11 Month Letter

Dear Jenna,

You're now 11 months old. I'll admit to not seeing this as a very important milestone due to it being the bridesmaid to next months very large milestone, but looking at you in your 11 month glory, I'll admit to loving this age. 

You've been quite the active little one this month. You're cruising furniture like crazy, and starting to 'leap' between pieces. I'll admit to thinking you were going to be walking by now, but, just like with crawling, you keep teasing us with all the little pieces of the behavior, but not putting them together. That's OK, there will be plenty of time for walking in the future. 

You still put everything in your mouth. EVERYTHING. Our house has been redecorated to have low surfaces completely cleared of items (we call it the minimalist look) whereas higher surfaces (that you can't reach) now houses the items of every day life.  This includes the 4 bags I drag in and out every day (my purse, my pump bag, the small bag that the pumped milk and parts go into and your diaper bag) along with the bottles of wine we open to celebrate the end of another day, all parties intact. 

You're keeping us on our toes. You're stubborn. When you want something, you either a) get it and then ignore it because we haven't tried to take it away from you and therefore it must not be interesting or b) when we take it away from you, you throw a very large fit, crocodile tears included. 
You're mighty quick. You can go from one end of the house to the other in the time it takes me to drop those 4 bags at the end of the day. I think we've all lost our 'baby rolls' trying to keep up with you. 
You've officially said your first word. And you keep saying it over and over and over. "Doggie". At first we thought it was a fluke, but then we realized you were using it in context. You would see a dog across the park and get so excited, flapping your arms all over the place and saying "doggiedoggiedoggiedoggiedoggieDOGGIE!" You've since applied the word doggie to any furry creature. Anything with feathers is now labeled Duckie. (or, duckieduckieduckieduckie). You're 'speaking' your own language and mimicking our conversations and tone, which is pretty darn cute. You're still very much a dancer... and now instead of just bobbing your head like the guys from SNL, you're now swaying your hips. Particularly if you're wearing a skirt. 
We've loosely started 'potty training' or elimination communication... or as I like to call it "Making Mommy happy by not needing to change a dirty diaper" Just like with solids, we haven't been super consistent, but we have gotten the ball rolling. You do go on the potty on occasion and lemme tell ya, I love it. I'm not expecting miracles, but I like that we're getting started early. If it works, great, if you're still in diapers at age 4, so be it. 

You've been a fabulous addition to our lives. I can't believe how quickly time has gone, and, at the same time, it's so, so hard to remember life without you. You're a joy to everyone that comes in contact with you (except for maybe Noble at day care, but you dish it back out, too... I think one day you'll have an understanding, the two of you). I look back on the days when you were so tiny, when all you would do is cry, eat and sleep and I just can't believe how far we've come. You're such a little person. It really does boggle my mind. As much as I'm sad you're growing so fast, I'm looking forward to what the future brings. For you, for us. 

Thank you, Jenna. Thank you for enriching our lives in ways that I can't explain to those that don't have children. Thank you for every exhausted minute, every sloppy kiss (aka rescue breathing), every giggle, every tear. You've made me who I am today, and I only hope to return the favor. I'm doing all I can for you. I love you dearly. 

Love, 

Mommy 

(which you still aren't saying, but I'm ok with that...)