The last 'month' post

This is it...the last "Kelsey is X months old" post. The next blog entry for her will be her 1st birthday! I can't believe how fast this past year has gone. Seems like just yesterday we were painting her room, washing tiny baby clothes, getting the car seat installed and prepping big brother for the arrival of a new baby. I remember trying to rock Kyle to sleep (we don't do that anymore either!) and both of us ending up frustrated because I had no lap for him to sit on! I also remember playing with him on the floor and not being able to get back up without help.

To look at Kelsey today, I am just amazed at how much she has grown, how much she has learned and how much WE have all learned from her. She is pure joy and laughter and we all love her beyond belief--even her brother. He lights up when she laughs and shows great concern when she cries, especially when he is the reason for her crying.

Enough for now--I'll save the really sappy stuff for next month :-)

Here are the token pictures from yesterday--her 11 month birthday!

This girl loves her baths! And Kyle's baths too, for that matter. When she hears the water running, she starts hyper-ventilating and takes off to the bathroom. It is impossible to keep her out of there when Kyle is in the bath. She loves nothing more than to splash and get mommy wet.

And this is what I deal with every diaper change. It is quite a physical struggle to get her dressed these days. She has the 'alligator roll' mastered. Her changing table is under her window, so she flips over and pulls up so she can look out the window and smack the plastic that is still covering the window (it's still cold in MI, remember?!). I have gotten really good at getting her dressed while she is standing, with her back to me.

As my friend SJ in LV would say "that duck just keeps getting smaller"! Because it is impossible that the baby is getting bigger.

This is her favorite toy, by far. Kyle got this Learning House when he was a year old. I think she has played with it more already than he did in 2 years! She loves to open and close the window and mailbox, crawl back and forth through the door and she learned how to work the 'radio' now so she can play songs and dance. And she loves for other people to play peek-a-boo with her in this house.

Who needs a proper ride-on toy? Kelsey makes do with what she has. Luckily Kyle didn't see her riding his tow truck!

In other "what is she doing now" news...she crawls lightening fast, pulls up on everything, cruises the furniture and is starting to explore climbing (over things and up stairs). She doens't really have any interest in walking yet. She doesn't stand unsupported and won't let go when she pulls herself up. She also is not a fan of walking while holding our hands. But she does walk behind her push toys, so she is working on it in her own way.

She *still* has only 2 teeth. I'm sure we'll see another one or 2 pop through someday! Having only 2 teeth doesn't stop her from eating like a champ though. You can't shovel the baby food in fast enough and she loves her snacks like Puffs and Cheerios. She is also willing to try anything I give her: bananas, avocados, black beans, pasta, chicken...and goodies, of course. She is in heaven when she gets a couple bites of chocolate pudding or graham cracker.

She loves to point, especially at pictures of babies and kids. And she points at her brother a lot too. She babbles constantly but isn't saying anything we recognize as real words yet, except the occasional mama or dada or go-go. She does open up and say "ahhh" when asked, which makes it helpful to see when she has stuck yet another piece of paper in her mouth.

They have been teaching the kids some sign language at daycare and she seems to recognize the sign for 'more' but doesn't sign back to us. She just gets a really big smile when we do the sign for her.

Her stranger anxiety is still as strong as ever and she is a definite mama's girl. But I'll take all the cuddles I can get for now. I'm sure there will come a day where she doesn't want anything to do with us!