11 MONTHS OLD!

11 Month Sticker

Milestones:

Five teeth, running or at least speed walking

Likes:

Bananas! Actually, Violet hasn't met a food she doesn't like (except maybe broccoli).  Dancing!!! Chewing on her toothbrush Brushing her teeth...I have to literally pry her toothbrush out of her chubby little hand.  And she loves to play and read books.  She will pick out a book and walk over to me and sit in my lap so I can read it to her.  She especially loves flipping the flaps in Where Is Baby's Pumpkin?

Dislikes:

Being told no and when I close the refrigerator door or laundry room (aka Neil's room) door.  Anytime either the fridge or the laundry room door is open, she makes a mad dash for it.  She's quick, too!  I usually close it just in time, which results in her slamming her hands on the door and slowly sliding her body to the ground while saying, "WAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Life now-a-days:

I bring Violet in the shower with me in the morning.  (Before I couldn't shower until she took her nap, which was like noon or later.  Yuck.)  She has about a dozen bath toys that she talks to.  Her baby language has really evolved.  It's not just the same sounds repeated over again.  It's more like Elvish.  Which means she's probably a LOTR fan and doesn't even know it yet!

Diaper changes are no longer awful!  For months changing her diaper was like trying to wrestle an angry alligator.  But no more!

Violet doesn't have a specific bedtime.  It all depends on what time she wakes up in the morning and how long her afternoon nap is.  If she's awake when we eat dinner though, she sits in her highchair and eats with us, usually whatever we're having.  She loves trying new foods and there is a constant, "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..." and sometimes a "nom nom nom" while she eats.  It's pretty adorable.

I really feel so blessed to have such a smart, sweet, silly, beautiful, cunning little angel baby.

IT'S FALL Y'ALL

This wreath is now available on Etsy.  Use the coupon code ITSFALLYALL for 20% off!

Man, I am excited it's fall.  Bring on the pumpkin flavored foods!  October really is the absolute best weather in southern Louisiana.  And I'm not sure what it is, but something about fall really, really makes me want to make arts and crafts.  Violet's a little young this year, but you can bet your britches, I'm gonna be dipping her little fingers and toes in some paint this time next year.  I mean just look at those little fingers.

Violet has been grasping a lot of new concepts this week.  Her motor skills and hand-eye coordination have really been improving.  She no longer walks like a zombie with her arms flailing in the air to help her balance. She can easily grasp tiny objects on the first attempt.  And her cognitive skills are really improving, too.  She'll hide from us behind the curtains.  When we say, "Where is Violet?" she will kick her leg out from behind the curtain as if to give us a hint.

As a result of this new mental leap, as they call it, the wild really came out in my child this past week.  Violet has never been what I would call a champion sleeper.  I still wake up a few times at night to nurse her, which I hear is not completely uncommon for exclusively breastfed babies.  And honestly, I don't mind, because usually she drifts right on back to slumberland after nursing.  The past two nights are a different story entirely.  Sunday night was the worst; she was wide awake from 2 a.m. until 5 a.m.  She was a maniac.  After a couple of hours of shushing, rocking, swaying, nursing, singing, and just trying to hold her while she attempted to rip my eyelids off, I turned the lights on and just let her play.  That might have been a huge parenting mistake.  We'll see.

Don't they look like just a couple of buddies sharing secrets?

I know this is just a phase, hopefully one that's already over.  But in case it's not, we are currently accepting prayers for sleep filled nights and naps.

LIKE A KITTEN IN MITTENS

As soon as Violet learned to walk, I bought her some shoes.  And as expected, she only liked putting them in her mouth, not on her feet.  In fact, as soon as I put the shoes on her feet, she looked up at me like uh, Mom, these don't belong here and tried to kick them off.  It took a while to even get her to stand up in them.  When she finally started to walk, it was definitely awkward for her.  She had her arms stretched out like a zombie and she took slow, high steps.  If you've ever seen a cat walk while wearing socks, well, that's exactly what she looked like.  

