Z's Eleventh Month!

Zara is so adorable at 11 months. She is talkative and participating more everyday (conversations/ helping/ expressing her opinion). She has also really exploring her goofy side. One night, she was sitting next to me and I had my legs ups & Z thought it was hilarious to keep pushing my legs away. She constantly pretends to hand things to us and takes it back right as we reach out. It is hilarious. I love this stage of discovering independence and play. It is hard to bring her anywhere now but I am so proud of her growing self -assurance and I love our developing relationship...

She loves to play at the mall but I really have to watch her. Some other kiddos like to try and take her away or knock her over:::

Eating leaves because everything goes into her mouth:::

Her room is always a mess in 3 minutes or less:::

Zara stays up with Jonas sometimes and he makes her a little bed on the floor with this pillow and some blankets from the living room. She tries to make the bed herself:::

Talking to everyone who passes by, especially if they have a dog! :::

She loves to brush her teeth( I think the toothpaste tastes like candy):::

Zara will eat ALL of the bread if you take her out:::

Moving walkways are her favorite:::

This photo is funny because Zara really did eat a cricket. Our cat has been finding them in the basement and bringing them upstairs. I cannot always see them on our hardwood floors, but I found the legs on Zara's face..EW!

She was very sick last week but she still smiled. I love her:::

One of her favorite books. She goes for it constantly. Her other favorite is "Babies love Halloween". We have read it so many times.."The full moon shines on...the pumpkin patch!":::

The only time I have ever seen her sit. She was tired:::

On election day she voted for pencils...I will have to tell her all about this election one day.

EAT
I have been a little sad this month because I have had to supplement with formula more than I would like. The month started okay- only supplementing one bottle(if that) per day. Now I only have about 8-9 oz. of breast milk per day(so, about 1.5 bottles). Since giving her more formula & having her away from me for part of the day, I have been completely out of it with her food schedule. It felt a bit out of my control, which I hate. It is getting better, I just feel like she got away from moving to solids. Or maybe sometimes babies just want more milk than other times. Or maybe I am way too obsessed with what my baby is eating. Probably that last thing. She still has 3 meals/ day (sometimes there is little interest) & about 15-20 oz. of milk per day. She always begins and ends her day with 5 oz. of milk.
Snacks- loves yogurt bites, puffs, crackers, bananas, cheese, yogurt and apples.
Go to dinners- rice and beans or buttered noodles.
She will still eat almost anything.

SLEEP
Things have been much better this month. Not perfect- there were plenty of nights with a 5am wake up call (or earlier..ouch). Lately she has slept past my alarm. On my days off she has been sleeping until 7:30/ 8.  Such a beautiful thing. Most days, she takes a late morning/ early afternoon nap and an early evening nap. Sometimes she takes one long nap in the middle of the day instead. We still don't have much of a bedtime routine. Z prefers throwing books to reading them & cuddling.. ha. She would rather crawl up and down the stairs (& she does). We just play until she gets the right amount of cranky and she falls asleep the second we pick her up. Also- the car works really well.


NEW

She is in constant motion. She never stops! She is EVERYWHERE. Our house is so messy from just a few hours of play. We have to sweep or vacuum every night. Jonas even bought a new mini dyson.

If you try to set her down she will make you lay her on the floor & give this look like "you really aren't going to leave me like this, are you?!" If you do not get the memo, she cries. Her favorite time to do this is when I am cooking. HA.

She is a wiggle worm and wont let you hold her while you sit down. Standing- that's ok...sometimes.

I cannot believe it- but she is not walking yet. She took her first step on 10/12 & a few more through the month. She can stand up, she can use her walker like a pro, her balance is great and she can stand for a while. She takes those successful steps towards us but she gets scared. Any day now (but do I REALLY want that? haha.)

Her hair is growing in such a funny way. She doesn't have at the top yet. The party is in the back.

She used to call Jonas "Papa" and now she just calls both of us "Mama" & she is thrilled when she see us :)

She shakes her head or puts it down if she does not want something you try to give her.

Sometimes when you tell her no she lays her head on the ground.

When she tilts her head to look at us..it is the best!

She is a social butterfly! She loves when people talk to her and she tries to get the attention of random people all the time. Also- waving is her thing.

She is wearing size 4 diapers & 6-12 month clothing with some 12-18 month in there too. I took her to the Dr. for a sick visit and I believe she was 21 pounds.

Speaking of her sick visit- she had a fever and an ear infection, a cough and a runny nose. She still has the last two but feels okay.

Teeth-I counted 8 (4 on top and 4 on bottom) with another two on top that I can see. It's hard to check, she freaks out.

Still so obsessed with water from a regular cup. & sticking her hands in it. She ruins my water every time.

We hold her a lot. & holding her close is the best.

She says "hello" to the phone or when Papa calls.

Zara is a peek a boo pro.

& she can (safely) get off of the couch now. Jonas also taught her to go down the stairs but that is still highly supervised. She can do it though!

Z loves the cat. She pats the bed or couch to get her to come toward her. Zara also loves to test her boundaries with Katze so she has had a few scratches. We try to show her 'gentle' but she is not interested.

I finally got her to give me kisses. Really, it is her moving her face towards mine, but she thinks it is a kiss. I will take it.

Sometimes she loves the bath. Sometimes she screams. There is no in between.

Getting her dressed is a constant challenge.

Dancing is a favorite activity. Z loves fun, upbeat music like Taylor Swift. It is a workout for me to lift her and spin with her, bounce with her and act SO excited.

Z likes when I crawl with her and we chase each other.

Z helps with chores- especially handing me things from the dish washer to put away or trying to sweep.

Her communication really improved this month. Whatever she is saying is obvious to her, but we have lots of baby babble conversations. Her expressions say a lot though.

Z reaches for things she wants and then finds a way to get them.

If Z doesn't clap at least 10 times/ day. Something is terribly wrong.

She says 'da' a lot.

She loves to play with the code rolodex at Kroger.

One of my favorites from this month are her kisses. I ask her for a kiss and she leans her head in. That's it, but I LOVE it.

Hey Z. You amaze me. I know you are only 11 months old, but I cannot believe you exist. That you were a helpless infant a short time ago and now you are doing (or trying to do) so many things on your own. There may have been countless people born before you and will be after, but you are a miracle to me.
I hope all the time that I am doing everything right because I always want to be best friends. I worry about you when I am at work, worry that I should be with you. I feel guilty when I am too tired to be completely engaged. I think it will get better in time. I pray it does! My point is- I care about you so much and I love you with my whole heart sweet love of mine.