11 Months!!!

This past month has flown by. Our baby girl is 11 months old. I am in deep preparation for her first birthday. I know some people do small family gatherings but since my family is not even close to being a small group, we don't do things small. So, the party planning has begun! It is sure to be a big hit.

Haisley is crawling like a champ and starting to balance standing up without bracing herself. No attempts at walking yet but she can go from one object to another with ease. She loves to pull up on anything she can get her hands on and, of course, puts everything in her mouth. Who knew shoes, my loofah and the dog's toys tasted so good! Wait, am I talking about Avery or Haisley :)?

Her teeth are really giving us a run for our money. I swear she wakes up with another tooth once a week. She has her bottom two, top two and she's working on the top two next to the front ones. This can cause a bit of an issue when it comes to nursing. She's bit me a couple of times accidentally. I, of course, yell and she looks up at me with this face that says, "Mommy, what's wrong? I'm teething and don't think I'm not going to bite down on you since I bite down on everything else. Why the exception?" I think my boobs are made of steel these days so it doesn't hurt as bad as you think it would. Sorry for the details but it's my life :).

She's still sleeping wonderfully as long as she's at home in her crib, the lights turned out, her heart sound machine on, the oscillating fan blowing ever so briskly, paci in mouth and blankie wrapped around her arm. You get the drift. Basically, a perfect scenario. So, this does cause a problem when we travel and she's supposed to be napping in her car seat, in her pack 'n' play in a strange new room or in our arms at a loud event. And when Haisley doesn't get one of her naps, she's pretty much cranky, scared, timid and all around tired but can't sleep. So, if you want to see how Haisley really is which is the perfect baby, come on over to our humble abode :).

I'm still making organic pureed foods for her. This month we've added pineapples, corn, cherries, whole wheat bread and more types of baby teething crackers. She is such a great eater. When I move the spoon towards her mouth she opens wide and swallows. My dad says she's like a little bird that opens its mouth for the mama bird to drop in a worm. It is quite the metaphor and explains it completely. She isn't messy at all which is great! She loves her sippy cup with apple juice and can take from a water bottle pretty well now too, if necessary.

We do a lot of playing these days. She loves to play ball, play catch with Avery, play the drums, grab balls out of her ball blowing machine and put them back in, open and close her play piggy bank and push, pull and touch every part of her play table. She finally enjoys her walker I bought a few months ago. I put her in it once every couple of days so I can get something done in the kitchen. She can walk around on the tile but the carpet is a challenge. She has learned a few new things this month. You can ask her where her tongue is and she sticks it in and out over and over. So cute! I can ask her where things are like if we see a bird she'll point to it and tries to talk. She says "dah" for doggy when she wants Avery to play fetch with her. She gives kisses (on the cheek since I'm a germaphobe). She has started crawling up to me when I'm sitting on the floor and resting her head on my shoulder when she's tired. I'll ask her if she's tired and she will grab her little ear which is her sign for naptime. She signs "no" when she's going towards something she's not supposed to be in. Now if I can just figure out how to get her to actually not touch something I want her to we'll be in business! She loves flowers, leaves, the grass, anything outside that moves or is brightly colored.

She is our angel sent from Heaven. What can I say? She's absolutely everything we asked for and more! Happy 11 month birthday, Haisley!

Bathtime is one of her favorite things to do!

This video shows her during playtime going from one thing to another and one of the new things she's learned this month. You ask her where her tongue is, well, you'll see.

We went to a FW Cats game with a mother's support/Biblical knowledge group I attend. It was so much fun! We highly recommend it.


This is Lisa, my mentor, from the Preparation for Parenting month-long class we took when I was pregnant. She spent several hours on the phone with me and wrote several novel emails to me when I was upset, confused, frustrated, needing guidance, on all of those first wonderful but exhausting first months when Haisley was born. She is a God-send! Thanks Lisa for all of the prayers you sent our way! We survived!

I just thought this picture shows what she does best, try and get my attention every moment. Avery's always looking to her to see what food she will drop her way or when she'll give her a minute of her time to play or let her lick to death!

Avery goes to this window often in a day's time to bark or look at our neighbors passing by. Haisley has followed suit and crawls up to the window to see what all of the ruckus is about.

This is nanny, my grandma, Haisley's great-grandma. Nanny, you are my biggest blog fan. I love you and wish I had more pictures of you to put on here. You do not know what it means to me to know how much you love my daughter and want to know every detail of her life.

This is Gigi, Haisley's great-great grandmother, who celebrated her 90th birthday a couple of weeks ago. We went home to bring in another year with her. She had 11 children and nursed 9 of the 11 for 9 months each. My grandpa is the oldest of all 11. She is my hero!

I talk about playgroup that we attend Thursdays but don't get to capture all of the kids on camera very often. Another boy was off camera so I almost got all of them together. As you can see, Haisley is the only girl of the bunch so far. Two of the moms are pregnant and both don't know what they're having yet so maybe there's a girl in the near future for Haisley to relate to. For now, she does pretty well hanging with the boys!

This video is of Haisley walking in her walker. She can go really fast. You have to watch out because she'll take out your feet and it hurts really bad!

Priceless!

This is Haven, my niece, on the right. She is 18 months old. Haisley and her finally were able to play together now that Haisley's getting older. We had a blast when they visited.

Justin and Haisley with PeePaw (my dad) and Haven strolling at the park. So cute!

She's still not a fan of the swing, but I'll keep trying!

We couldn't resist giving the cousins a bath together. Definitely going in the baby book!