Typically when we go places, I wear Violet in a Baby Bjorn.  I've been wearing her since practically day one, so she finds comfort in it, and it usually calms her down if she's fussy.  Until last week, that is, when she grunted, strained, and thrashed around like a ferrel cat.  She was clearly trying to tell me to put her down, but since she was barefoot, I was not about to let her roam around a store like some hill billy.  However, it was definitely my sign that she needed to practice walking in shoes.    

Pediped Shoes

So this past weekend, we took her outside to practice.  Annnddd she lasted about 10 seconds before she became fascinated with the grass and all the new things she could taste.

And because I felt you might need a visual of a "kitten in mittens," we put some mittens on Neil, Neil volunteered to help illustrate it. 

MISS INDEPENDENT

Being a stay-at-home mom is seriously the hardest, most demanding job I've ever had.  Though I've never had to perform an amputation in the middle of a war zone, I have taught public high school in inner city New Orleans, so I do have some experience with a stressful work environment.  For the first 9 1/2 months of Violet's life, she demanded 100% of my attention 100% of the time.  I read a lot books.  I played music.  We danced.  I talked in stupid silly voices.  We would go for walks when it wasn't below freezing (thanks coldest winter in history) or three thousand degrees out.  And basically everything else you might normally do in your day, except it took around thirty-seven times longer to do because I had her in one arm.  To some people I might sound like a lady of leisure, but I also nursed her 6+ times a day, changed her diaper at least 8 times (I don't even want to talk poop stories), barely got to take a shower until she started taking longer naps, and often realized I walked around all day with baby vomit on my shoulder without even realizing it.  And y'all, baby vomit smells. 

Then she learned to walk, and life as I knew it became intensely easier. 

Now-a-days Violet practically runs from room to room, behind the couch, around the table, in her room, in my room, in the bathroom, in the closet.  She never stays in one place long.  She's like a nomad.

She definitely gets into things.  As you can see above, she's caught red-handed (not that she cares) breaking into the spice cabinet.  She's quick to let us know what we need to baby proof.  

The best part about this age is Violet is playing independently.  Her current favorite toys are her fox, Playskool Busy Gears, O Happy Day Play-a-Song book, LeapFrog Sing and Play Farm, and her Fischer-Price Musical Activity Walker that she doesn't actually walk with, but loves pressing the buttons to hear the music.  The girl LOVES to dance.  When any music is playing, I sing her a song, or Jon plays his guitar for her, she dances.  I even see her bobbing her head in the car when we listen to her Sunday School Sing-Along CD.  Talk about adorable.

For me, her new independence means I don't have to rush to prepare dinner while she's napping.  It may not sound like much, but when you've had as much red beans and rice as we've had, you definitely appreciate a little variety in the dinner menu.

We are desperate for some fall weather so we can go outside more!  Goodbye and good riddance, summer!!!!!

LABOR DAY WEEKEND

Our Labor Day weekend consisted mostly of naps and scratching things off our honey do list.  We finally hung up our family growth ruler in the kitchen.  (I've also added it to our Etsy shop.)  Now we just have to get Violet to stand still so we can mark her height.

Wooden Growth Chart Ruler 

We also took a little day trip to see some family.  Violet has been doing impressively well in her carseat this past week.  I've been putting her little stuffed animal fox in her lap and she pets its little face while we drive.  Cutest. Thing. Ever.  The first time she laid eyes on that thing, she was all giggles, so obviously we had to get it for her.  I'm not positive, but I think she thinks it's a cat, which definitely would explain her fondness of it.  She also loves her little pink cat, dubbed Cuddles Kitten, because it's easy to carry while she's walking.

It was so nice having Jon off an extra day.  Violet adores him and the extra pair of hands definitely makes the day go a little smoother.  I'm sad the three day weekend has ended, but fall is just around the corner which means Violet's birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year are all going to be here before you know it!