Claire at 11 months

Claire turned 11 months old last Thursday! So close to the BIG 1! I always say this, but I just can't believe it. She is such a little girl now, rather than a baby.

Claire at 11 months:

• Has two favorite books: The Secret Life of Fairies and Toes are to Tickle. She has a gazillion other books and if I start reading one of them while we're in her rocking chair, she leans over, looks at her basket of books and tries to grab a different one. She really likes books that have flaps that she can flip, which her first favorite book has. Toes are to Tickle doesn't have any flaps so I'm not sure where that fascination came from!
• Loves to stand at the floor to ceiling window next to the front door and look outside. It's so sweet. She'll watch kids play in the street or just look outside at the trees, bushes, and whatever else is out there. She also stands in the living room next to the toy ottoman and stare outside. Now that it's getting nicer, she can play outside again and she LOVES it!
• Is apprehensive of people she doesn't know, or doesn't know very well. Her little lip pouts and then her full on sad cry bursts through.
• Eats better! She still has her favorites (yogurt, cheese, bananas) but is eating more variety. She discovered she loves macaroni with cheese melted on it, apricots, a blend of tomatoes, potatoes and carrots, and Cheerios. She had boycotted the bottle for awhile but thankfully is back to drinking it.
• Nurses twice a day- morning and night. I stopped pumping at work about 2-3 weeks ago and man, is it freeing! I really, really did not like pumping, despite the awesome set-up at Target, and I am so happy to be done! I was on a business trip last week so I pumped twice a day there, but in general, I'm done! I am proud that I made it 10+ months pumping and that I'm still nursing twice a day at 11 months. It's been a wonderful gift for Claire.
• Isn't walking on her own but pushes her little stroller around the house. She doesn't have great balance but can stand on her own for a few seconds.
• Sleeps like a champ. Lately she's been sleeping from about 7:00-7:30PM until 8:00AM (with eating once around 5:30AM). She usually takes 3 naps a day, but occasionally only takes two. Or one, like yesterday, when Mommy was sick on the couch all day and Daddy had Claire-duty and only got one nap in because they spent 4 hours at the Burnsville Mall. :) We put her down awake and she falls asleep all on her own!! It's so amazing. I have read a lot about sleeping struggles and so many babies/toddlers stuggle falling asleep on their own. I'm so thankful that Claire began this without any major sleep training. It makes ALL the difference in the world! (to expectant parents reading this- do everything you can to encourage and establish good sleeping habits! We are on a fairly routine schedule. We know her typical nap times and try our best to be home from them. It means less flexibility on the weekends but it has been so worth it for us. She's awake from like 11AM-1PM or so we can get lunch or run errands during those times.)
• Is so happy! She's always smiling and laughing. She LOVES to smile at her daddy.
• Started the double wave. She double waves at Sydney all the time. The cutest is when she puts her arms in the air like "so big" and double waves.
• Opens and closes one hand to signal two different things, I believe. I think it means both "more" and "I like".
• Weighed 15 lbs 2 oz at 10 months so my best guess is that she's around 15 lbs 8 oz or so. We'll find out at her 1 year appt. She's wearing different sizes based on the brand. Carters is 9 months, Gap and Old Navy at 6-12 months.

Well we're babysitting her friend Kiera today so we're going to run and get some lunch! Hope you're having a blessed weekend!