Eliza at 11 Months Old

Eliza is 11 months old today! It has been a month of fun with our little lady. She is really growing up so fast.


Eliza gets around very well. She uses anything she can get her hands on to help her stand up, then she walks as far as she can. Her balance is improving. She loves holding our hands and walking around with us. She walks toward specific things and goes where she wants now, rather than just walking to walk. She crawls very fast, especially if the bathroom door is open (since it's normally forbidden, it is her favorite place to go).

Since she pretty much eats what we eat, Eliza had lots of food firsts this month. Some of the highlights include ice cream, smoothies, french toast, waffles, and blueberry pie. She loves bananas and sometimes eats more than one a day. We have finally gotten her to drink a little from a sippy cup by adding a little apple juice to her water. Her main source of hydration is still Mommy milk, though.

In hopes to help her in napping, we have instituted what we call a "snap." A snap is a combination of a snack and a nap. The only time Eliza gets mommy milk during the day is right before she takes a nap (up until this point she has just nursed on demand, not on a schedule). That is her snack. By accepting a snack, she enters into an agreement to take a nap (don't worry, we explained it all to her). When she is tired, she gets fussy and makes it clear that she wants some milk, usually by biting my knees (we're working on biting) or if I'm holding her she'll bang her head into me. I only feed her in the comfy chair in her room. On a good day, she falls asleep and I lay her down. The rest of the time I just put her in her crib once she has finished eating. Sometimes she plays for a while by herself and then falls asleep, other times she cries for a while, so I feed her a little more and she falls asleep. I try to give her a snap twice a day. I still feed her on demand at night time. It's usually the easiest way to get her back to sleep when she wakes up.
[I'm sure some of you are cringing at our lack of routine or strange methods. I'm not endorsing this plan, just explaining how things go around here. Hopefully having this all recorded will help me learn for the next time around. I'm sure there's a better way.]

Eliza is doing some signing. Her favorite is "more." She does it very well and it helps us to know what she wants (that she is hungry, rather than tired, etc). It isn't always clear what she wants more of when we are sitting at the table and have given her several things. She also knows "eat" and "drink." She waves bye while saying "Ba ba ba." She claps when she is happy or excited and often to mean "yes." She shakes and nods her head for "yes" and "no." Whenever I tell her "no," she looks at me with a little bit of a sassy look and shakes her head. I'm not sure she understands what "no" means, but she definitely associates it with shaking her head. The nod is still pretty new, so it takes a concerted effort, but it is super cute.

Eliza went through a time where she said "mama," but she doesn't say it anymore. She doesn't say "dada" much either. I love when she understands our words, even without signs. If I ask her if she wants to eat without doing any signs, she will respond with the sign for "eat" or "more." The other day at lunch I asked Eliza where daddy was and she waved and said "ba ba ba." We have taken to spelling "milk," because if she hears it, that's what she wants (and unless it's snap time she's out of luck) and is not easily dissuaded.

I'm not sure what to do with Eliza's hair. It is getting pretty shaggy. I have wanted to let it grow so she can have little pigtails, but I've had a hard time finding rubber bands that are tiny enough (she won't sit still long enough for me to wrap and wrap bigger ones). I think I'm going to end up trimming it.


Tomorrow morning will be her surgery to open her tear ducts (bilateral nasolacrimal duct probe and irrigation, if you want the jargon). I was thinking we might have to call it off when she woke up on Saturday night with a croupy cough, runny nose, and fever. She has since gotten quite a bit better. Since Eliza isn't supposed to have anything to eat (including mommy milk) after midnight, tonight may be a very long night for all of us. Mike will have to be the one to get up with her because she won't be soothed by me with anything other than milk. We're hoping for the miracle of sleeping through the night. It could happen. Her surgery is at the crack of dawn, so on the bright side, if she stays up all night, our night isn't really going to be very long anyway (kind of a twisted bright side).

Now that she is doing more than just being cute, this monthly post is a little lengthy! Yikes!

Eliza started doing chores this month. Laundry is her favorite!

This was just a candid shot, not posed, but it makes me think of a senior picture of a guy who is in love with his car and wants it in his pictures with him.

We love this kiddo!