11 Months

Madelyn is getting to be such a big girl!  I can't believe she is almost one year old!  Each month brings a whole new kind of fun because she changes so much! 

Here's what Maddie is up to (as of her 11 month birthday):

• wearing size 3 diapers
• wearing 6-9 month clothing and size 3 shoes
•  She is very good at standing on her own and can stand for long periods of time.  She can even squat to pick up a toy and stand back up on her own.  She can go from standing to a sitting position easily.
• She is a little mover!  If she is awake, she is on the go.  She even kicks her legs a mile a minute while she is in her high chair. 
• She loves being outside.  We take a walk at least once a day and will often take a blanket outside to sit on while we play.  She also likes sitting on the front porch to blow bubbles or going to get the mail.  She also loves going on jogs with Daddy.
• Maddie likes Hershey.  She loves when he wants to play with her.  She will hold up one of his toys and he will nose around at it and eventually get it.  She thinks that is so funny and she will just laugh and laugh.  She thinks it is funny when he wags her tail in her face.
• Madelyn still enjoys books a lot but doesn't sit still long enough for us to read one to her most of the time.  She just wants to turn the pages and look at them on her own.  Occassionally she will hold up a book to one of us and ask us to read it to her.
• She laughs when she gets powder put on her bootie during a diaper change.  Daddy makes her laugh even more by saying, "Bootie, bootie, bootie, bootie!"
• Maddie's eating habits have changed this month.  Due to her getting teeth, we are starting to wean her from nursing.  She is down to nursing at only breakfast and dinner; she is offered a cup of milk instead at lunch and snack times.  She has done great with transitioning to a sippy cup.  I know she is not drinking as much milk as she was, but I think she is making up for it with her meals and snacks.  However, she is starting to be somewhat of a picky eater.  (Wonder where she gets that from?)  She doesn't like meat, except turkey lunch meat.  I'm assuming it is the texture.  She doesn't like green beans--which we eat a lot of in our house so she better start liking them!  Some of favorites are yogurt, fruit, cottage cheese, broccoli, cheese, bread, and corn. 
• Maddie has 4 teeth--2 on the top and 2 on the bottom.  She is working on getting another tooth on the bottom.  Her little gum is white, but the tooth hasn't popped out yet.
• She is taking some steps on her own.  She will take 4-6 steps to one of us, but she has to get her balance first.  She gets so excited that she will take off running before she has her balance and end up falling.  During the past week or so, she has gotten brave enough to take 1-2 steps towards the couch, coffee table, or to a toy she wants.  She is a little more slow and deliberate with these steps so she tends to do pretty good.
• She is still taking 2 naps--one in the morning and one in the afternoon.  She naps for about an hour in the morning and around 1 1/2 hours in the afternoon.  I am able to lay her down, turn on her Sleep Sheep, and rub her back while she goes to sleep.  She may cry just a little bit, but she does a good job most of the time.  We are so proud of her!
• Nighttime sleep habits have also gotten a little better.  We have started laying her down instead of rocking her to put her to bed.  Although she does really well with this method at nap time, she still has some resistance to it at night.  She cries more, but usually settles down within a few minutes.  I rub her back, turn on Sleep Sheep and usually end up singing "Jesus Loves Me" while she falls asleep.  For the past week or so, she has been sleeping almost all night, usually only getting up once.  We even had a couple nights where she has slept all night long.
• Madelyn found out she is going to be a big sister!
• New words she can say are:  "milk" but it sounds like "mamamama", she is now using "I'm done" to mean "I'm hungry" and "I'm finished eating" which can get a little confusing, and  "okay"  
• She understands the word "no" and will sometimes stop what she is doing.  Other times, she thinks it is funny when we tell her no so she will laugh and keep doing it.  What a little stinker!
• She makes a motorboat noise when she gets mad or is not getting her way. 
• Maddie goes back to the doctor next month for her 1 year check up.

Sweet smile!



Wild child!

I'm a big girl!