Dear Kaitlyn: Eleven Months

Dear Kaitlyn,

Every day you seem to grow, in body and in mind. It's so fun to see you discover and learn, and I love hearing your teachers tell me about the new words you've said or the new things you've tried.

You had a big change this month as you transitioned to the older infant classroom with your friend Duncan. Sadly your friend Anna wouldn't be transitioning for another month or so. At first, you weren't thrilled about the change of environment, friends, and teachers, but you adjusted! After about 6 days in the new classroom, you weren't upset anymore when I put you down (and often you were crawling away to play before I even set you down!). I know transitions like these aren't easy for you, and they're hard for me too! I was really happy to see you begin to like your new room.

You are so curious and love to explore. I don't recall you sitting still much — you are far more inclined to jump into the action and/or ask "Wa dat?!"

Our photo shoot was a interesting time, and your expressions crack us up. You are such a funny little girl, and you make Daddy and me laugh until our cheeks hurt!

We tried to have you hold a book to keep you from attacking the blocks immediately. You licked it. Of course! :)

I think we were all a little tired at the end of our 11-month photo session. Your expression in this picture says it all!

The older you get, the more fun we've had taking family adventures together. We took a big adventure this month and flew to Kansas so you could see and meet Daddy's side of the family. You and Grandma Kathy were happy to be reunited! You were much smaller the last time you two were together.

You met Great Grandpa Merle and Great Grandma Pat for the first time — they got such a kick out of you!

You also met 7 cousins, of which you are the youngest. Seven! You had fun playing with all of the kids, and you loved to watch the older kids do neat things and run around. Here you are with Tyler and Ryan in Grandma Kathy's backyard.

You love your Grandma Kathy, too! You two looked so cute playing in the backyard.

Sleeping: The usual. You sleep!! For the most part, you still go to bed around 7:30, and you usually wake up between 6:30 and 7:30 on the weekends. We still wake you up around 6:45 for school. You still take two naps, usually just under an hour each. At school you started having a little bit of a hard time sleeping in the young infants classroom. Once you transitioned to the older infants classroom, however, you were back! They have set naps times for all of the kids, so I think you appreciated the quiet in the room.

Eating: You're still adventurous with eating, and you are usually willing to try most things. We try to share foods with you if we're eating out or at an event. You are ga-ga for fruit, and you have a serious love for summer fruits in particular. Watermelon, cantaloupe, blueberries, and strawberries are your favs. You also really enjoy tomatoes, which were new this month. I made a couple of yummy quinoa salads for you that you and I both enjoyed together!

Stats: You don't go to the pediatrician until 12 months, so I'm not sure of your height and weight stats. I do know that you look older all the time! You are in size 3 diapers, and you wear primarily 12 months or 12-18 months in clothes. We've started dressing you in more shirts rather than onesies (you don't like to lay on your back, so onesies are too hard to get on you!), which makes you look more grown up too.

You're up to a grand total of 3 teeth: two front bottom teeth and one upper tooth. We have our eye out for the other top center tooth, and I suspect it's on its way!

Firsts/Milestones: There are so many to talk about this month! You took your first flight...and three more to follow. You did very well on all of the flights! and people gave us kudos and we de-boarded the plane — Daddy and I thought that was pretty funny!

We must have had just the right mix of snacks, toys, and nap-inducing bottles.

As I previously mentioned, you transitioned to your new classroom this month. In your new classroom, you have a lot more group play and organized activities. You also all eat around a table together at the same time for breakfast, lunch, and snack (it's adorable!).

This summer at school you have "Sprinkler Day" once a week, and you L-O-V-E it. Your teachers tell me that you love to put your face right into the sprinkler, and you pick it up to splash your friends. You also like to splash around in a little kiddie pool that we have for you. It seems like you are a water-loving baby so far!

You brush your own teeth in the tub. I love it!

You had your first Fourth of July, and we had some family fun outside. We walked up to Franklin Square Park, and you loved watching all of the people there.

You went to sleep close to your usual bedtime, and I was surprised that the fireworks didn't wake you up (despite the fact that there were multiple shows going on around our house).

We had some other fun adventures this month, including another trip to the Art Museum. We see a lot of art around our neighborhood too, so you're getting it in all varieties!

You went to your second Phillies game, and Grandma and Grandpa came with us. It was beautiful weather, and you liked seeing all of the people and making friends. 

Likes/Dislikes: This was the month of BOOKS. You barely touched your toys it seemed, and you just wanted to flip through all of your books. I would say that your favorite book this month was Peek-A-Who? When we read it to you, you would actually start to giggle in anticipation of us turning the page. Adorable! You also loved your Touch & Feel Farm Animals book and the small board books (about the size of your hand).

Sometimes I would hear you and Daddy playing, and he would sing you a remix of all of your books, written into one fun song. I think you loved it! You also have a "Look & Find" book that is very large, and you love to look at everything on the pages and turn from one to the next.

You love to play "tag" with your friends at school. Your teachers have told me that you and your friends start the games on your own with one person chasing the other. Then, all of a sudden you turn the tables and switch the chaser and the chasee. The fact that you're giggling and shrieking all the way makes it even more cute!

You love music and dancing. You have a couple of toys that play music. When you make the music play, you look over to us to see if we're dancing (and we usually are!) — and then you start to bob and dance. Some evenings we have dance parties, and we'll all dance and sing. You love to play with instruments at school, and you have a little guitar at home that you like to strum.

You love to stand up and feel independent. You gravitate towards anything that you can hold onto and cruise along. You get a kick out of sitting on your own too, either in an adult chair or in a little chair that's more your size (Grandma got you a cute Adirondack chair, and Great Grandma got you a little folding/camping chair for the beach).

