11 Months Old

Dear Devyn,

Oh, child.  Beautiful, wonderful child.  After I took this photo, as I was processing it on the computer, I found it took my breath away.  Who, I wondered, was that big girl smiling back at me from that picture?

You are changing faster and faster every day, it seems.  Your babble and talk sounds almost like words.  You point to everything you see and seem to "ask" what things are.  And we are thrilled to tell you. We play peekaboo a lot now, and you love to clap your hands. You love to explore and go anywhere you can.  You're becoming more and more affectionate, giving us hugs and kisses.  And you are such a flirt!  You make friends with everyone you meet.

I can't believe you're almost a year old!  I hope you'll forgive me if I cry a little on your birthday; it's a little bit of sadness for the baby you were, but so much more happiness that I get to meet the little girl you are becoming!

I bought you a little birthday photo outfit today to wear when you have your pictures made for your first birthday!  You love to shop. (Which works out, because so do I!)

You've got two new teeth poking through on the top, but they don't show up in pictures yet. And, as you can see from the photos, you are incredibly close to standing up on your own without support.  Last week you stood up and grabbed your walker toy and took off on your own.

You are a fearless eater.  You'll try anything we put in front of you, from Korean lemongrass beef to tandoori chicken.  Zucchini is a favorite lately, as is any kind of protein.  We're still nursing three or four times a day, but we've finally given up your middle of the night feed, and you've done really well with that.  You still wake up around 4:30am, but you usually put yourself back to sleep pretty quickly.

I can't tell you how proud I am of you, Devyn.  You are such a joyful little baby.  You make our lives so amazing, and I'm so grateful to know you.

So, until next month when we're celebrating your first birthday, my love!

Always and always,
~Mommy

Ramblin'

47 weeks: Swimming!

Devyn got to go to the swimming pool for the first time today!

I wanted to take pictures at the pool, but the camera I brought was out of battery.  :(  But here she is posing in her pre-swim outfit: swimsuit, cropped cardigan and clamdiggers!

She was more than a little apprehensive about the pool.  We went to the baby pool first, and she REALLY didn't like the thing that splashed water down into the pool every few minutes—even though it was several yards away.  She much preferred being carried in the lazy river.  We went with her little friend L, who has been taking swimming lessons for a while, so he was excited to splash and kick, and Devyn wasn't too happy about being splashed, either.  

But I thought she did really well and was very brave.  We'll have to go again and get her exposed to the pool and splashing water a little more.  L is having his birthday party in June at a little splash park, so I want to be sure Devyn can have a good time then.  

46 weeks, 3 days: Helping

Yesterday, Devyn helped me plant some seeds for our garden.  

Then, this morning, she was helping me fold the laundry. 

I think maybe you can see a trend here about how Devyn is my big helper.  ;) She really enjoyed playing in the dirt!  And, I let her crawl around in the grass, too, which she thought was pretty exciting.


Plus, who doesn't like throwing socks around?  I know I do.

It's the little things...

Bella is playing with a soda bottle and Devyn is playing with the label that Bella carefully removed.

It's a good day to be a kid (or dog-kid) in this house.

44 weeks, 5 days: Window Shopping

This is where I find her lots of times these days, looking out the window at the world.

And that tongue hanging out is pretty prevalent, too.  Brandon says she uses it for balance.  ;)

Birthday

Some people have been asking what they can get Devyn for her birthday, so I started putting some ideas on an Amazon wish list for her. You certainly don't have to get anything off this list! But if you need ideas, this might be a good place to start.