My Mommy and Daddy Only Have One Month Left

with a baby.

Because next month I will be a toddler.

Today I turned 11 months-old.  My mommy has the flu and my daddy had to work so I spent most of the day with my Grandma Jeri and my Auntie Shelby.  

I have eight teeth now.  My mommy thinks I am getting my one year molars because usually I LOVE to get my teeth brushed but I have been crying hysterically the past few nights when she tries to brush them.  When I cry hysterically I get really angry and my face turns bright red.  I scream and holler until I get my way; sometimes I have to scream and holler for a long time because my mommy is really stubborn.  Sometimes I don't have to scream and holler for a long time because my daddy is sort of a pushover.  

I learned how to sit up from laying down this month.  When I finally figured it out I thought it was so cool I laid down and got up for an hour straight.  My mommy was happy that I occupied myself.  Even though I can't crawl yet I can go wherever I want (with the exception of up/down stairs) by rolling around. My mommy LOVES it when I roll over to her to give her kisses.  I made sure I gave her a lot this morning when she wasn't feeling good.  Plus, I can pull myself into a standing position and I can stand on my own for several seconds.  I like to fall, on purpose, from standing (the trust fall) and have my mommy or daddy catch me.  

I chit chat a lot for my age.  I pretty much have something to say about everything. And I have a special voice with which I speak to the cat (it's much more high-pitched than my regular voice.  My mommy's family will likely call it 'cat-talk').  When my mommy points her finger and says, "NO!  NO!"  I point my finger back at her and yell, "HA-YAH!"  The first time I did this I couldn't tell if my mommy's wide eyes and red face meant that she thought it was funny or if she was enraged.  

I like to stand up in my crib and put my legs through the rails.  You should see the bruises I have on my legs from doing this.  My mommy is worried someone is going to call CPS on her eventually.  You may be wondering why I don't have a bumper pad to prevent me from doing this.  I used to have one but I wouldn't stop fooling around with it and my mommy got worried I would either suffocate myself or choke myself with it.  And I learned to lift it up anyway so I would be putting my legs through the rails anyway.

I weigh more than 25 lbs and I'm not sure if I still register tall.  My hair is grown in just a bit more and my mommy and daddy enjoy fashioning it into different styles.

I have a keen sense of humor and my mommy can often trick me into laughing instead of crying. I think she is really funny most of the time but sometimes I think she is mean especially when she gets angry with me for making a GINORMOUS mess when I eat.  For example, I like to hit the loaded spoon so the food goes flying around the kitchen.  This makes my mommy furious and she usually ends up saying naughty words and holding my hands down, which in turn makes me angry and so then I spit my food out onto her.  We both need a time out after such meals.

I am still very friendly.  Much to my mommy's embarrassment and chagrin my favorite store is Walmart because I make many friends there.  I wave and chit chat.  I also like the pharmacy because standing in long lines gives me a perfect opportunity to capture a crowd with my bright personality and silliness.  People love me and my mommy can't seem to go anywhere anymore without having to talk to millions of people about me.  My new favorite social scene is the gym daycare, however.  The daycare providers LOVE me (and that is an understatement). They yell out my name when my mommy carries me through the door to drop me off. When she picks me up they always tell her how cute and happy I am to play with the toys and to play with the other kids.  My mommy says it is a good thing I am cooperative about going because it is really all my fault she has to go to the gym in the first place.  I remind her that it is all really my daddy's fault, to stop complaining and to drop and give me 20 (sit ups that is, because what is the deal with her saggy abs?)

I love all of the same things that I have always loved like my kitty, books and reading time, being outside, my stuffed frog "Lily", and my spit-up rags.  I really love to tear up and eat paper.  I especially love to bite chunks out of my board books.  My mommy always catches me, even when I try and be sneaky, and I yell at her when she digs the pieces out of my mouth.  I still hate it when my mommy and daddy get me out of the tub before I am ready and when my mommy ignores my attempts to get her full attention for 24 hours per day.  She says that sometimes we need to play by ourselves to save our sanity and our relationship but I think she is full of it. 

I have dropped a nap; now just one nap in the early afternoon.  This makes my mommy's life easier but I do get a little grumpy some days and my mommy threatens to add another nap if I don't change my attitude.  She says, "You freak, you sleep." 

If you have any questions for me you are more than welcome to post one to the comments and I will answer them.  I can even answer hard life questions--babies are really good at philosophizing.