Dear Lyra,
Happy 11 month birthday!
What started out as a very exciting month has finished relatively calmly. You were back to your mischievous self in just a couple days and we almost couldn’t believe it had really happened.
This Christmas was one of the best in my memory. You took great joy in tearing apart paper, unwinding ribbons, and opening boxes. And you seemed to like some of your gifts too! Some highlights were a walker with a set of blocks, a baby doll, a Lyra’s Family photo boardbook, more blocks, and a box of kleenex. You aren’t quite ready for the blocks, but your Dad and I love them! We build great towers for you to knock down. I also wasn’t sure if you’d be ready for a doll, but you squeeze her and “kiss” her, rock her and pat her. You especially like to give her a big cuddly squeeze when you are upset (although your favorite is still the 36-year-old Pooh Bear that belonged to your Dad). And the kleenex? There is not much you love more than pulling kleenexes out of a box.
It was wonderful spending so much time with your Grandma and Grandpa and it was harder to say good bye than before. They spent most of their time playing with you and even babysat you a few times so your dad and I could go out together. It would be so nice if they lived nearby so this could just be normal.
These days you crawl around the house with great speed and use furniture to pull up to standing. You cruise around with one hand on the coffee table or the couch but haven’t yet tried standing or walking unsupported. You’ve been standing up in the bathtub and you even slipped and bonked your head once, but it didn’t seem to bother you one bit. I think you were more bothered when I tried to take the frog toys out of your hands (so you could hang on more securely). You are so tough and confident!
You started signing a little bit this month: milk, water, and all done. You use the signs to tell us about what you are doing, rather than to ask for things. It’s very exciting! I look forward to when you use them to tell us what you want rather than grunting like a monkey until we guess the right thing. You also wave bye-bye, point, smack your lips for a kiss, and high five. We don’t think you’ve started saying any words yet, just a lot of “da!” and “dada!” and “dadadadada!” Are you saying “that!” or “Dada!” or “Ada!”? Maybe? But we have noticed that you seem to understand quite a bit of what we say. When we tell you “no” or to stop or to wait, for the most part you do. One night you were very upset while your Dad was changing you so I told you, “As soon as Dada is done I will nurse you and then you can go back to sleep.” I said it mostly to help myself stay calm, but you immediately stopped crying! So I’ve been trying to explain to you more of what is going on, especially when you are upset or frustrated, and it really seems to help.
Lately I feel like I can barely keep up with how fast you are changing. Every week you surprise me with new skills and abilities and I think, “What? how long have you been able to do that? You are so amazing!” Sorry about that. I bet that will probably annoy and embarrass you when you’re older. I’m already imagining your eyes rolling.
Love,
Mama
