11 months

Three posts in three days, can you handle my awesomeness?

I was going to hold off on this post until I realized that if I didn't do it soon I may as well forget it. In just 20 days (20 days!!!!) we will be celebrating Sammie's first birthday. I will be the first one to say that it's going way too fast. She's becoming such a grown up baby. I love it and hate it at the same time.

At 11 months Sammie is really starting to hit her stride. She's becoming more mobile by the second, she's almost completely weaned off the bottle, she's easily entertained, she has such a fun and enthusiastic personality, and she is still the sweetest baby I've ever met.

She fits right in with our rowdy pack, that's for sure. One of my favorite things that she does right now is copy. If you stick your tounge out, so does she. If you shake your head, so does she. If you make fists and get really tense, so does she (this one happens to be my favorite). All of us love to play this game with her. She's such a captive participant too, she'll play for a long time! She generally loves the commotion of our house. She still cries if she's alone in a room. She adores her siblings and they all adore her as well - even though she is now at the toy-stealing stage (here's hoping that lasts)!

She's come so far mobility wise this month! She army crawls with alarming speed (she's gotten into the dog dish more than a few times - I need to stop underestimating her ever increasing speed), she's FINALLY learned how to go from laying down to sitting up, she can pull up on the furniture - but only to her knees, she bears weight on her legs like a champ, the other day (for the first time ever) she took a few steps while Justin supported her weight (this is HUGE for her), and she has started getting up on hands and knees and rocking back and forth. I feel like she makes new progress every day. We're still continuing with physical therapy once a week, but I'm anticipating that we'll be able to end that soon. She's not caught up yet, but Justin and I both believe that by 2 years old she'll be all caught up and running circles around us.

I just thought this was funny. I put a curler in her hair the other day and forgot to take it out when she went down for her morning nap. When she woke up, the curler was gone but in its place was this awesome tornado curl.

Sammie LOVES to eat. She's been averaging 1-2 bottles a day (although today she hasn't had any). I've stopped buying formula. We're going to use up what we have and then that's it. My grocery bill is already breathing a huge sigh of relief. Today she had her first official 'big kid' lunch. Banana, half a PB&J, a cheese slice, and a sippy cup of milk. She OWNED her lunch. I'm not kidding when I say that she ate it faster than Noah or Josie. I even checked in and around her high chair - certain she hadn't actually eaten it all - but it was gone. She loved it. Her favorite foods include: avacado, banana, turkey slices, cheese, applesauce, yogurt, and milk. Surprisingly she's my first baby who does not like oatmeal. I'm going to have to start getting creative with breakfast. She has also learned how to use a sippy cup this month. This brings me much joy. Sippy cups are so easy, so portable, so dishwasher safe. I did a happy dance the day she learned to use it! 

Sammie babbles a lot, but I wouldn't say that she has any words yet. She does, however, know several words. If we ask where mama or dada are, she will look for either me or Justin. She knows how to respond appropriately to 'soooo big' (hands in the air) and 'yay' (clapping). She is also starting to learn the meaning of the word 'no'. With mobility comes the increased usage of this word. When she hears me tell her no she always stops, looks at me, and (in true Smith style) ignores me and continues with her mischief. She does get into a fair amount of trouble (mainly the dog dish) but she's no where near the naughtiness level of Noah and Josie when they were babies so she seems pretty easy and obedient right now. Hopefully that trend continues (because if I have to live through another couple of years of toddler-hood like Noah and Josie's I'm gonna go batty).

 Food coma. She's just a girl who knows how to appreciate a fine banana, such a refined palate.

 Sammie's nicknames right now are: Samma, Samma Sue, Sammich, and Sumatra.

We love this (not so little anymore) girl and are thankful everyday that she's in our family. She's such a bright light in our home and I can't imagine our house without her. She has such a calm, easy energy and it's nearly impossible to be grouchy when you're around her. It makes me sad that she'll be 1 so soon but I love who she's becoming and I'm ready to find out more about who she'll be. We're absolutely addicted to her. Happy (late) 11 months Sammie!