You love to chat. You constantly ask what things are, and it seems that you just want us to call out the names of things over and over. Sometimes it seems like you're trying your hardest to absorb all that we're saying.

You are still not a fan of diaper changes because you have no desire to lay on your back. If you're feeling especially adamant, you'll grab onto the corner of the changing pad and try to flip yourself over.
teething. You don't seem to be a huge fan of teething either, but who would be? All in all, you're hanging in there with it.

We are having so much fun with you, my sweet girl. We are constantly grateful for how much joy and laughter you have brought to us.

Dear Kaitlyn: Ten Months

Dear Katy,

You are growing so fast and changing so much these days. Every day your Daddy and I have a moment where we say what an amazing little person you are! You continue to make people smile, whether it's us at home, your teachers and friends at school, or your many adoring relatives. As always, thank you for the continued gift of joy that you bring to our lives.

This month was very special for me because I got to celebrate my first Mother's Day with you. It felt so different to not just be honoring other mothers, but to actually be one myself this year. And you are the reason, my sweet girl!

We had a fun time at Great Grandma's (aka GG) house...four generation of ladies!

I love seeing how you make your Grandma and GG smile and laugh! You were cracking up the whole crowd at the dinner table — your laugh is infectious!

You continue to thrive at school, and you love playing with your best friends, Duncan and Anna. They call you three "The Breakfast Club" because you all get there early, when the school is still pretty much empty. Your teacher says that you're "in charge" in the classroom and often initiate activities/games with the other babies. You even take the time to engage the younger babies who aren't yet mobile — you bring them a ball, try to make them smile, etc. I love hearing stories about how engaging and interactive you are. And it's especially fun to see you giggle with your friends! It's amazing what a bond you have formed with them.

You pretty much want to be standing or active most of the time. You're content to hang out in your stroller as long as we're moving, but you have little desire to sit back and watch the world go by! When we're out in the city, you look at passersby and smile and wave.

Sleeping: You still get nearly 12 hours per night, from around 7-7:30pm to anywhere between 6:30-8am. Lately, you have been struggling to get two solid naps at school. I think all of the action going on around you keeps you up. There are some days where you'll only nap for a total of 30 minutes!

You love to snuggle once you fall asleep, and we love it too! It's not uncommon for me to come home from my Wednesday night kickboxing class to find you and Daddy sleeping in the chair in your room. It's adorable!

Eating: You continue to love eating, and you're very open to trying just about anything! You eat all of the lunch options now at school, and you have most of the breakfast options too (the only thing you're not eating that they serve is bowls of cereal).

For dinner, you'll often eat what we are eating (chicken breast, pasta, rice, sweet potato, salmon, meatballs). On nights where I don't cook a "formal" dinner, you'll have things like scrambled eggs, veggie burgers, and grilled cheese. You don't seem to mind!

You LOVE fruit, particularly summer fruit! You gobble up strawberries, blueberries, watermelon, bananas, and cantaloupe.

You have about 6 4-6 oz. bottles a day, sometimes only 5. You really love your morning and pre-bed bottles, but the others you seem somewhat indifferent about.

Stats: You are still in size 3 diapers, and you wear mostly 9-12 months in clothes. You've been wearing shoes more since you love to walk around. You look so grown up lately! I'm not sure of your height/weight at this point — your next pediatrician appointment isn't until you're 1. (Side note: I can't believe you're almost 1!)

You now have your two center bottom teeth, and you're cutting one of your upper front teeth. I can't see the tooth yet, but I can see the red, sore line where the tooth is going to poke through. You poor girl!

Firsts/Milestones: You had your first overnight away from home without us there with you! We dropped you off with Grandma and Grandpa, and we went out to celebrate our 2nd anniversary. We had such a nice time, but we missed you a ton! We are told you had a great time and did wonderfully. I think you're starting to really like hanging with G&G! And you love Jack, their dog.

You took your first trip to the zoo this month! My company sponsored a work event on a Friday after work, so we enjoyed an evening stroll through the zoo. It was a little late in the day for you to be totally alert, but I think you still enjoyed yourself and the nice weather.

You weren't too interested in some of the animals/displays (e.g., the giant giraffes who were moseying right in front of us). You did, however, enjoy watching the lions/tigers, otters, and monkeys.

(In the picture above, you're applauding the otters — it was adorable!)

You even came face-to-face with a duck and you were so intrigued by him! I think you would have pet the duck if we let you get close enough.

Likes/Dislikes: You love playing so much. You have lots of toys that make music, and you often break into a dance when the music starts. You usually will look to us to see if we're dancing too, and if we are, then you go all out!

You have a little pink guitar that you like strumming — we love to see you explore music! You have such a fun time when you're allowed to explore, so we try to let you do that as much as possible.

You also tend to turn everything into a drum: the wipes box, an old sherbet container, a basket, an empty canister, etc. Anything will do!

You love seeing your friends at school, and it makes me so happy that you get so excited when we arrive. Some days, you'll see your friend Anna and squeal!

You love your toothbrush! I think at the moment it's doubling as a teething ring, but you always grab for it as soon as you get into the bathtub. It's pretty cute to see you hold it and put it into your mouth — it makes you look so grown up!

As for dislikes, you're no longer a fan of laying on your back for diaper changes. You desperately wish to roll over and crawl as soon as we lay you down. Needless to say, diaper changes have become very interesting! :) You've started to really dislike having your nails cut. For so long, you really didn't care one way or another; now, you would think I was clipping the ends of your fingers off! I try to reserve this fun activity for times when you're not overly tired.