Kate @ 11 months

Baby Kate is a whirlwind of joy. She turned 11 months old on July 3rd!

She loves to babble and will stick her tongue out quickly like a lizard making "labul-labul-labul" sounds over and over again.

Sometimes when she is babbling or talking to herself in her crib, she will randomly have fits of giggles. Apparently she finds herself very entertaining :) I love coming around the corner to find her reading to herself.

Kate is very interested in faces and loves to explore mouths. She will touch noses and try to pull on our teeth. Maybe she will be a dentist someday??

She is starting to reach out for us to hold her and pick her up (from her crib, from the floor, when she wants to change being held from one person to another). I absolutely love those little hands reaching for me! There is nothing better.

Kate started swim lessons in June with our friend Bay.

 The first lessons were a little more challenging as mommy practiced lifting Kate and setting her face down in the water gently so that she could learn how to hold her breath. Kate was such a trooper, but didn't like the cold! She much prefers the spa where we warm up after our lessons. It feels just like the bath!

Kate is a quiet observer and loves to figure out how things work. She is very repetitive and will watch where the sounds of things come from and look up at the spring of her bouncer to see how she is able to go up and down.

I love it when she discovers something new, or crawls over to the piano and plays under the piano bench, touching the underneath side of it or playing with the pedals and then looks at us for approval and smiles :) She seems to like to know that we're happy with her.
 

She is a tiny girl - already very petite. She eats great and LOVES food! But she must burn all the energy when she is crawling, because she is almost a year old and still only in size 2 shoes :) She is growing great and always seems happy, but is definitely on the smaller side for length and weight. We love our little girl!

 

Kate still sleeps through the night, going to bed at 8:30pm and waking up around 7am. Even while teething she has been an absolute doll! Our only complaint is the excessive drool ;)

Kate can pull herself up to a standing position when she is holding on to a chair or coffee table. She doesn't seem to have an interest in walking yet, but she LOVES to stand and has great balance!

Kate and Margo are best buddies. Margo will bring her toys over and Kate will pull on them or drag the rope side to side across the floor while Margo gently pulls on it. They are great at keeping each other entertained! Kate will LEAN over the edge of her high chair or peer over the side of the couch to see Margo. My favorite recent experience was when Kate got herself onto her tummy and reached her little hand over the edge of the couch cushion so that she could stretch her little fingers out to touch Margo. It is so cute!

Kate will smile and kick her legs when she is excited and sees someone or something she recognizes. She is starting to recognize voices too and will shriek with excitement when she hears a grandparent's voice, even if they haven't yet come into view.

 
She loves to play peek-a-boo and thinks it is GREAT when we say HI to her over and over again! She is learning how to wave and loves to shake her little hand at people.

Kate definitely likes to express her opinion and throws herself back if she is unhappy or not getting her way. It works out ok when she is strapped in her high chair or sitting on our laps, but I know one of these days she will throw herself back and get a surprise when there's nothing but carpet to catch her!

She is also getting into the stage of biting and pinching. I know she doesn't do it to be mean. She will grab for things (like our arms) and pinch as she opens and closes her fingers to feel. She has 6 teeth and seems to have a few more coming soon, so she loves to chew on anything that comes her way. Which includes our fingers or arms if they cross her path when she rolls around on our laps. We are gently teaching her "no" and will set her on the ground when she is being uncooperative, only resuming our meal time or activity once she has calmed down.

Kate makes us laugh every day! We love to hear her wake up from a nap and tap her pacifier against the crib or talk and giggle at her animals before we go in to see her.

She also scrunches her nose when she is smiling at us or REALLY likes something - like peaches!

Kate is not a thumb sucker, but she does LOVE her pacifier. She will pick it up and put it in her own mouth if she wakes up a little early in the morning and puts herself right back to sleep.

Her funniest noises are her growling  (we don't know where she got it from... maybe the dogs??), her gurgling and her Darth Vader breathing. She only does this occasionally. I think it's because she knows it makes us laugh :)

Fourth of July was great fun!

 
We spent time with friends and Aunt Beth was in town, so she and her bestie, Sarah, came with us to watch fireworks :)

 
Kate had earplugs in and didn't mind the fireworks at all. She stared in awe at them with her mouth partially open and even reached her outstretched hand to try and touch them a few times. We enjoy seeing her discover new parts of the world!

Only 2 weeks to go 'til our little girl turns 1!