigtails - somebody's hair is getting a bit long.
So now it's on to the first birthday planning. The invitations are on order. I'm expecting a large but simple party. Is that possible? We have a lot of family and friends to invite, but I refuse to go all crazy by adhering to some insane theme or planning a multitude of games. I mean what happened to having people over for cake and ice cream anyhow? Because that's how it's going to go at my house.

11 comments:

BigP's Heather said...

Our invitations just came in and they say "please join us for cake and punch" - we did get coordinating plates/cups/napkins - but that is as much of a theme as we have. They are pink with a big 1 on them. We will have more people than we should for our small house - but it will be simple and fun.

Weren't we just pregnant like two months ago - what happened? Where did the time go?

Bud2400 said...

"Now if she'd have a little appreciation for me and pick-up the word "Mama". I mean I did give birth to her and all. Jeez."

Don't get too worked up over it, Jen. In my linguistics class 2 1/2 years ago, I remember learning that almost all babies learn to say dada before mama simply because the D sound is a lot easier for babies to learn than the M sound. Just try enunciating those sounds and note the position of your tongue and everything - M sounds are a little more complicated than D sounds.

Jen said...

Hey little bro...I was being sarcastic not neurotic. I actually know most babies say dada before mama.

Bud2400 said...

Kinda hard to tell the difference between your being sarcastic and neurotic when your getting neurotic isn't an uncommon occurrence. :P

Nicky said...

We're doing the super simple party, too. A little food, cake, letting kids play in the yard. Planning activities for a first birthday party seems really unnecessary.

jenn said...

Simple party sounds the best- all you really need is a picture of her smashing cake into her face- the rest really is for you!

I can't believe how big she's getting! (although- the hub & I bought our convertible carseat last month! We're waiting until the last possible second to do the switch, but she's only got another 3 pounds to go... I hope that lasts us past 6 months- you're lucky at a year!)

Oh- and she totally looks more like Jeramy with the pigtails in my opinion. And like you with the hair down.

Kelly said...

Cake and ice cream sounds perfect! You can save the Justin Timberlake performing, Escalade giving, diamond wearing party for 2 years old;)

Sunny said...

Bean said "dada" first as is common with munchkins, but he says "mom" all the time now. Rarely a "dada" to be heard. I feel vindicated. :)

Geohde said...

Nearly one already? Oh boy, that makes my children one...wait. :)

Welcome to the age of birthday parties!

g

Jamie said...

Everything you mentioned and look at how long her hair is getting!

Her first birthday will be so much fun. Congrats!!

Birdee said...

Wow, 11 months already, I cant believe it. I love the long hair and piggy tails! =D