eleven months

PRETEND We are just a few weeks shy of our cupcake's first birthday, when in actuality, I forgot to post this until days from her first birthday...
    I am just in awe of this past year and it's blessings. I could not see our lives without little Rilynn, and wonder how we got by before she came along. I am feverishly planning her first birthday party. Some people totally get my enthusiasm for a one year-old's party while others look at me like I am insane. Let me just tell you, Ri is the easiest, happiest baby on the planet (at least according to me) and I completely believe she is deserving of a big ole birthday party, whether she will remember it or not.

I also write this with bittersweet emotions for other reasons... Ri is completely off the bottle. I was going to start weaning her off but she took to the sippy so quickly that we literally just stopped the bottles completely in a day. It is much much easier without the bottle, but I am still kind of sad to see those damn things go. And I have since realized that sippy cups are a. more expensive, b. just as time consuming to clean. Ri was lazy for a while about holding her sippy if we were in arm's reach. If she didn't think I was watching, she would drink it by herself but if I was right there, she would fake like her arms didn't work. Smart one, kid. However, the day she started MDO, which was 3 days into the month, she came home holding her own sippy. So strange the things they will do when they are away from home.

Loves to sit in the mornings with her puffs and milk to start the day before breakfast

I am a bit sad about MDO but also very excited that she will get 2 days a week with kids her own age. We haven't been in a "group setting" since January when she was so tiny and got so sick at daycare. And she has literally been 100% healthy since then, so I am praying and praying that her little immune system is strong enough to combat all the new germs she will soon encounter. But watching other kids will help with her development, she will get art therapy and music and a daily bible lesson. She will be right by our house and my office so it will really be convenient as well.

Ri's new "tricks": Motioning "come" to the dogs, but also uses it for non-moving objects and when she wants more food. Her favorite book is Moo Baa La La La. Ask her, "What does the cow say?" and she will go, "Mmmmmm" since she hasn't figured out the lip movement of "moo" just yet. She points at everything and loves to "sort through" things- I will fold laundry out of the dryer as she stands there and hands me clothing items one at a time. She also loves to pull items out of my make-up bag, purse, her diaper bag, the tubberware cabinet and the lower shelves of the pantry door where I keep her snacks. She will pull something out, and then put it in my face as if to say, "Look Mommy! Look what I have!"
Sometimes she will pull her pacifier or teether out of her mouth and try to put it in my mouth. She thinks that is a hilarious game. She will feed Copper puffs and will sometimes tease him by holding it out to him and then quickly putting it in her mouth.
She started putting items BACK into their container halfway through the month.
She knows where her bellybutton is and will point at it.
She knows how to flip through the pictures on the iPhone and that the circle button on the front will light up the screen (scary, I know).
She is pointing at everything and wants you to name it- especially the ceiling fans and lights.
She has a bathtime routine- bath, point at the pictures of herself on the wall while I wrap her in a towel, brush her teeth and then she likes to turn off the light switch herself when we leave the bathroom.
She can now blow you a kiss, says Momma and means JUST me, and holds her arms out and pumps her fists in and out when she "wants more" or wants you to pick her up.
Baby Babble is the best DVD on the planet and she literally squeals to get in her car seat to watch it. She knows there are dalmatians that show up on the screen when you first turn on the DVD player so she immediately starts pointing at the screen, saying "Ca Ca" even before I turn it on. The 101 dalmatians commercials on Disney Junior are her favorite thing EVER but she is mesmerized by the songs at the beginning and end of shows like Little Einsteins, The Hugglemonsters, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (she likes the dancing at the end and will kick out one leg like Mickey does), and Special Agent Oso.

Not sure what to think of her new moccs

Checking out Daddy's new "beep" with Cop and Aunt Jess

I love the way she sits

Very sharing

She is NOT a picky eater. Matter of fact, she has yet to turn a single thing down that we have placed on her tray. The girl can eat, and I honestly believe would eat all day long if she didn't have to sit still to do it. She is a busy body though so I guess she burns it all off and that would explain how tiny she is. She eats 3 meals a day as well as a snack and gets 4oz of milk with each. I give her a sippy cup of water throughout the day. She still only has 2 teeth so we still do a lot of baby foods, just chunkier blends, and then soft table foods like hamburger meat, light fish, pulled chicken, fresh deli meats, soft veggies and pasta.

She is great with her walker now. At first, she would get beside herself when she would back it into a corner and couldn't figure out how to get it out. Bless it. She is flying through the house these days. She will stand and hold a toy in both hands. As soon as she realizes it, she becomes a little weary and grabs on to the nearest thing. She is a lover of climbing, and took her first 3 steps at the end of the month. She will take a few and then plop down to her knees, which explains her very bruised kneecaps. It is going to be any day now that we are off and running. Goody.

We are still sleeping like a champ, at night that is. She has suddenly taken naps out of her equations. We went from 3 to 1 tiny nap so we are trying to get back on track with that. As for nighttime, however, that has helped us push her bedtime up just a bit.

Ri rode the new carousel at the mall, met her Aunt Jenn from Ohio and attended another buddy's birthday party.

We had our first weekend of college football. Can't believe how much she has changed since the last time she wore her Auburn gear.

We are beginning to open and close cabinets, and are intrigued by swinging a door back and forth. She shut herself in the dark in the guest bathroom not too long ago. That was fun. How do you tell an infant to move away from the door so I can open it and get her out?! So yea, we are finishing the babyproofing this week.

And she is also doing a bit more independent play where she doesn't have to be right by my side. Many days when we get home from school, she goes straight to her room to pull her babies out and independent play for a few minutes (while I am peeking around the corner taking pictures of her loving on her babies). I die.

I am telling you what. This kid is the best thing since sliced bread. No, she is way better than even that.