Happy 11 Month Birthday, My Spring Flower!

This will be the last monthly update before my little baby turns a whole year old. Once again, I can't believe how quickly the time is going. This month was a rocky one as Little Miss always kept us guessing. Will she sleep through the night or wake up hourly? Is she teething, or just fussy? Did she get a cold or is it allergies? While she continues to play independently, she is acutely aware of where I am and often joins me to just check in. She demands to be picked up more and more and I've spent several nights cooking in the kitchen while wearing her on my back.
She's also becoming my little 'helper.' One day I was transferring clothes from the washer to the dryer when I noticed a diaper cover in the dryer. I inspected more closely and saw that my precious girl took the diaper cover off the drying rack and put it in the dryer. Once I realized she also wanted to be involved, I asked her to add socks to the dryer one at a time. It was painfully slow, but I realized that she understood everything that I was saying to her and could follow simple commands. 'Can you put this in the dryer?' 'Oops. You'll need to pick it up off the floor.' 'Try again.' It blows my mind how quickly her little brain is developing. My baby is becoming a toddler quicker than I'd like to admit.
Here's the month, by the numbers:

March
Weight- 24 lbs (fully clothed)
Clothes Size- 12 mos (really pushing it, will be in 18 mo soon)
#oz drunk/day- 4 6 oz bottles (we were able to drop the night bottle. Yay!)
# teeth- 7, there's been a lower front tooth at the surface the entire month. I'm shocked it hasn't come through. We're also seeing an increase in drool and teething activity and wonder of molars are on their way soon
Road Trips- 2, Memphis and Atlanta
Foods Tried- brussel sprouts, mandarin oranges, olives, greek yogurt, graham crackers, strawberries (she did NOT like), rice cakes
Favorite things- carrying her socks around the house, playing with sponges, actually petting the dog, being in Mommy's arms
New Skill- signing 'more' 'all done', making clicking noises with her tongue, checking the pocket in her bib for more food.
A few times I've also seen her stand unassisted for up to 10 seconds at a time. She isn't doing this intentionally and by no means do I think she'll be walking next month, but she is getting closer. (sob)
Biggest Challenge- determining what's wrong. We have a hard time distinguishing if she's upset because of teething, allergies, stomach troubles, or if she just wants us there for reassurance
Biggest Success- stacking all the rings on her stacking toy. I've moved her to a harder one, but she's not interested yet.
Sweetest Thing- We're trying to encourage Little Miss to use teething rings. She enjoys watching me bite them with my front teeth and thinks it's hilarious when I wiggle them up and down. I then transfer the teething ring to her mouth 'Lady and the Tramp' style. She chews on it for a few minutes, then holds it out for me to take in my mouth again, and repeat. She now brings the ring to me when she wants to play that game.
'Animal' Impersonation:
Vampire- Little Miss is getting very affectionate. She loves to 'kiss', but hasn't mastered puckering up yet. I get open mouth kisses on the cheek, nose and chin all day long. Sometimes they're a bit aggressive and teeth are involved, but I appreciate the sentiment. I call her a vampire only because she's so aggressive in her 'kissing' and uses her teeth frequently. She has yet to bite my neck though.

I couldn't resist also putting in this picture.  Check out that adorable button nose and those cheeks.  Strangers compliment us on her cheeks all the time.

 

I also loved this picture of her checking out the Velveteen Rabbit.  She's been taking pictures alongside the toy since one-month-old, and yet it was as if she only really discovered it.

This month I really made an effort to record things as the month went by, and I think I was able to capture more.  I can't wait to see what the next month brings.