11 months?

How did Nory get to be 11 months? Why am I planning her birthday party? How did this happen?????


Anyway, she is growing up, whether I'm ready for it or not. For those of you who haven't seen Nory lately, let me share some 11 month features.

• She walks while holding onto furniture or me or pushing her stroller, but prefers to crawl when she really wants to get somewhere.
• She climbs up, or tries to climb up, everything she can - cupboards, high chairs, pillows, shelves, me, the dog (kuddos to Fin for being the world's most patient dog - he literally will just lay there while Nory climbs up and over him).
• She can go up stairs. Doesn't matter that we don't have any stairs and that she had never climbed up a stair before - we went to someone's house for dinner the other week and she just raced up the stairs as if she'd done it every day of her life.
• She constantly babbles. Sometimes these words are distinguishable, mostly they are not. Her most obvious real word is "Hi," which she says while waving. She also says "bye," when someone is leaving. Words which sometimes make sense and which sometimes apply to the wrong thing: dada (daddy or dog), mama (mommy or yummy), ba (bath), and ut (ut-oh, this happens when she drops something).
• Nory is not a cautious child. She will launch herself off a couch, bed, chair, or other raised surface without even wondering if someone or something is there to catch her. Have I mentioned I can no longer leave her alone for a minute?
• She opens cupboards and drawers and pulls everything out, and puts things in that don't necessarily belong there. Which is why I keep finding graham crackers and sippy cups in my kitchen drawers and slippers in my night stand.
• She is starting to eat more. Favorites include: graham crackers, bagels with cream cheese, bread, yogurt, pears, apples, oranges, bananas, puffins (cereal), Oatios, rice, water (from her sippy cup), and recently discovered, french toast. Take-one-bite-and-throw-it-on-the-floor items include: any vegitable, eggs, any kind of meat, beans, cheese, and juice.
• Nory loves to dance. Any tune, even if you start humming in the same room as her, will get her wiggle-dancing and clapping. This includes grocery store music, car music, cell phone ringing music, the music between stories on NPR, and the songs that her toys-with-batteries make.
• In addition to clapping and waving and pointing and turning lights on and off, we have a new trick: Nory will raise her hands high over her head when you say, "how big are you? SOOOOOOOO big!"

Graham Cracker Scrunchie Faces!