Hadley is 11 Months

Eleven months old?  Hadley Ann, can you please slow down?  Momma is not ready to have a toddler instead of a baby!  Some friends of ours, the Huffmans, just had a little baby (and named her Hadley!), and when I took them a meal the other night I was instantly struck with how big you have gotten.  This other little Hadley was actually bigger than you were at birth and yet she just looked so tiny – I kept saying how there was no way you were ever that small!  It is so hard to believe you have gone from this…

to this!

The other night, your daddy and I were talking about how it seems as if you’ve become a toddler overnight (although you’re not technically “toddling” around yet).  It’s bittersweet to watch you grow so quickly; every new milestone brings us joy and pride along with twinges of sadness to know that the Hadley we knew has forever changed and grown. 

Speaking of changing and growing, here’s a little about what you’re up to these days, along with your (estimated) stats!

• Weight: I’m guessing 23 lbs
• Height: Again just a guess – 30 1/4 inches
• Clothes: 12-18 months; your growing has finally slowed down and for once you’ve been able to get some good wear out of the outfits we have in this size!
• Diapers: Size 5

You’re still not crawling, although I am amazed at how far you can stretch yourself to reach a toy.  You will do anything to avoid getting on your stomach, including going straight into the middle splits and dragging your bottom forward just to reach something you’re wanting.  You are incredibly flexible!  You may be able to reach just about anything around you without crawling, but you would much rather be standing up playing at your music table or the coffee table.  Just within the last week you’ve started taking steps while I’m holding your hands and standing on your own for a few seconds at a time!  It cracks me up when you fall on your bottom because you make this sound of frustration like “Ugh!” and throw your arms up almost every time.  You want so badly to be able to stand and walk on your own.  You pull yourself up occasionally on this little basket we have in the family room that holds your toys, but you’d still rather one of us just set you there instead.  I’m afraid you might be a tad lazy (sweet girl, I’m afraid you’ve gotten some of your momma’s traits). 

Your eating and sleeping schedules haven’t really changed much since last month.  You still nurse 4 times a day (and more in the middle of the night if you’re teething or can’t sleep for some reason on occasion) and eat 3 full meals of solids per day (and at least one snack in the afternoon).  You LOVE to have waffles with your fruit in the morning for breakfast and would still snack on cheerios or puffs all day long if I let you! 

This month, we went down to Austin for your Nana’s birthday.  Even though it was her birthday, I think you’re the one who came out with the better end of the deal as you ended up with a new walker, clothes and some new toys!  You also started pretending you were on the phone while we were there.  It cracks me up, if we say “ring! ring!” you’ll bring your hand up to your ear and smile.  You do it most often when you have a puzzle piece in your hand, but really anything (aside from an actual phone) will do. 

You made sure to show nana & grandpa Coleman this trick when we were down in Houston for Thanksgiving this month, too.

You love books.  Your favorite right now is Brown Bear, Brown Bear.  So much so that I have to hide it from you occasionally because if you see it and I’m not reading it to you, you will scream.  After reading it to you 15 times the other day I finally had to put it out of sight!  I so hope that you will always love books as you grow up!

This next picture cracks me up.  You were so focused on those puzzle pieces in your hands that you just had to chew on your jammies!  Your daddy does the exact same thing when he is focused/anxious watching sports.  Every now and then he’ll do it when he’s reading something, too, and when I looked down at you chewing on the collar of your jammies and focusing on those puzzle pieces I saw a miniature version of your daddy!

A couple random things about you this month that I don’t want to forget:

• You finally started babbling mama this month.  Up until now you’ve said pretty much every other sound – dada being your favorite, followed by nana, gaga, and baba – and mama was reserved for when you were mad.  You still don’t say it as often as you say dada, but every now and then I’ll hear a sweet little “mama” come out of your mouth!
• We have a leather longhorn/bull  foot-rest thing that is in the study and you decided this month that you are terrified of it.  It got to the point that we had to put it away because if daddy was working in the study, we couldn’t even go in there to say hi to him without you losing it and crying!
• When we’re driving and you’re getting bored or upset, for whatever reason, the song that calms you down right now is “Someone Like You” by Adele.  I’m not sure if it’s the piano or her voice or what, but it works better than any nursery/lullaby song I’ve tried!
• You are really interacting and “playing” with other babies now.  Our neighbor, Camry, invited you over to play the other day and although you two girls don’t really understand sharing quite yet, it was so fun to watch you two interact!

Hadley, what a blessing you are in our lives.  I know I say this every month, but I pray that you will always know how loved you are baby girl.  We love you, we love you, we love you!  Happy 11 months sweet girl!

Love, Momma