Clara at 11 Months

This month has been a huge leap for you! I feel like more has changed in this last month than in any other month of your life. You are just so full of movement and accomplishments and personality now! 

1. You are mOvInG! You are crawling (in a weird, disfigured, quasimodo kind of way). And you are cruising. And you are trying to (straight-legged commie) walk up stairs. And you have definite ideas of where you want to go - you will point if we are carrying you or lead us if we are walking with you. You started the month rolling over in your crib and waking us up because you were stuck on your tummy. Now you can go from back to tummy to sitting up in .4 seconds flat.

2. You can say about a dozen words now (daddy, Darcy, book, kitty, doggie, uh oh, duck, nonono, backpack as in Dora's backpack, weeeee! MOMMY and wow). You can also do the signs for more, milk and sleep. And you can do three of the animal actions from Eric Carle's Head to Toe book (seal, monkey and elephant). 

3. You LOVE your sister. A lot. Nothing makes you laugh harder than Sophie does. You mimic what she does - for example, Sophie's favorite bath toys are the foam letters that stick to the wall and now you spend your entire bath trying to stick letters to the wall, too. And you miss Sophie when she isn't around. You usually wake up before Sophie does so when it's time to go in and get her, you start squealing at the door. And if I, gawd forbid, try to leave you behind when I go into her room you throw a fit. And once we are in there, you stand at the crib and play with your big sis. 

4. One of your favorite toys is your sippy cup. You've figured out that if you hold it just so, liquid drips out which is then perfect for smacking/splashing/playing in. You also love to play the dropping game - you know, mommy hands you something, you throw it to the floor, you say "uh-oh" and laugh and laugh, mommy gives it back to you and it starts all over. That game. Another favorite? Mommy's iPhone. There is actually a game on there just for you that you LOVE and can play by yourself. 

5. When it's time for bed, you wave night-night to your dad and Sophie and do the sign for bed. As we are reading stories, you sign to me whether you want more stories, are ready to nurse or you want to get into bed. And once you are in bed, you either go right to sleep (no crying!) or you pop up and turn on your mobile or your aquarium "tv" to soothe yourself to sleep. Either way, you are generally pretty easy to get to sleep now. And once asleep? Joy of joys - you sleep through the night straight through to 6:30am. And you usually take two really good naps a day. What's the sign for "miracle"? And most of the time, when we come in to get you, you are sitting up, watching your tv, waiting for us. 

6. Sophie has introduced you to your dad's office chair and it's magical spinning capabilities. You love to march in there, climb up (with lots of help) and play peekaboo while you spin. Sophie always wants to spin you faster and faster but you are more than happy with a gentle turn and a "where's Clara" as you come into view. 

7. You think it's really fun to mimic mommy or daddy when we shake our heads. It's a total game to you. I shake, you shake, we both laugh, repeat. You also shake your head when you are in my arms and tired or unhappy. You put your face into my shoulder and shake, promptly covering my shirt in bananas/milk/snot/whatever. It seems to be strangely soothing to you. 

8. You are always putting stuff over your head/around your shoulders. It's part game of peekaboo, part practicing throwing and part "I'm done with this - get away!". You do this with food, clothes, towels, toys anything. The other day I went to change your diaper and found a toothbrush down your onesie. 

9. You don't take no well, especially now that you are mobile. If you want to go some where or play with something and we take it away, you are not pleased. There is lots of screaming and flailing involved. But mostly you are happy and funny and giggly. 

10. You are really good at entertaining yourself. You always have been, but it's more fun now that you can just crawl from toy to toy to get to what you want. You love to throw the toy cookies around. You love to hammer on the wooden pegs. You love the fishing puzzle - both using the magnet to fish the pieces out and to just flip the fishing pole around (even though you sometimes hit yourself in the face, you just keep at it). You love pressing the buttons on the cat keyboard. And you love making anything play music so you can rock out. But your favorite of all is the corner of the living room where we keep the puzzles - you always zoom right there and will stay busy for minutes!

And just some eye candy: