Time to Just Accept It: You Are 11 Months Old

11 Months Old.  Bruised cheek and all.

I don't know what's wrong with me.  I've had a harder time than usual getting around to writing this post.  I have sat down no fewer than a dozen times to start it, only to find an excuse to do something else.  Anything else.  Scrolling my Pinterest inspiration board for your birthday party?  Sounds like a reasonable thing to do.  Searching for my recipe for chicken chili?  Well, someday it might feel like fall around here and I might need it.  Organizing the printable files I've been hoarding?  Why not.  Anything not to have to start this post.  But it's time that I just face the facts: You are 11 months old.  

You turned 11 months on the darkest, cloudiest day we've had in a while.  Blurry pictures are to be expected.

Actually, you are 11 months and one week by now.  Why is this so hard for me to come to terms with?  Maybe because it is the last time that I have no choice but to relay your age in "months."  Maybe because the day you turned 11 months you also decided to take your first steps.  Maybe because you still are practically toothless (just tiny bottom ones peeking through) and hopelessly chubby and I just still feel like you are my baby.  Baby!  Not a toddler.  And probably, mostly because you are, without a doubt, the last baby of mine.  The last one to cross this month-to-year threshold.  I don't want to see this year come to an end.  

September Sunsets

Low tide is magical.

If I'm being honest about how quickly you are growing up, I'd have to admit that you are changing every day.  Your hair has grown and is halfway covering your ears.  This whole standing/walking thing that you are doing lately.  The way that you play with your toys and how much more deliberate, thoughtful and inquisitive you are with them.  But one of the biggest is in your comprehension.  I feel like I can have a conversation with you now.  I mean, I do it all of the time, regardless of whether or not you understand a word.  But now you respond to my questions with "Yeah!" or a headshake or "No no."  When I ask what you want to wear today, you thrust a pointing finger toward your bedroom.  If I ask you where something is that you recognize, you go get it.  Amazing!  You couldn't do any of this a month ago  (well, maybe the yes and no thing, but it is much more accurate these days).  

And about this crazy walking you are doing.  I find it funny that you have decided to stand on your own and walk all within about a week's time span.  You only try to take steps when I put you down with the intention of walking away.  Then you hightail it back to me and hold on tight.  Or if something you want is a step away from where you are already standing.  You are wobbly and inaccurate in your steps.  I don't think it's as much a case that you can walk as it's a case that you don't know that you can't.  You just plow forward, goal insight, and not much planning or practice behind it.  You do it a lot, so it's not a fluke.  I just wonder if it has any bigger meaning.  Will you be impulsive like me?  I hope you learn to plan and think things through a bit better than I do.  It frustrates me that I don't approach much with a plan.  Or that I plan like crazy, but when it's time for action, my plan goes out the window.  Yep.  That's me.  I hope for your sake that you find a balance in your impulsiveness.  Be spontaneous.  Follow your heart.  But also learn to save for a rainy day and that actions have consequences.  At least for now, the most I have to worry about is a bump on the head from your impulsive decisions.  But don't think I don't worry about the times that I won't be there to catch you, both literally and figuratively.  

You were a mess!

Before I get to deep, there really was a "birthday" point to this post.  So here is 
What Finnlee's Digging: 11 Months

• Plums.  You gobble them up.  I love them too and am happy to "share" one with you.  
• "Outside."  I just say the word and you are crawling to a window, face smooshed against the glass, pointing wildly at the great outdoors.  You love to venture out there and explore.  This will become much more fun once you are truly walking.
• Shoes.  But only other peoples' shoes.  And never on you!  You rip off your own shoes every time I try to put them on.  But if someone leaves their shoes within your reach, good luck getting them back.
• Dog-dogs.  In books.  On tv.  Walking down the sidewalk.  You point them out and say "dog-dog" in your whispery little voice.  So cute.
• Photo albums!  You found our stash of albums and flip through them over and over again.  I've hidden the ones you can damage, but there are still plenty for you to peruse.  
• And (finally!) baths!  Ever since I started letting you take baths in the big tub with Sydney, you love your bath time!  I'm so relieved about this.  Who knew you had something against small, pink tubs?

Playing with daddy.

