11 Months Old. Wow.

Well, my little sweetie is one month away from being 1 year old. Elyse seems to have changed so much this month in personality and development. No, she still has not become mobile. Hmm. We'll just see what happens with that :) I can now see so much more in her facial expressions. The looks of "innocence" when food mysteriously falls to the floor... the determination in her eyes when she insists on getting Daddy to look at her... I love these new faces. She has two new teeth since my last birthday post, and one more looks to be so close to coming through! I just have a great feeling that maybe it will choose Thanksgiving Day to bug her. Wouldn't that be fun? :) Elyse is definitely getting more determined to get what she wants to, as long as she doesn't have to move much to do it. I'm sure that will all change soon, but life is still pretty simple around here (for which I am thankful). She seems to be getting a bit pickier in the food department, and the only green she still likes is peas. Beans and broccoli are the new enemy. She's into laughing each time we put her down for a nap or for bedtime. I'm not sure how this has become a game...? I am cherishing each day I have with this little girl, and we are so amazed at how much fun she brings to our lives. I can only describe her as a true delight to us, and we thank God for her! Here are my traditional "fun's" and "not-so-fun's" for this month:

"fun's"

* Elyse is still working on being consistent with the "please" sign (yes, that means we're working on it), but we added "all done" and we're working on "more." Sometimes they all come out as a clap, but I don't care a bit :)
* She loves to "play" the piano, and though the noise is horrible, the look on her face is priceless!
* The time change has somehow worked some magic on her wake-up time- it's now 8am many mornings. What would I do with 14 hours of sleep every night? I get lazy just thinking about it.
* She can eat most foods by hand now, except for some slippery fruits :)
* She loves to squish the bumper in her crib down so she can put her arms and legs through the slats. ?
* "Mama" is quite frequent now, and she's starting to really convince me it's on purpose!

* She waves "hi" and "bye" 75% of the times we ask her :) Maybe 50%...

"not-so-fun's"

* She is quite independent. If we invade her personal space too much, she lets us know!

* She's into thrashing her arms around when she doesn't like something, especially getting her diaper changed. Not too charming.
* She isn't easily distracted from a toy anymore- if it's taken from her, she does have a meltdown :(
* She snubs (I'm putting that nicely) foods she doesn't like.
* Packing up all her baby clothes- it does make me want some more pink in our house someday :)

We love you, Elyse! And someday if you ever read this, just imagine us having to turn and laugh our heads off right after we scold you for some of the funniest things. I know it's only going to get worse, but we have to get a grip! :) Oh, my...