Felicity Grows Up: ELEVEN MONTHS!

Eleven months!!!!! My BABY is E-L-E-V-E-N MONTHS old!!!! How did this happen? We are now officially one month away from being O-N-E!!!!! Just thinking about it makes me teary! This is my last update before she turns one. I don't even know if my heart can take it. Here we go! 

New Developments: My baby is growing up so fast! She continues to stand up on her own for as long as she wants! She walks holding onto our fingers, and she effortlessly cruises around the furniture. I'm just not sure I'm ready to stop hearing her speedily crawl across our hard wood floors. She also does this precious little quirky thing when she is crawling. Whenever she has something in her hand (a ball, dolly, a toy, etc.), she will keep it in her hand and crawl with it. It just scoots across the floor clutched tightly inside her little hand. She is also obsessed with her Daddy right now! She said "Da Da" about 3900 times per day, and she gets VERY upset if she can't get to him. He's on mission trip right now, and while we were face timing with him this afternoon, she lost it. She had her little arms out trying to reach him, and she threw herself a royal fit that she couldn't get to him. Her little face was so sad, and I think it really upset him too. He got off the phone pretty quickly after that. I'm guessing their reunion will be really sweet this weekend! :) 

Eating: Felicity LOVES to eat! Her favorites right now include her fruit/veggie squeezes (she gets one per day, and she loooves them. She can hold them herself, but sometimes she wants me to hold them so that she can play with the big green cap! It's large enough that she can't choke on it. Another thing I love about the Happy Baby brand!) Felicity is very into mashed potatoes, nitrate free all-turkey hot dogs, avocado (still her favorite staple), chicken, tortillas, black beans, carrots, beans, and anything that I am eating! She had her first taste of a popsicle this month (thanks, Daddy), and she LOVED it. Now every time Avaree has a popsicle, it is not her own! ;) We have also started to drop mama milk feedings. She typically only eats from me three times a day now, and sometimes she still eats at night, but not every night. I am so hanging on to every little thing with her. I feel like I have had to fight to breastfeed both of my babies--(I was a working mom with Ave, and I have had health issues this go round), so I don't take giving it up lightly, but my goal has always been one year. We are almost there, and (ready or not) the weaning will begin! I'm so thankful that God gave me the desires of my heart in this area!

Playing: Felicity LOVES to play! Her favorites are her DOLLY (She has two little bitty dolls that she just loves. She crawls with them, sleeps with them, plays with them, and I always have one of them with us!), Peek-a-boo, playing anything with her sister, playing anything in Avaree's room (notice a theme here?), puzzles (a new favorite this month), anything that plays music, books, singing songs, and any silly game that Mommy makes up! :) We also got added a baby swing to our swing set this month, and Felicity LOVES to swing! :) You also love to watch (and dance to) the opening and closing songs of "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse", and you love the theme song to "Sofia the First" and (mama's fave) "Gilmore Girls!" :) You immediately hold your hands up for me to pick you up so that we can dance together through the songs! :) You, Mama, and Avaree have dance parties every single day! :)

Sleeping: Felicity has become an excellent napper!!!! She goes to bed for her morning nap between 9:30 and 10am, and she sleeps anywhere from one hour to two hours!!!! Her afternoon nap begins any time between 2 and 3, and it usually just lasts one hour. She is then ready for bed at 7pm! She is almost always asleep by 7:15-7:30 at the latest, and she is READY! :) She dropped that last little mini-nap that use to help her make it to bedtime, so she's ready for bath and bed by 6 or 6:30, and I push her to at least seven when I can. While we still have crazy nights sometimes where she is up and down alllll night, she typically wakes up two times every night now. Sometimes I still feed her one of those times, but it really just depends on the night. I stopped Avaree's night feedings at six months, so it seems crazy to me that I am still feeding her at night some, but she really wants it, and I don't mind. I've considered that if i stop this feeding altogether, maybe she would start sleeping through the night (she seriously hasn't done that yet--ha!), but some nights I am desperate for sleep, and she seems desperate for mama milk, and I just feed her. :) She will sleep eventually! She typically wakes up for the day around 7am, and this has become her special time with her Daddy! She wakes up, stands up with her Dolly, and starts hollering, "Da da Da Da" as soon as she wakes! :) He loves it, and unless he has an early meeting, or has had a super late night, he almost always goes to get her, and they have special cuddle and play time! :) (And Mama is super happy to get a few quiet moments before my day begins!)

Sizes: Felicity is still in a size three diaper, and she is almost out of all nine month clothes! The other day I put her down for her morning nap still wearing her (nine month) footie jammies from the night before. She woke up with a whole in one of the feet, and her little piggies were poking out! I guess it's time to move to 12 month jammies and clothes!! 

Disposition: Felicity is a happy, happy baby! She has an infectious little laugh, and she lights up your world when she smiles at you. My very favorite Felicity quirk is that when anyone says hello to her or acknowledges her while I'm holding her, she leans into me and buries her little head in my neck. She is such a cuddle bug, and I just can't get enough of her. She is the happies (like Avaree was) when we are all four playing on the floor together, having a dance party, or in Avaree's room for prayers. :) 

My little lovey, You represent so many answered prayers in my life. Everything about your little life points to God's great grace, and I pray that you grow to know Him and love Him! Writing this update makes me want to go pick you up out of bed and hold you for just a little while more. (And you know what, I might do just that.) You light up our world, my little sunshine! As your world continues to grow, Mommy, Daddy and Avaree will always be here to guide and love you! Just don't grow too fast, okay?  I love you higher than the sky, deeper than the ocean, wider than the horizons and back again! Mommy