Ilah, 11 Months Old

Ilah! Our precious gift from God. You turned 11 months old a few weeks ago. I can't belive that your 1st birthday is right around the corner - in just a handful of weeks you will turn 1! This year just flew by. I still remember the minutes leading up to the moment you were born, the feeling that I felt when I first laid eyes on you, and how for the first days and weeks I reveled in amazement at my beautiful, healthy, baby daughter.

In my vows to your daddy, I told him, "since I met you, my life changed in a beautiful, wonderful way". You, Ilah, are an outcome of our love - an extension of us - and I feel this exact same way about you. You have changed my life {our lives} in a beautiful, wonderful way.

Your daddy and I are always admiring you....not just how beautiful you are, but how outgoing, outspoken {well, right now, you're just boisterous! Ha!}, determined, smart, funny {you crack us up!}, affectionate, giving {you share your snacks with us!}, inquisitive, active - you are just so precious in so many ways. You have gone from being a tiny baby, who was so dependent on us, to now being an independent little girl!

So what have you been up to at 11 months!?......

• I'm afraid that 2 naps a day is coming to an end. The past week or so you have seemed to develop a new schedule which puts you down for a nap later in the morning, and has you waking 2 1/2 hours later in the afternoon, thereby excluding a second nap all together.

• You have graduated from "baby food" and you now pretty exclusively eat what mommy and daddy eat. Still no sweets - no sugar, no chocolate, no nuts, etc. Everything we give you is finely diced up for you. And man, do you LOVE "big girl food"!

• I'm going to begin introducing you to safe forks and spoons, made specfically for those tiny little hands of yours. Something tells me that more food will end up in your lap, or on the floor - we shall see!

• We are phasing out the bottle, and soon formula too. In just a few more weeks you will be drinking regular milk - out of sippy cups! I can't believe the time has already come for this! You have become a big girl so soon!

• You are growing, growing, growing!! You are in a size 4 diaper and you still wear clothes 12-18 months, but more 18 months. You wear a size 5 shoe - but you are quickly beginning to outgrow them. Wow! That was quick! I'm not sure about your current weight/height stats. We have your 1 year appt on January 13th.

• You are a total morning baby! You are SO happy in the morning!! You wake right up, start clapping, start talking, start laughing...and you give us the BIGGEST hugs and tightest little squeezes when we come to get you out of your crib!

• You have started saying NO! Ha ha! And you say it LOUD!

• You love to share things with us! You will reach out your little hand to give us a piece of your snack, or while you are playing, you will offer us the toy that you are playing with. But nearly all the time, you want it right back! Ha!

• You get around real quick now! You more than just walk - you practically run! You just LOVE when we chase you!!!

• Because you imitate sounds that we make, and gestures that we do, you have started to blow us kisses! It's sooo cuuuute!!!

In just a few days it will be Christmas. And there is absolutely no better gift that God could ever have given us than YOU. Our amazing little girl, Ilah. We pray that we continue to see you grow, not only in your own unique ways, but also in the ways of God. We love you!!

- Mommy & Daddy