Baby to Bee: Avery: 11 Months

Avery turned 11 months old on July 20th!

She had her 9 month check up on May 21st and weighed 16 pounds 14 ounces and was 27 inches tall. (A few days later, I had to take her back to the doctor for a separate issue and she weighed 17 lbs, 3 oz.) She won't have another check-up until late August when she's a year old. My guess is that she's about 18 or 19 pounds.

This year has gone by at lightning speed, but I'm not surprised by it. That's the way it was for all of the "first" years for my kiddos. This time around, though, I don't mourn the exiting of a baby stage as much as I did with my two boys. I'm excited for each new thing Avery can do, and I remind myself that we've made it through the newborn days, which although super cute, are the hardest to get through in my opinion.

Diapers: We have transitioned her into size 3 just because we didn't feel like buying an entire box of size 2 right when she is on the cusp of outgrowing that weight limit. The size 3 are a little loose, and we've had a couple issues with poop escaping. :(

Clothing: Avery can still wear 9 month clothes quite comfortably, but I think she only has a few 9-month things that I left in her drawer. She's in 12-month clothes for the most part and has lots of growing room! I bought her a couple extra 12-month footie pajamas, but her grandmas and great-grandmas supplied the rest of her 12-month wardrobe!

Sleeping: She is FINALLY sleeping through the night! Aaron and I went away for a 4-day trip together to Washington state and I was so nervous that she'd keep up both sets of grandparents who'd be watching the kids during the 4-day trip. Instead, she surprised us all by choosing to showcase her sleeping skills during her first spend-the-night adventure! It was hit-or-miss when we got home, and she'd be up 2-3 times a night, but I attribute some of that to teething. She has slept through the night for the past few nights for me and it's fabulous! She also takes pretty good naps at home, so I'm happy about that.

Feeding: She still eats baby food at lunch and dinner. But we're including more "real person food" torn up into small pieces. She likes everything we've put in front of her that she can pick up and feed herself. She really enjoys shredded cheese and sharing frozen waffles with me (cooked crispy with butter and syrup!). Also, Aaron shares ice cream with her and she's a super fan of that! This afternoon, we went to a wedding and she enjoyed some bites of chocolate groom's cake and a strawberry with fruit whip.

Mobility: She began walking when she was about 10.5 months old! She was my earliest walker for sure. She has now started to "run" which really means she'll take about 8-10 quick steps and then have to get her balance again. :) She'll be really running before I know it. People are surprised to see her walk since she's so small. At home, we block off the entrance to the hallway with a rubbermaid bin. She has access to the living room, kitchen, and dining room (sometimes laundry room too if I forget to close the door). She'll make her loops around the kitchen, living, and dining rooms and is super proud of herself for walking the whole way. She only crawls now if she is tired or frustrated (which, pretty much means tired). We also tried on a pair of shoes (hand-me-downs from my niece) the other day & she mostly loves wearing them. She laughs when we put them on het feet, and cankles have never been so cute!

Habit: She seeks out her baby doll each morning and calls it "bah-bah." She will hold her baby with one arm (a trick she's very proud of!) and pat her baby with her other arm while saying "pah-pah" since I say "pat pat your baby." It's the sweetest thing. She's such a sweet little girl and we're enamored! She's also out daredevil climber & mischief maker. She will try to grab my coffee cup on our end table, so I always have to be on guard. She's figured out how to open the DVD player and she'll grab Michael's portable game players if we're not careful.