11 months old

How can it be that my baby girl Ella will be 1 year old in a month??  It's a shock to me!  For those of you that don't have a 2nd child, it goes so much faster with #2 than with your first.  I would describe Ella at 11 months old as very pleasant & independent.  She's pretty much over that cuddly baby phase *sniff, sniff* and she's constantly on the go trying to do whatever Jessica is doing.  She can crawl really fast & can use a walker & cruise around furniture very well.  She can stand all by herself, but sometimes falls & gets mad at us like we pushed her.  She actually took her first "true" steps on April 11, 2012, just a few days shy of her 11 month birthday.  She had pulled herself up on the couch & was cruising around.  I happened to be down on the floor picking up toys (I know, shocker??) when she all of a sudden took 3 little steps over to me.  Then Dada came over & she took about 5 big steps over to him grinning as big as she could---very exciting for a baby girl!  She's beginning to enjoy books, especially the lift the flap books or the touch & feel books.  It's tough trying to divide my attention so that Ella gets her special time as an individual like Jessie did at that age, but I do try.  It is made easier by the fact that she's really very happy crawling around exploring her world right now.  She's getting all 4 top from teeth right now, so we've had some teething issues, but it looks like most of them are almost through.  I know I'm a little obsessive when it comes to documenting the girls' childhoods, but it seems like Ella really likes to play dress up for me & to have her pictures taken.  She's eating all table foods independently, which is much easier for me and basically wants whatever her sister has to eat.  She's drinking water from a sippy cup very well, even better than Jessie did at this age.   She likes a paci when she naps or sleeps at night,  but otherwise doesn't care for it.  She's still in a size 4 diaper & is around 20 lbs or so.  Still sleeping around 12 hrs. per night (this mama is so thankful for that).  She's wearing 12 or 12-18 month clothes.  She no longer likes to be rocked at night & prefers to put herself to sleep in her crib (although it is an easier bedtime routine, I do kind of miss rocking her at night).  She's so happy when we come to get her out of her crib in the mornings or after her nap & is usually standing & smiling ear to ear.  As you'll see in the pics I took of her, her face is so expressive.  She has the funniest little goblin grin right now when she smiles or laughs.  Very thankful for another healthy & happy month with our beautiful little Ella.  Enjoy some pics I took of her to document 11 months!

***I'll be on a blog vacation this week due to my parents visiting, I'll have plenty of pics to share next week--so check back!***

I laughed out loud when I looked at this one on my computer--apparently angry about something

Love the light & composition of this one

One of my favs

Fianlly, some smiles (or little goblin grins, whatever you want to say)

When she laughs or gets really excited this is the face we see

Look at the little teeth on top ;)

She was saying "dada" over & over, don't know why

Beautiful baby girl ;)

This is so Ella, she always raising her arms or pointing

The sun was a little bright, but she's still a cutie

My little stinkweed

She's like, "what, mama??"