Lane at 11 Months

Dear Keebler Elf (our favorite nickname for you this particular week):

You are the goofiest pre-toddler alive.  Case-in-point:

you like the flash

You've sprung up since last month, growing EVEN LONGER.  You like this because it allows you to reach everything on the top shelves, top shelf of my dresser, top shelf of the bookcase, reaching up to the highest windowsills you can find, standing on your tip-toes and exploring anything above your head.  That's where we've been putting all the good stuff...small choking hazards and the like...which means we're starting to purchase wall shelves to raise things a couple more feet out of your lanky reach.  You're still skinny, kid, which makes you look long too.  When I hold you, your body covers my entire torso and half of my legs. A lot of people mistake you for being 1.5 because of your length alone.  It's crazy.  Other physical things to note: you are still sporting only two teeth and the longer hair on the back of your head is in curls (<3).

To say this has been another crazy developmental month is an understatement.  You pull up on everything, you've stood on your own for a few seconds, but don't know what to do with yourself, so prefer crawling, which has turned into knees-off-the-ground bear-crawling.  You wave bye-bye when prompted, you repeat ALL sounds, but haven't used them in context on your own yet.  So you've said uh-oh, ta-da, hi, byebye, up-up, but only after I've said it a few times.  Today in the store I whispered "wow" and you whispered it back.  It was darn cute.  You also cackle evilly (ha-ha-ha-ha).  You got that from your dad.

You point, wave, clap.  You look at the books when we're reading them to you and turn the page at the right time and feel all the texture shapes in "fuzzy yellow duckling" and pat the bunny in "pat the bunny".  You can follow simple instructions like "come here", "feet first" (to get off furniture) and, my favorite, "smile" which looks something like this:

You love breastfeeding and are not afraid who knows it.  You are obsessed with it.  Whoever said babies self-wean has clearly never contended with a baby like you.  When you see me, it's like Christmas on legs, and you can't unwrap the package fast enough.  I've been actively trying to distract you when you do this, or I'd end up "feeding" you over 15 times a day (and this is not an exaggeration), but a few weeks ago I fed you in IKEA while walking around because you couldn't understand why I was telling you no.  We are nearing the end of co-sleeping simply because a pacifier doesn't pacify you at all anymore, you ONLY want to breastfeed and it has to be ALL NIGHT.  Although just last week I decided to let you lead the weaning process, this week I'm thinking about actively setting some boundaries for daytime breastfeeding to try to tame the beast (i.e. you).  

Other foods are becoming popular too though.  You officially eat breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner.  You like blueberries, yogurt, cheese, applesauce, squash, pasta, carrots.  Oh, you love tofu.  You don't usually eat a lot, but you always eat some.

You have a sense of humor, and it's ridiculous and insane.  The funniest thing to you lately is looking at me really close in the middle of the night and laughing hysterically.  You like picking my nose, you think Zuko's nervous/excited barking is very, very funny.  Other things that make you laugh: being "chased" around the house, being naked, putting your feet in my face.  Sometimes you crack up when I just look at you, which is great.  You like to give "kisses" but this looks like a full on tackle with an open mouth, and usually ends with you biting.

Sleep is what it is - a constant struggle/surprise/frustration.  You wake between 7-8, take a nap from 10-11, take a nap from 3-4, and fall asleep between 8-9.  The night goes as it's been going since birth - down in your crib until midnight, then to bed with us.  After our vacation in a few weeks, this is going to change as the "to bed with us" has been meaning less and less sleep for us all.


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