Lillian - 11 Months and our 1st Christmas!

A few days before 1/12/12, the day Lillian turned 11 months, she knocked out a big milestone...independent steps! Daddy is a bit of a procrastinator sometimes (he admits it,
so I don't feel like I'm outing him in this venue) and so it cracks me up that
she squeaked in a few things - like walking(!) - in the last few days of her
'10 month'. :)

Her record was 3 consecutive steps before she turned 11 months. Throughout her 10th month she
has been standing independently - not long after turning 10 months she began letting go of things and standing around, but before she would take a step, she would hold onto something and then walk along. She was increasingly interested in toys that she could walk alongside (she liked walking along and PUSHING her walker, rather than riding inside) and so it was perfect that for Christmas she got a baby stroller and a baby to ride inside! It cracks us up to watch her put her baby in there (because she forces them in head first and then leans on them with all her weight to really push them down in the seat tight!).

For Christmas we did stockings and presents with the three of us in Dallas and then went to College Station to celebrate with each mine and Michael's families. Lillian received some clothes, new hair bows, a doll house, a stroller, a pop up tent and tunnel, her first baby doll and more. Needless to say, it was MORE than a great first Christmas! A lot of her interest was still in the boxes and ribbons, but I'd say the thing she loved the best was whichever toy that cousin Jackson was playing with at the moment!

Her signing has also gotten more consistent and she will sign "more", "dog" (by patting her hand on her leg), "finished" and "milk". She is waving hello and goodbye and clapping. When she wakes up in the morning she immediately begins looking for and 'calling' Huck by patting her leg, she also pats her leg and looks around for Huck when Michael puts her to bed and includes
'...thank you God for Huck..." as part of their prayer - cute!

We are feeding Lillian more and more of what we eat, though I'm still supplementing with baby
food. She eats breakfast, lunch and dinner, nurses 3-4 times per day, and also benefits from an afternoon snack. The "snack" is a nice little helper for grocery store runs too! Yeah!

Lillian is taking two naps a day, a short nap in the morning and a longer afternoon nap if we are
lucky, but lately things are a little funky thanks to colds and teething. Her hair is getting thicker and she's holding strong at 8 teeth, but the molars are not far behind! She goes to bed around 8:30 most nights and sleeps through the night - she sleeps with her lovey (she has three different ones that we rotate), a paci, and on rare occasions a blanket if I feel like it is particularly cold.

Lillian is still pretty good in the car or stroller but getting a little more restless as her mobility is increasing - I imagine that her tolerance is only going to decrease further as her walking progresses.

She is more fun by the day. Smarter by the day. Amazing!