11 Months Old

Riley turned 11 months old today, and it's hard to believe how close we are to her 1st birthday! She weighs approximately 18 lbs 5 oz. This month she took her first steps!! A couple weeks ago, she started taking a step or two here and there, and over the next week and a half she became even more brave. Once she stood up and got her balance she would actually let go of our hands or the furniture, and just start walking. She got up to about 12-13 steps in a row. Won't be long before we have a full-blown walker on our hands! About the same time, she also showed us that she knows how to get down the stairs, rather than just up them. She still loves to eat, but has become much more selective with what she eats. She is not afraid to let us know if she doesn't want something we give her - and typically she just tosses it down to Ski Ski anyway. As far as personality goes, she is quite the firecracker (in a good way of course!). She is a very smiley, funny, and happy girl, and she will also let you know when she is not pleased with something. She can quickly become very fussy if something doesn't go her way, and often will arch her back and throw her head back to demonstrate her frustration. She loves to wave, clap, point, give open-mouthed kisses, blow kisses, high five, and has even gotten the hang of the fist bump. She also tries hard to communicate with us, through pointing towards what she wants, motioning when she wants to be picked up, and even trying to say certain words - "da" for dog, in particular, although her dad doesn't agree that she knows what she's saying. :-) When playing by herself, she will usually look around for Mom and Dad to make sure we are watching, and then flash us a huge smile. She really loves to play with (and pick on) Ski, trying to pull her ears, pat her on the head, take her toys, or even lean forward with her mouth open to get some free kisses. Her 3rd tooth came in this month, so she now has 2 on bottom and 1 on top, with another one that will likely break through on the top in the next couple weeks. In the sleep department, she still naps well (sometimes 1 nap, sometimes 2) but does not sleep through the night. The last couple of weeks have been rough while she's been sick, but typically she's waking up about 2 times per night, only to eat and go right back to sleep.