Annie - 11 months

Annie is one month away from being a whole year old!  She is a very very happy baby and is an absolute joy!  I tell Steven all the time how fortunate we are to have such an easy going gal, though she does have a very strong will.  She is so sweet and very content.  She enjoys playing with mama and daddy... but she also likes playing by herself.  As it stands I can leave her alone in her room (being nearby of course) and she will play all by herself for as long as I'll let her.  She is a curious little thing but also very focused when she gets her hands on something.  I love to watch her as she discovers new things - she is very intense and you can almost see the little wheels in her head turning. 

Here are a few other things about our big girl:
 

-She got her first little pair of shoes.  Granted she has had some baby shoes, but these are the first pair of "walking shoes."  Ok Ok, they arent her first pair.  Technically her Aunt Cassie bought her first pair... zebra print Sperrys... BUT these are the first ones that we have gotten her.  It took her a while to get used to her little size 2 sandals... but she likes them now and she likes the freedom to "walk" outside in them.

-She is still wearing 12 month clothing

-She has a cubed shelving unit in her bedroom with all of her toys and books on them. Her go-to item? BOOKS.  She will hardly play with anything on the shelf... but she will clear the books off in an instant and sit in the floor looking at them for what seems to be forever.  If I put them back on the shelf, she immediately pulls them back off.  Her current favorite is "Secret Seahorse"

-She isnt walking on her own yet, but she loves to hold our hands and walk around.  In fact, she will get quite upset when we stop walking her.  Hopefully she will gain her balance soon so that she can do this on her own

-She stands up without holding on to anything

-She's obsessed with remotes.  Her granny and grandpa gave her an old remote of theirs and she drags it all over the house.  She is starting to realize that it's not real since she's allowed to have it...

-She is great at mimicking sounds.  Clicking, kissing, coughing, rapsberries...

-Peek a boo is still a winner around our house.  However, she loves peek a boo with doors.  We hide behind one, and she opens and closes it to find us.

-She loves "following."  Steven will hold her and follow behind me as I'm walking through the house.  She loves trying to get me and squeals with crazy laughter when I suddenly stop, turn around, and say to her "What are you doing following me?!"  She could do this all day.

-She no longer bathes in her baby tub.  She kept getting really frustrated with it, so we took it out of her life.  She now bathes in the big bathtub and loves being able to crawl around and explore!  She likes sticking her head under the faucet while the water is running.  She also likes trying to put her face in the water, though she gets pretty upset when she forgets to hold her breath.

-She sometimes gives kisses - but they are typically reserved just for mama.

-She can wave and say "bye bye"

-She has learned how to communicate when she doesn't want something ... or when she does want something and we don't let her have it.  Oh yes, the dreaded fit.  She has even been known to plop down in a heap waving her little hands about as she cries and screams.

-If you give her 2 cheerios she will put them both in her mouth.  If you give her 10 cheerios, she will put them all in her mouth... so we have to keep an eye on how many we give her and make sure her mouth is empty before we give her more.

-She drinks out of a straw sippie cup

-She still only has three teeth, but more are on the horizon.