What do you mean, I can’t lick this chair?

I promised myself that I wouldn’t open this post by expressing disbelief that Peanut is eleven months old, but the fact that she only has one more month to go until her first birthday is seriously blowing my mind, dudes.  I have to get ready to plan a party and order invitations and buy her presents and all that stuff, and somewhere in there I also have to wrap my mind around the completely wild concept that SHE’S ALMOST ONE.  Almost.  Not quite, though.  I have one more month before I’ll have a one-year-old, and I hope it goes slooooooooowly, because she’s growing up way too fast.

I have plans, big plans.

No crawling yet, and I can’t believe I’m going to say this next thing, but… I hope she starts soon.  She’s close, very close, and she’s in the scooting-backward stage.  I didn’t think I’d want the day to come when she could crawl, because I’ll have to deal with baby-proofing and because I want her to stay a tiny baby forever.  (I know that’s impossible, but I’m a mom and it’s just what I want.)  But she’s very, very frustrated that she’s not more mobile, and I hate seeing her frustrated.  She’s figured out how to get to most of her toys by rolling, but it’s so clear that she wants to crawl and cruise.  I have to think it’s on the horizon.

I’m ready for Laguna Beach.

It’s been pretty hot this month, especially lately, as we’re enjoying the same heat wave as the rest of the East Coast.  (Well, I’m enjoying it.  I love the heat.  Hubby’s not, though.)  Heat waves do take more mental energy these days, since we have to figure out how to keep the little one cool, so she’s been doing lots of water play.  Nana blew up the baby pool (which is tiny, as it turns out – the perfect size for one petite peanut) and they’ve been playing on the back deck.  Peanut wears a swim diaper and a rash guard, which serves the treble purpose of (1) keeping her from getting a chill in the water; (2) providing SPF protection; and (3) making her look like a tiny surfer.

I hope you know that when I get wet, you get wet.

Mommy gets into the water play action, too – and not just at bathtime.  Last weekend I dressed Peanut in one of my old pinafores, made by my mom when I was a baby (they’re open at the back for a nice breeze) and set her up with the bucket and some toys.  She promptly overturned the bucket and we had to fill it again.  I know every baby dreams of playing with an empty bucket while sitting on a sodden towel.

Whatever, I’m just glad you’re not making me share my fish.

We’ve also been playing in the grass.  Daddy and I took Peanut out to the yard a few times so she could feel grass between her tootsies, and she was unimpressed.  She’s more interested in watching the breeze rustle the leaves and spotting airplanes.  She’s gotten really good at the latter.  Behold:

Airplane, bow to the power of my ginger.

Peanut at 11 Months:

Adjusted Age: 9 months

Weight: 16 pounds, 14 ounces

Clothing Size:  12 months, almost exclusively.  We’re still squeezing her into some 9 month onesies, but they’re getting to be a tight fit on her long torso.

Sleep:  Not much has changed since last month.  We had one tough night with teething, when Peanut cried and cried at bedtime.  I massaged her gums with my finger, which seemed to make her feel a lot better – poor kiddo.  (She’s quite the trooper, though – we still haven’t needed to bust out any medication for pain relief.)  Of course, as our luck would have it, the one bad teething night we had was the fourth of July, so no sooner had Peanut finally dropped off to sleep than the fireworks started.  Hubby and I spent the rest of the night sitting rigid on the couch, cringing with every “boom.”  Peanut was exhausted though – once she went down, she didn’t wake up.  But we’re still enjoying our good luck this month – she’s an angel, and except for the one rough teething night, she’s gotten fantastic sleep.  Yay!

Likes:  The hot new thing this month is the alphabet.  I’ve been singing it to her for months (in English, German and Greek – who knew that seventh grade Deutsch and sorority pledging would come in useful for motherhood?) but lately it’s Peanut’s favorite song.  Sometimes, the only way I can get her to take her bottle is by singing the “ABCs” over and over again.  It’s her favorite song these days.

Dislikes:  Peanut’s not big on taking walks in her stroller.  I hesitate to call this a “dislike,” because she doesn’t actively hate on the BOB – she’d just prefer to play.  I thought that once she started facing forward she’d be more engaged in the walks, and she does have a good time once she’s out and about – especially when she sees kids at the playground.  But Nana tells me that Peanut has been giving her attitude in the morning when they suit up for strolling and Peanut doesn’t want to be taken from her toys.

Hold on, I just want to finish one more chapter.

Favorite Toys:  Books, books, books!  (Between singing the “ABCs” and all the books, I think I’ve got a very literary baby on my hands.)  The funniest thing is, she has a few books of the “touch and feel” variety – where the pictures incorporate different textures.  Well, since we started pulling those out more this month, she now thinks that all books are “touch and feel.”  So she points with her tiny index finger at the pictures and methodically goes through each page looking for textures to feel.  I know what she’s doing, and it’s kind of impressive in and of itself that she understands that some of her books have interesting textures, and remembers this from story to story, but it’s also hilarious because it looks like she’s actually reading (and very intently, too).

Milestones:  We’ve mastered sitting, and now Peanut only falls over when she wants to.  So that’s a good milestone.  But we’ve had some fun milestones, too – Peanut’s first trip to a toy store (I let her choose a toy and she picked out – okay, reached for – a Lamaze fishbowl with fuzzy little fish inside), and her first party in someone else’s house.  Last night we went over to a fondue party at the home of one of hubby’s co-workers.  Peanut was an angel, sitting in my lap and gnawing on a piece of bread while I ate my fondue, and she only smeared a little cheese on her dress.  But no, seriously, I was so impressed with her.  She tolerated the heat, the party going slightly past her bedtime, and being passed around by strangers, like a pro.

Can’t a girl suck her thumb in peace around here?

Quirks:  This month, Peanut started doing the cutest thing.  She’s been a thumb-sucker since her NICU days (well, when she could find her thumb, that is) but lately she’s paired the thumb-sucking with a move we call “the shirt grab.”  Left thumb in the mouth, right thumb clutching her shirt just below the neckline.  (We have friends with a little boy who used to grab his hair when he sucked his thumb, which was adorable, too.  This reminds me of that – a little extra comfort.)  I can’t even find the words to describe how sweet the shirt grab is.  It melts my heart every time she does it.