At the end of this week, I will have an 11 month old baby, which means I'm going to blink, and we will be celebrating her first birthday. What strikes me about this is that everyone who meets Grace now, for the first time, will only know her as a big baby, a mini person who can actually do stuff. Sometimes I want to say to these new people, hang on a sec, let me bring you up to speed. You see, just mere days ago she was really small and I had to carry her everywhere and she didn't ever sleep and I went a little nutty and then she rolled over for the first time when she was three months old! And she sat up so early, and she could wave bye-bye when she was four months old! Then she started pulling herself up on all fours, and then, it took awhile...but she crawled! Look at her now, she's almost ready to walk!
But that's the sort of rant that gets you labeled as the "crazy mom." I know you get it, though, fellow parents, or really anyone who is invested in the life of a baby. They change SO FAST, that just when you get one stage under some semblance of control, they change the game on ya, yet again. And I feel that warrants an explanation, somehow. Like, my baby has been so many different babies this year, you really are just meeting the most recent version of her. There is a lot more than meets the eye with this one!
Ok crazy.
But I know you get it.
What happened in month 10-11? A LOT. She can communicate with us in ways that are so much easier to understand, and she definitely knows what she wants. And usually what she wants is a ball. I was reading a really dumb book to her earlier this month, and on one of the pages a bunch of purple dragons are playing soccer. She pointed to the soccer ball and said, "Bah!" And I was like OMG BABY GENIUS! And she has never done it since. But then the other day, Eric was bringing in a gigantic tomato from our garden and Grace pointed to it and said, "Bah!" Pretty good! She smacks her lips together when she's hungry or thirsty, and she can sign "more" when she wants something else. She's an adventurous eater, and since we've had so much garden produce she's had a lot of tomato sauces, sauteed veggies, and even tried her first squash soup. She loved 'em all! She points and points and points and we go wherever she points. Needless to say not much gets "done" around my house. (Although, a baby is growing into a person, all day everyday, on my watch. So maybe "everything" is getting "done" around my house?) She can climb stairs (scary fast!), she loves to sit on little kid sized chairs and tap her feet, and the most novel thing in the world is to take toys, food, or clothing and chuck them as far as she can while seated in her high chair or especially on her changing table. I've made the mistake of saying "Oh no, you threw it down! Down to Chinatown!" while I retrieve whatever she threw, which she finds to be hilarious (I do too) and so I've basically been a major enabler to the most annoying game in the world. She loves Elmo. And kittens. And to look at photographs. And she still loves FaceTime. And books.
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| "And then I said, 'Jay, say hi to your mother for me.'" |
We also started music classes this month, and it's been so interesting to watch her socialize with other young children. She's an observer, my Gracie, and with each passing week she gets a little braver and more outgoing. I know it will be years from now, but I can already tell how hard it's going to be to really let her go and explore the world on her own. And this is the part where I need to remember that her life is hers, and I am the lucky shepherd and guardian who helps guide and protect her while she explores all the wondrous things the world offers --and I'm going to soak up every ounce of joy she radiates as she goes.
You're letting her go? Perfect, Nico is never leaving. So she's going to live here in Luigi Land after their wedding and I'll do their laundry like good Italian mothers do.
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