11 Months Old Today!

Wow, the time is sure going by fast.  It's hard to believe Anna is 11 months old today!  

Her four front teeth are coming in.  Teething hasn't been too bad so far - just lots of drool!



She's grown and changed so much in the almost four months we've been together.  We've seen the most growth in the last few weeks especially.  She started to crawl, although not that effectively, about three weeks ago.  I was showing our student one of Anna's toys and when some shapes spilled out, Anna finally moved forward (had been moving backwards for a while) and scooted to the shapes!  It was so fun to see her finally get it!  She was pretty happy too! 

Over the next week or so, she would continue to try crawling forward but would only get a few feet, then start to cry and get frustrated as she couldn't move as fast as she wanted!  Now, crawling is not an issue and she can go as far as she wants but it usually isn't very far as she much prefers being on her feet and cruising along furniture, walls, doors, cupboards etc.  This is much faster and more effective for her.  We've marvelled at how she stretches and reaches for the next piece of furniture to make her way around the room, down the hall etc.  Just when we think something is out of her reach, it's not!  She has had a few tumbles but usually picks herself right back up and carries on (unless it's a bad fall and then she'll cry).

Her favourite pasttime these days is grabbing someone's hands and getting them to take her for a stroll around the house or wherever she may be.  We won't be surprised if she's walking on her own by her first birthday, but we're not sure how these things work, so we could be wrong!  She does love to walk and explore!  She's opening cupboards and touching whatever she can get her hands on.  Yes, babyproofing has now begun.  She does know the meaning of "No, not for Anna" as she will shake her head to say "no" (and will use it when she doesn't want something), but she will of course reach for things again!  Sometimes it works and she won't touch it so we'll keep working on it!

As you can probably guess, sitting still is not on her list of things to do.  We definitely have our hands full but are loving watching her inquistive nature and sense of wonder.  Randy said she farted while standing up in the bath the other night and looked in wonder to see where the echo sound was coming from... too funny!  She does make us laugh and is a lot of fun to be around.  We enjoy listening to her babble and make interesting and funny sounds as she explores her voice and chatters away.  These are definitely fun times and we are loving every minute of it.  Here are some more photos from today...