Ten & Eleven Months

I haven't done very well with the Ten & Eleven month sticker pictures.  I keep trying to do it at the end of the day when all Clara wants to do is read books, eat and be held.  The last thing she wants to do is still and smile!  Then I take the sticker and set it aside somewhere, thinking I'll do better the next morning.  And there it sits until it's time to do the next set of pictures.  Here's ten months.  Some of them are actually decent, if we'd framed them better.

From 9-10 months Clara had a new trick every day it seemed.  She is really busy and has a lot of love to give.  I really am doing her a disservice by not doing these things on time, because even one month later it turns into The Blur.  We started out the month with Easter.  During the month Clara got her first taste of Lexington BBQ and played in the sand for the first time.  She can say "Bye Bye" and wave!  Her first word!

Some of the eleven month pictures are hilarious.  Well, to me.  You see, I've learned that things that I think (or any mom thinks) are hilarious when it comes to their own child are not even mildly funny when it comes to the children of others.

The sunglasses hide the fact that she is completely hysterical.

Well, kind of.  You can see it here.

It really looks like something is terribly wrong.  It's not.

Everything gets better when she has Snap.

Sassy.

OK, now we're talking!  This is after I had given up and gotten her dressed for school.

From months ten to eleven Clara started to initiate peek-a-boo, discovered her absolute love for blueberries, grew even more attached to Snap the Alligator, learned to do "Soo Big!" and "Touchdown!", she speed crawls and is into absolutely everything.  There are a few signs of walking, but I think it will be more like 13 months before she walks anywhere with a purpose.  Her favorite toys are Snap, the pantry and any cabinet she can get into when you are not looking.  It is exhausting keeping up after her, but it is also sweet and hilarious.  She talks nonstop.  She is really eating everything we eat, minus any dairy.  We are going to re-introduce dairy at 12 months and see how it goes. 

Socially, we said goodbye to our sweet nanny and Clara went back to Bright Horizons.  It was the right time.  I am facing going back to work full time and with the severity of her infant illnesses, we wanted her back in group care well prior to the onset of cold and flu season.  Plus, she thrived on the activities and interaction of daycare and we were eager to return to that.  What we didn't anticipate was a serious case of separation anxiety.  The first couple of weeks back were rough, though they have steadily gotten better with the help of her amazing teachers and cute friends at school.

I cannot believe she is already eleven months old.  While some of the days have been long, the year has flown by.