11 Months Old

1 month. I only have 1 more month before my baby girl turns ONE! This cannot be happening. How can it be that my little 4 pound baby girl is now 19 pounds and 1 month away from her first birthday? Besides getting bigger, nothing changed much from the previous month. I keep trying to teach her how to clap, say some words, or use some sign language, but she's not really interested in any of those things. She's definitely interested in her brother and she enjoys following him all around the house. She's also attempting to stand by herself (I guess that's something new). Every once in a while she'll let go of whatever she's holding onto. I think she's topped out at 5 seconds with no support. She still loves "walking" behind her push toy or while holding onto Daddy's fingers, but she doesn't seem any closer to actually walking. She did learn how to do this cute thing in the bath where she dunks her face in and then pops up and starts cracking up. That keeps her entertained until she swallows water and starts crying. Her other favorite thing to do is drop things on the ground when she's sitting at the table. She'll do it on purpose and then look at me...look back down and the object (usually her sippy cup) and say, "Uh!" Little stinker thinks it's funny, but after the fourth time or so I decide that it's not funny and I don't pick it up anymore. That usually makes her kind of mad. She still shows her girly/dainty side on a regular basis by throwing her bottom lip out when someone dares to tell her "no" or when dinner isn't served fast enough. She may be girl/dainty but when it comes to eating she keeps up with the big boys and throws down everything we put in front of her. The girl sure can eat! She's such an absolute sweetheart and I just can't get enough of her and her cuddles. The only bummer thing about this month has been Laney's health. She's been sick with a cold for a few weeks now. I finally took her in and they said it was a sinus infection and put her on the pink stuff. After a week she was still sick and grumpy and broke out with a fever so we took her back in. The doctor said things looked good, but her one ear was showing the beginning stages of an ear infection. She changed the medicine from pink to white. The next day Laney had a few bumps on her legs...then around her mouth...then on her hands and feet. So currently the poor little girl is suffering from Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease. Luckily it seems to be a mild case. The roughest part is trying to keep her somewhat contained and reminding Brooks every 5 seconds not to touch her. You can see some of the bumps around her mouth in the pictures below. Hopefully she'll be better next week and all this sickness will be behind her so she'll be ready to celebrate next month. Let the countdown begin!

Just a peek

Here's Laney is her precious new (bought at the resale shop) outfit posing for her birthday invitations. We took 81 pictures and here are just a couple. The "best of the best" I saved for the invitation itself. This is just a peek...

Through the lens of Daddy

On Fridays Chad keeps Laney home with him. He calls it "Daddy/Daughter Day". These are some of the pictures from their latest "Daddy/Daughter Day". Yes, even the one of Chad and Laney is one that he took himself. Too cute!

Laney loves to play on Brooks' blue chair. She climbs up it, she watches cartoons in it, and she falls off of it. I think it's time for Laney to get her own chair.

Brooks and Delaney love...

...crawling in the tunnel together.

...going to baseball games together.


...playing at the splash park together.

...taking baths together.

...reading books together.

...and posing for pictures together.


These kids just love to be together...and it makes me so happy.

Poolside

Brooks has done a great job swimming this summer. He's kicking his feet, using his arms, and taking a breath.
Here's our little fish in action.

I love that we have a pool in our neighborhood. There are some afternoons that we'll just head up there for an hour before dinner. Even with me going back to work we have time to go up to the pool.

My 10 month old...what?!

Has time really just flown by so fast that my baby girl is already 10 months old?




Likes: Any food she can pick up with her fingers and lots of it, her paci and blankie, crawling, bath time, her brother, putting things in her mouth, walking with her push toy, throwing all her blankies out of her crib, drinking from mommy's water bottle, dancing, eating, her silly daddy, having mommy pick her up after school, airplane with daddy, standing up, reading with Brooks, eating, crawling in the tunnel, babbling and sleeping

Dislikes: Getting out of the bath, the word "no", spaghetti sauce, getting dressed, getting her diaper changed, teething (I think that goes for all of us), falling down, getting stuck under the kitchen table, Brooks' bear hugs, not getting attention, and running out of food

Some new things: The other day Laney was laying on the floor with Chad and she said "dada". It was her first real meaningful word. I thought Chad was going to cry.

Just some pictures of my sweet Laneybug from this past month...

Things to do when it's HOT outside:

#1. Make some Watermelon Granita. It is seriously delicious and so refreshing on a hot day.

Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
4 cups (1 3/4 pounds) cubed seedless watermelon (from a 4-lb. melon)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Preparation
Purée all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into a 9x9x2" metal baking pan. Freeze mixture for 1 hour. Stir, mashing any frozen parts with the back of a fork. Cover and freeze mixture until firm, about 2 hours. Using a fork, scrape granita vigorously to form icy flakes. If you want it can be made 3 days ahead just cover it tightly with foil and keep frozen. Give it a quick scrape before serving.

#2. Spend some time reading books.


#3. Go to the pool as much as possible. We probably go to the pool 3-5 times a week. I'm so thankful that we have a community pool! My Dad visited recently and we went to the pool with the kids. My dad was a great swimmer/diver growing up so he was so happy to see Brooks in the water and swimming so well.


#4. Visit your local waterpark. We went to Volente Beach here on Lake Travis with Team Hancock. Brooks LOVED going down the big slides. The tunnel slide was his favorite. I think he just really enjoyed being able to do the things that Bryan and Dawson and Megan were doing. Here's Brooks and Dawson in the pool after coming down the slides (the water isn't dirty, it's just lake water):

Laney was such a trooper. Well, actually, she was a little grumpy due to a cold and some teething pain plus she was going with no nap (it was kind of hard for her to nap when it was 105 degrees outside). But, she had her happy moments being passed around. She especially enjoyed her time with her Daddy:

The kids were wiped at the end of the day:


#5. Explore a museum. My mom was in town and we left Laney behind and took B to the Children's Museum in downtown Austin. He had a great time going from room to room getting his hands on all kinds of fun things.
Serving Gammy some food:

Brooks and Gammy pulled on the rope to launch a pig on a parachute:

Learning letters with Mommy:

He even made a rocket out of all kinds of scraps:


#6. Play ball inside. I hate that it's too hot to go to the park, but Laney and Daddy pitch the ball to Brooks in the living room instead (it's become a nightly event). Everyone was quite entertained.



#7. Clothing is optional. If you haven't figured that out by all our summer pictures then you haven't been paying attention. Brooks is usually running around the house in his underwear and Laney is crawling behind him in her diaper. It's too hot for real clothes.