Norah - 11 Months

 11 months!  Only 1 month until the big O-N-E.  That went waaaaaay too fast.

 Let's see....what's new this month.  Norah isn't walking yet, though she has begun cruising along tables/furniture.  And, she will occasionally walk while pushing something (a kiddie stroller for example). 

She loves to play "peek-a-boo" and does several signs/hand motions....waves "hi" and "bye bye",  signs "more" and "all done", throws her hands in the air when someone says "how big is norah?....sooo big!", blows kisses (sorta), and claps.

Oh and just this week she started brushing her hair with her little hairbrush.  And she dances to music.  Now that's a milestone! ;)

She will give us the sweetest hugs, which include her patting our backs.  And she gives the most slobbery of kisses.

She loves dogs and kicks her legs with excitement when she sees one (daily at the bus stop).

She loves to hold baby dolls and often pats their backs as well.

She babbles a lot, but the only real word I'm confident she has and actually means anything with is "mama".  She occasionally says "dada", but it's more sporadic.

She eats pretty much everything we do, no more baby food.  Her favorite foods seems to be yogurt, blueberries, and cheese.  

Despite my best efforts with daily consistent pumping, I was unable to pump enough for what she was needing....thankfully, she finally started taking the formula.  I'm still so disappointed about this, because I had hoped to breastfeed her until at least a year.  Then when she refused to nurse anymore, I had hoped that I could at least pump enough for what she needed until 12 months.  Very sad to me, but it is what it is.

Sweet girl is not a great napper, but that might be my fault because we are often out and about due to the big kids' stuff so lately our lives aren't super conducive to a great nap schedule.  Regardless, she seems to be rested & happy enough.  Although, the past few weeks have been a bit rough for her...she was diagnosed with a double ear infection a couple of weeks ago (coincidence that her getting sick happened when she stopped getting any breastmilk?), and I went in today for a follow-up and discovered that one of her ears is still infected, or possibly re-infected.  So, more meds for her.   

Happy 11 months, Norah...you have an infected ear.  You don't seem too bothered by it.

 She has 8 teeth...4 on top, 4 on bottom.  It's so funny to me, because her big sissy didn't have ANY teeth until she was 1.  

She's our little shark. ;)

We love our Norah girl!

Comparison pics for fun...

Meredith at 11 months

Caleb at 11 months

Shane at 11 months

11

 What's that?  Shane's 11 months?  That. Can't. Be.  

He was just born the other day, wasn't he?

"It's true, Momma.  I'm growing up."

Sigh.  My little baby boy is growing so fast.  We put up some Christmas decorations today, and I couldn't help but think about this time last year.  Shane was with us, but in a much different capacity. I was really large and so excited to meet this little guy and I just knew that I would love him like crazy forever.  As much as I enjoyed having him in my belly, feeling his little kicks and hiccups and somersaults and having him all to myself all the time, I am ever so grateful to have him "out here" with us!  

As has been the case lately, we didn't get any really great pictures today.  This boy does not like to sit still for photos and I can't seem to get my camera settings right - the photos are really blurry, obviously.  But, here's our official "11-month" birthday pics.  Enjoy!

11 Months

Meredith turned 11 Months old today! We spent most of the day in the car, as we traveled home from our family vacation, but I did manage to get a few photos of our baby girl early this morning, before we left Hayward.






I can't believe that she'll be ONE in a month!

11 MonthsOld ...and 11 Things Caleb Loves!

A few recent photographs, taken on his 11 month birthday...

An 11-month old smile...


Fun with Daddy...


Exploring...


Playing at the park...


The past month has been so exciting for Caleb...and for us! It is wonderful to learn more and more about his personality as he works so hard to learn new things and discover the world around him.

Those of you that spend any amount of time with Caleb know how happy and content he is, most of the time! We have truly been blessed with such a happy baby! This being said, thinking of JUST 11 things that he enjoys was a bit difficult, but here are some of the things that make our little boy smile and laugh.

11 Things that Caleb Loves...

1. Caleb loves animals, dogs especially. The other day he tried to "chase" a man and his dog as they walked by our house. I let him crawl halfway down the driveway before getting him. He gets excited when we see dogs on our walks, and he likes watching Cubby, Grandma McCarty's dog.

2. Caleb loves to eat fruit and yogurt. He especially likes bananas, peaches and blueberries. He has yogurt each morning with his breakfast and as soon as we go to the fridge he knows that his "Yobaby" is coming. He gets so happy, he actually yells with excitement as we peel the lid off of the container!

3. Caleb loves to play catch with Daddy. They sit on the floor, about 3 feet apart, and throw a ball back and forth. It is so sweet! Caleb actually has pretty good aim...with his right hand (sorry, dad!).

4. Caleb loves to knock down the towers we build with his blocks. After we build them, he gets really excited and then "crash"! He has yet to learn to build the towers himself, but I am sure he will get there soon enough!

5. Caleb loves to be outside. He has recently "discovered" dirt and is quite intrigued by the bushes in our backyard. He enjoys taking walks and going to the park.

6. Caleb loves swimming. He could spend hours in the water..unfortunately, Mom and Dad tire out long before that! He tries to "catch" the spraying water at the pool we go to and loves to splash. He also likes going down the kiddie slide.

7. Caleb loves to walk when we hold both of his hands, or when navigating himself around the furniture, but is very hesitant to let go. If we let go of just one of his hands he will refuse to continue walking, or just plop down to the floor....not quite ready, yet!

8. Caleb loves to climb on anything he can....furniture, people, laundry baskets, diaper boxes. The other day (should I be admitting this???) I ran upstairs for a few minutes and the next thing I knew, Caleb had climbed the stairs and was crawling toward me with the proudest look on his face. Oops...time for a gate!

9. Caleb loves his blankie.....it is a necessity at naptime and bedtime.

10. Caleb loves "gravity"....in other words, he loves to drop things and watch them fall. Maybe he'll be a physicist someday!

11. And, we would like to assume that Caleb loves his parents. He always appears happy to see us and likes to give us hugs and kisses. He affectionately and often says "dada", which sounds more like "dat" with a hard stress on the "t". And, he says "mama" but never quite as affectionately as "dat"....he usually only says "mamamama" in a more demanding way, when he is trying to get my attention. When we get him from his crib after he wakes up from the night or naps, he always has a big smile and some excited giggles for us. It is precious.