Letter to my 11 month old

Dear Amelia,

Another month is gone, we are another month closer to your 1st birthday. I can't help but think of your birthday as the end of babyhood, so I have been soaking up every little bit I can during these last couple months. And the little bits of baby-ness are harder to find these days. You are so active and smart. You are constantly on the move, doing things on your own and trying new things. Each day you challenge me with something new you can get into, and surprise me with something new you have learned. This month:

• You gave up baby food. Completely. The pureed food out of a jar and tasteless cereal simply will no longer cut it. You like to feed yourself and will try just about anything. Some of your favorites these days are bananas, peas and carrots, avacados, peaches and vienna sausages (even though they gross me out. You can thank Grams for that one.)
• You run everywhere. Evidently walking was not fast enough for you. Although now you are a bit over confident in your running abilites and tend to fall more than you used to. You have had your fair share of bumps and bruises this month.
• You can say mama, dada, dog, bye-bye, what's that, duck, and your new word is Moooooo. That's what you say when we ask you what a cow says.
• You sleep from 8 pm to 6 am.
• You got another tooth. (bottom left, next to the centers). This makes a total of 5.
• You love to give hugs and kisses. To the dogs, to your toys, to your books, anything that needs a kiss. However you will not kiss on demand, it has to be your idea. But when you run over and give me a hug and kiss at the end of a long day, my heart melts every time.
• You went swimming for the first time. Temperatures have been crazy hot, so the kiddie pool was a perfect way to cool down.
• You love to read. You like to pick out a book from your big stack and bring it to me. You listen and watch me read, but you like to be the one to turn the pages.

The days of rocking to sleep and cuddling are getting fewer. The baby-ness is ending. You are an independent, spirited little girl and love to do things on your own. You are almost officially a toddler. So, for this last month of your first year, I am going to hold you tight, drop everything anytime you want to cuddle and savor every last day of your babyhood. All my love to you, my sweet sweet baby girl, my soon to be toddler.

Letter to my 10 month old

Dear Amelia,

Today you are 10 months old. You are the funniest, smartest, silliest, most independent 10 month old I have ever seen. You love to explore, dance, make us laugh and be the center of attention. Once again, you have amazed us all this month with the new things you have learned.

This month:

• You have become a pro at walking. Within just a couple of weeks you went from taking your first steps to full on running. You love to run circles around the living room and squeal with delight while we try to catch you.
• You love to climb and flip off things. I can't turn my back for a second without you trying to climb on top of something. I think gymnastics might be in our future.
• You FINALLY got your two top teeth! After months of them coming through and giving you trouble, they finally popped through. You are so cute with your four little teeth that show when you smile really wide.
• You still love to eat and are expanding your palate. You insist on trying whatever is on our plates, and continually surprise us with your choices. We have yet to find a food that you do not like. Right now you are transitioning from eating baby food at most meals to mostly finger foods.
• You say mama, dada, bye bye, dog, duck and what's that? "What's that" is currently your favorite thing to say and you must point at and identify every new object.
• You have started answering our questions with yes and no by shaking your head. When we say "Are you hungry?" You respond by shaking your head. Every night we settle down for the night and say, "Are you ready to go to bed?" You always shake your head yes and want us to carry you to your room.
• You sleep from about 8:00 pm - 6:30 am. You are currently sleeping on your elephant pillow and your favorite stuffed dog in the crook of your arm.
• You are once again sleeping through the night. Once those pesky teeth came through, you are sleeping through the night again with no problem. Yay!
• You experienced your first serious tornado on May 24 and it was one of the scariest days of my life. We prepared the bathtub with pillows and blankets, stocked the room with bottled water and your supplies, moved the dogs crates in and waited for the storm. Your daddy and I were scared as we watched the news, but you had a great time taking care of the dogs in the bathroom. Oklahoma experienced severe damage that day and lives were lost. That night we all hugged a little bit tighter and went to bed with grateful hearts.

This was such a fun month for me to share with you. Now that you are officially mobile we are always on the move. We have had a great time exploring every room in our house, all the streets of our neighborhood, and all the shops in our little town. I know there are lots of adventures in our future and I look forward to each one. You are such a precious gift and I love you with all of my heart, my sweet sweet baby girl.

Letter to my 9 month old

My dear Amelia,

You are 9 months old today, and growing up so fast! You watch everything we do and love to imitate our actions. You love to read books, pet the dogs, dance to music, and play outside. We go everywhere together and we are starting to have conversations where I can tell that we both really understand what the other is saying. You are turning into a toddler, and I don't know if I am ready for all the grown up things you are doing.

This month:

• You took your first step! At about 8 months and 1 week you took your first step. It was in Ardmore at Grams and Pop's house. Your dad and I were both there to see it and we were so proud of you!
• You are officially walking. At the end of your 8th month you can take 7-8 confident steps. You have no problem standing up and going, but you can't stop yourself yet, so you just have to fall down.
• You love to eat! Anything and everything! You love to sample whatever is on our plate.
• You love to give kisses. Especially to Suki and Sullivan, and all your books. My favorite moment of any day is when you lean over and give me a hug and kiss.
• You say mama, dada, bye bye, dog, and uh oh. You also point at things and say something that we swear sounds like "what's that?" I think you are going to be a serious talker!
• You had your first boo boo. You fell and bumped your chin and lip on the table while you were cruising around the living room. One drop of blood came out of your mouth and I almost cried.
• You are still going to bed around 8 pm and waking about 6:30 am.
• You still only have two teeth, but the top ones have been giving you lots of trouble so I think they will be coming through soon.
• You do not like to get in trouble. It only takes hearing NO one or two times for you to stop doing something you are not suppose to. I'll keep my fingers crossed it stays that way!
• You got to see Uncle Adam for the first time since you were about 6 weeks old. He was home for a month while on his way to Italy. He spent several days with us and you got to spend lots of time together.

Even though everything is changing much faster than I thought it would, I am loving every minute. I have always loved staying at home with you, but lately I have really appreciated all the small moments and big milestones that I have been able to witness because I am a stay-at-home mom. It is simply the best thing I have ever done and I want you to always know that. All my love to you, my sweet baby girl.