11 month letter

Dear Beatrix,
Today you are 11 months old, which is a scary age for your Mama. That means you only have one month left of babydom before embarking into toddlerhood and leaving your poor Mama crooning to herself in the corner, wondering where the time has gone. So baby dearest, to prevent this, how about you just stay a baby and then your Mama will stay sane. Good idea? No?
This month has been a busy one, like all of the others, but it seems each one gets more and more busy. You are so much more active now, so I am constantly chasing you around trying to stop you from eating dog food, chewing on dog toys (you love Chachi's rawhides), or drawing in your own spit on the floor. (I think you're an artist in the making.) You are such a little busy bee and you are into one activity and off to the next with the next heartbeat. I think you have the energy that old people (like your Mama) talk about bottling and selling.
However in between your busies, you are so sweet. I love that when I go to bed at night, you roll over to me, reaching with your arms and legs. You seem to sleep best with your feet dug into my back and your fingers entwined into my hair, which sounds uncomfortable, but it's not.
When you wake up in the mornings you are so happy, but beyond happy, it's like you exalt each new day by dancing around in bed and using your poor sleeping Mama as a set of bongo drums, with which you bang out your happy song. It's hard to stay a grumpy sleepy Mama when your smiley drooly self is planting open mouthed kisses on my cheeks, imploring me to wake up and play.
When you're playing with your friends you're starting to show some signs of sharing and playing WITH your buddies rather than beside them. You love to give them toys, snacks or even pebbles in the playground. When another baby steals a toy you take it in stride, moving on to the next one. You are able to hold your own though with the other big babies your age. You can get into the baby melee just as well as the others can and have as much obnoxious fun as they do, as you all try to pull the ride on toy in different directions, each happy to at least be touching the toy.
I still think that you're a musician in the making. You love all music, and will dance to anything, which still includes my off key renditions of "Twinkle Twinkle", or some random made up song of the day. You kazooing skills continue to amaze everyone, and I am especially touched when you kazoo on Chachi's hollow bone toy or a toilet paper roll! I've let you play with a recorder and after some kazooing attempts on it, you realized that if you breathe into it you can make noise with it, so I'll hear the recorder drone with your in and out breaths for about two minutes at a time. (After which you lose interest and move on to the next toy)
I think you're moving away from spoon foods rather quickly to all finger foods or foods off of Mama's fork or fingers. I don't much blame you since baby food is rather horrid, but you know, some days when Mama is tired and you need to eat, it's just easier to give you a jar of something. I still mostly just let you taste and experiment with food, although we're starting to ramp up the amount of calories that you consume via food, rather than from your bottle. You're adapting really well, although you do love your "milkies". (which by the way is the only baby language word we use with you.)
I continue to use baby sign with you, and I know you understand what I sign to you, but you haven't really started signing back yet. I am optimistic that it will come. And frankly if it doesn't, you've started to be quite vocal and I think you could be an early talker. You can say "Mama", "Daddy", "duck" and "Chachi".
So my dearest, in your last month of babydom, please understand why your Mama will look at you with that longing look. I just love you so much, and you are so amazing, and I can't believe that you were once that tiny sick little baby in the NICU, when now you are a strong, healthy and amazing big baby now!

love,
Mama.