Abby turns 11 months!!

Abby's turned 11 months old now, so with only one more month to go, soon my baby won't be a baby anymore.  Actually, she's not really a baby.  It's really funny seeing newborns or 3 month old babies, because Abby is so far removed from that now.

You could never tell she was recovering from a cold here.

First off, the biggest change I've seen in Abby this month, is her HAIR!  It's so long now.  Although, if I don't dress her in pink or put bows in her hair, I frequently get asked about my "son".  I guess I need to invest in more bows and clips.

This past month has been a busy one.  Celebrating the holidays took over this month, so we've been busy visiting family and friends, which has been awesome.  As I've mentioned, Abby has been a champ.  I don't know what D and I did, but we really lucked out in the easy going baby category.  Abby has been taking all our trips and adventures in stride.  She's been happy and entertaining and, more importantly, herself while we've been everywhere!

The one trick I was sure she'd have down by Christmas (and New Year's at the latest) was walking, but alas, Abby is not letting go.  She still cruises all along the furniture, and is standing more than she is crawling.  I love how she can pull herself up with the wall now and will use it occasionally to "hold on to" as she makes her way around the house.  As much as we encourage her and trick her into letting go and start walking, Abby usually comes crashing onto her diaper and starts crawling to wherever she wanted to go.  Although she hasn't "let go," Abby has become a much better stander.  I find her standing on her own, not holding onto anything, and I don't think even she realizes she's just standing there unsupported.  Abby has taken a couple of steps unaided too, but I wouldn't call it walking so much as falling with style.  As mentioned in my Christmas post (part 1), Abby loves walkers.  She took to the shopping cart with ease and we borrowed another walker toy from my nephew that she's been using around the house (we also walk to the garbage chute and to get the mail).  Gramma Di and Grampa Rob bought Abby some nice walking shoes for Christmas, so hopefully that will help her gain some balance and confidence.  For a girl who has been on the move since she was, what?, 3 months, she's taking her time gaining the confidence to start walking.  I imagine it's because she's preparing to run - forget this walking business, Abby has places to go!  So, I've given up predicting (I should really know better!), and have decided, she'll walk when she walks.

Verbally, Abby's begun mimicking.  She's beginning to repeat simple sounds back to you (pa pa, ba ba) and gestures (clapping, clicking the tongue).  I also think her word comprehension has expanded, as she's starting to understand a lot of what D and I tell her.  I must shake my head a lot, because out of the blue one day, Abby shook her head... in response to a question at that.  It shocked me.  Now she does it all the time, mostly to questions, but any question will do.  It's pretty funny.  Of course it gets D and I smiling and laughing, which means she does it more and so on.  I also think Abby understands a lot of what we say, and does whatever she wants.  I'm starting to notice a little twinkle of mischief in her eye.  For example, she'll pull herself up on the coffee table and there will be a phone or remote or something she knows she probably shouldn't be playing with.  She won't instantly grab it, but she'll look directly at me, smile, and then grab the object.  Or standing in the bath.  She knows that she is not allowed to stand in the bath, but she'll, very slowly (as if we can't see what you're doing, Abby!), get herself in position where she can pull herself up to a stand in the bath and then look you right in the eye and smile!  Sometimes she'll let out a squeal.  Which only makes it worse, as then D and I will start laughing.  Oh man.  I've got a little trouble-maker on my hand.  She really is Dustin's daughter!

Abby still isn't a cuddler, except when you read a book to her.  She's really good at turning pages and finding the flaps in any lift-the-flap book.  We have moved most of her books to under the coffee table (because we took down the shelves when we got new hardwood floors), and I will find her sitting with piles of books on her lap, turning the pages and lifting flaps all by herself.  Abby's pretty good about playing by herself.  She's begun to play the "take things out, put them back in" game.  So, we have a couple small blocks and buckets that we keep filling and emptying.  Abby love to bang and pound on things as well.  I think it's because she likes to hear what sounds different objects make.  She was given a little piano for Christmas from Great-Aunt Betty and she really likes playing (pounding) on that.  I love watching her play, because the same toys she's had since she was little are now being played with in an entirely different way.  It's fun to watch her figure things out and adapt.  Abby has also become a little dancer - she's got the cutest butt wiggle, knee drop move.

Our little Abby is still an amazing eater.  I don't know where she puts all the food she eats.  Her top two teeth have finally come through, not that she wasn't eating well without them.  She was pretty cranky while the teeth popped out (we can always tell, as something is just off when she doesn't feel great).  Abby was finally letting Mom and Dad get more sleep at night, when she started to teethe, and then that was over, and we were back to getting 8h at night, when she got hit with a horrible cold.  She still has it and to date, it's the worst cold she's had.  She ran a fever and has had a runny nose and cough.  We knew something was wrong when one day all she wanted to do was cuddle with D or I.  But, after a couple of days of snuggling, she was back to her happy self.

Clapping

Next step, is planning a birthday party for our little girl.  I can't believe she's almost 1!  I can't believe I've managed a year on little to no sleep and I'm still smiling!