Happy 11 Months (and SEVEN days) Gemma!

Okay, so I am a little late in writing this this month....ya wanna know why?

My dear sweet babe has been replaced with a wild woman. I am convinced that I am now caring for a reckless teenager trapped in the body of an almost one year old. She is argumentative, stubborn, exceedingly emotional. She is into everything, and the more she knows it isn't a good idea, the more intriguing it seems.

Seriously, is this pre-toddlerhood already? Because if so, I think I am going to need a few days to stockpile supplies and come up with a game plan because it is about to get crazy... This little lady is taking over the world! Or my world. Either way, wowza!

Thank God for the cute, sweet moments that almost definitely make up for the hard times. Especially the baby hugs and kisses. I think I pretty much exist for her sweet hugs where she rests her head on my shoulder, or her kisses where it seems as if she is trying to bite my lips off.

Yep, that's what I live for.

Crap, I just deleted the best picture when I was trying to delete this one:

Oh, well.

This month for me has been marked by the assertion of your independence, your crazy mobility, and your 4 sweet teeth (and two more that have just popped through!) I feel like it has definitely been a small preview of what's to come when my bitty baby becomes a teeny toddler, and of course, I am excited and terrified all at the same time.

As far as the boring stuff:

You recently have decided that sleeping is for fools. You fight naps, and don't like to go to sleep at night really. Most of my attempts at moving you  to the crib after you have fallen asleep are thwarted. Oh geez. After some serious consideration and soul searching I have decided ultimately that I will not try a "cry it out" or "Ferber Method" approach to getting you to sleep better, or any other method of sleep training method for that matter,  so...I guess it is what it is...but work with me dear, okay?

You are so over any sort of baby contraptions, and you even hate the little gate that I bought to try and keep the beast (well, you) contained, so pretty much you crawl wherever, and pull up on anything within reach.  You especially like the T.V. in my our room, where you can reach the buttons and turn the t.v. off and on. I am not so fond of that game. I do enjoy watching you cruise furniture and watching you figure out how to sit down can actually be funny sometimes.

I have no clue how much you weigh right now...my best guess would be around 18 pounds and you are still so tall! You wear size 3 diapers, and mostly size 12 months clothes. You pretty much live in dresses, rompers, and a few little shorts sets and that size seems to work in everything...

Your hair is decidedly dirty blond for now, and it is cute but I still not-so-secretly hope that you get my dark hair one day. I mean, you are obviously still gorgeous so it doesn't really matter but, um, please? Your eyes are a dark brown, and they still have a ring around them, however the ring around your eyes in now brown too.

There isn't really a need to mention food anymore as pretty much everything has been fair game, and you seem to enjoy most things equally. Your diet consists of a lot of Cheerio's, bananas, grilled chicken, pasta, rice, and other fruits and veggies, but you also get table food when we are home together for dinner but that is rare.

I'm sad to see so much of who you were slowly fade away, but seeing you become your own person is so exciting that it makes me feel so much better. You make me laugh, you make me smile, and sometimes you make me pull my hair out, but I am not exaggerating one bit when I say that the more I get to know you the more my love grows and grows.

I love you with my whole heart, and then some.

Forever and ever,

Mama