finola - eleven months!

Dear Fin, 

Only a month until you are one!

Where did this year go?  

A blur of breastfeeding, diaper changes, and hauling two little blondies around everywhere.  

Awesome, tiring, and so sweet.

It is hard for me to remember who I was before babies.

I guess I had lots of free time.

Yet somehow I was less productive.

Let's just say, you and your brother inspire me to do a lot.

Write more, run more, run farther, cook more, nest more, 

get out more, make more friends, take more photos...

phew!  

It can be exhausting!

But so much fun.

Eating:

Gosh, you are a good eater.  I mean, you will eat pretty much anything (except avocado) and will eat quite a bit.  Mac n cheese is your favorite, which I guess I could have expected.   Or really, any pasta.  (Just like your mama!) I can tell you are done eating when you start throwing things to the dog.  Oh, speaking of the dog, you like to try to eat his food, too.  As far as the bottle, well, it is getting trickier to get you to drink your formula.  If there is other food present it will simply not happen.  You are sure to be a shot put thrower someday because you launch that bottle across the room with great strength and skill.

Sleeping:

Great!  Finally.  Sleeping through the night is where we are consistently at now.  There may be the occasional night waking if you are sick/teething.  You go to bed at 7 and wake up around 6:30.  Still taking two naps, the morning one shortened slightly.

Milestones/Development:

• You will occasionally push off something and stand on your own, for about five seconds.
• Your words are : Mama (yes!!!) Dada, Nana, and Babababa (???)  Lots of babbling.
• Have gotten braver "walking" while holding only one of my hands.  Very wobbly, though!  No solo steps yet!
• Love to clap and stomp when we sing "If You're Happy and You Know It"
• You are a climber - every bit as much as Cormac was.  You are fearless when it comes to climbing up stairs, ladders, playground equipment, etc.  Getting down?  Not so much.
• You LOVE going down slides, whether it be baby slides or big ones on mama's lap.

• 

  I think she really wants to walk.  This is her expression every time she uses one of her walking toys.

Health/Measurements:

• You weigh 21 pounds.
• You now have four (almost five) teeth!
• Went to the doc about your feet - x-rays showed nothing abnormal in the bone structure, but you have extreme pronation and small yet wide feet.  So buying shoes is gonna be super fun!
• Your hair has gotten much longer and you have curls in the back!

curls

This month's memories...

• Your first UK championship game watch!  
• Your first Easter!
• Your first "race" 

you and your partner in crime, Carter -- watching the elite 8 game

she came to watch my first race in forever.  so, so lovely crossing the finish line and having the family there!

we pretty much go to a park every day

Cormac got behind the camera for this one -- don't mind my makeup-less, crazy-hair state.

Guilty!  This is now unfortunately one of her fave places to be.

easter morning in bunny pjs

                                                                  Sibling Relations:

We definitely have our daily challenges.  I have really had to be conscious of making sure Cormac gets enough quality alone time with me, as it is easy to get distracted with a baby and kind of just get through the day.  But despite the vying for attention and you getting up in his personal space a lot, The love between you is evident, and I pray it always stays that way.  

my little squishy faces.

learning the art of back massages at a young age.

isn't it fun when mama forces you to dance together???

Well, that is month eleven. 

(Here was your brother's month eleven - and here.)

I expect this next month will be a lot of me prepping for your party, 

taking you and your bro to the park and on lots of runs 

due to this beautiful weather (finally!) 

I am excited for all things to come this summer!

Here's to hoping you love the pool!

Love you, girl - 

Mama+Dada