It's been a crazy week around here.  Today, all three of you girls are sick.  Sydney and Kylee stayed home from school.  It feels a little like a clinic around here.  We have a roofer coming today to check on a leak.  Ashley's brand new iPhone was stolen over the weekend.  I can do without all of that kind of craziness.  But there's also a dining room table full of birthday party crafts and Halloween costume supplies.  I've been "making" and "crafting" for a few days now.  That kind of craziness is okay by me.  The countdown has begun.  You will be turning one whether I am ready or not.  And you are counting on me to pull off this party I've been talking about for a year now.  It's showtime!

The Instagram Effect

That's right.  An entire post dedicated to Instagram.  Because this little app, that is nothing more than a tiny square on my iPhone, has become something much more significant.  It is a community and a challenge to enjoy and document every day all in one.  And it's also keeping me on my toes when it comes to this blog.  When I first started writing to you here, nobody- with the exception of  couple of close friends- knew I was doing this.  I felt it was personal, but not private.  Something that I wanted to do for you, but that I didn't want pressure to have to do.  But also something that I hoped might inspire other moms to do something similar for their little ones, should they happen upon this site.  But I get distracted easily and I manage to make excuses for myself like nobody's business.  So, I found myself slacking on posting regularly.  However, ever since I posted the link to your blog on my Instagram profile, we have had regular visitors here.  So, "Hi!" if you are reading this because of IG!  I love this because it reminds me that I really need to update once in a while.  Time is flying by and you are learning things everyday.  There's just no time to be a slacker.

Some of my favorite IG shots.

After seeing so many beautiful iPhone photos, I thought that once I upgraded my phone it would just automatically take stunning pictures.  Wrong.  I had no clue how to use it.  Or how to edit.  Or much of anything about it.  I was pretty disappointed.  When I first installed Instagram on my phone, my pictures were not reflective of who you and your sisters were.  They were dark, grainy and boring, and I lost interest very quickly.  I also refused to hashtag any photos, insisting that I wasn't on there to get a bunch of "likes,"but what resulted was that I ended up posting photos that only I saw (thank goodness, now that I look back at them).  What I was missing was the "social" aspect of this social app.  Enter Kelle Hampton's lovely blog and her decision to feature reader's IG photos on Friday's.  It was her always-breathtaking "Friday Photo Dump" that made me long for an iPhone and this little app in the first place.  Once I started to get the hang of using my phone's camera, I started using her "enjoyingthesmallthings" hashtag.  More importantly, I started browsing the hashtag and finding other moms who, like me, take tons of pictures of their kids.  It was obvious that these kindred spirits enjoyed life, loved their babies and realized how important it was to capture these memories.  

Some more favorites.

What I have found is a community of like-minded people, sharing our daily lives, whether that be a child's achievement, the color we painted a room, a cozy nap, a yummy breakfast or our latest shopping score...and everything in between.  A place where you don't really need to apologize for posting too many pictures of your baby (even though I usually do).  A place where I find inspiration to make the most of every day and find extraordinary moments in the ordinary.  A place where we support each other on a rough day and cheer one another on when it's called for.  I enjoy checking in daily to see what other families are up to and to share my latest glimpse into our life.

Latest batch of favorites.

Of course I do not need an app to remind me that we should go outside and enjoy a beautiful day.  Or to make me take notice of the absolutely perfect ratio of nose to cheek that your profile sports.  But it does challenge me to look at our daily routines differently.  I find myself seeking beauty in everything from grocery shopping to mess-making.  More frequently, I find myself stopping, to not only notice how beautifully the light is hitting your hair, but to snap a picture before the moment is gone.  Because history has taught me that I cannot rely on my memory alone.  

Another cool thing that has happened has been the opportunity to see your pictures on Enjoying the Small Things.  Every week a roundup of reader's photos are chosen from Kelle's hashtag to be featured on her blog.  You've made the cut twice.  It makes me so happy to see you there.  I respect Kelle so much as a mother and as a photographer.  If I look back someday and feel that I've captured my children's personalities with even a fraction of the magic that her photos possess, I will have accomplished something.  Assuming these links still work by the time you are able to read this, here is a link to the blog post that first featured your photo: http://www.kellehampton.com/2012/08/enjoying.html .  And here is a link to the second appearance you've made on her blog: http://www.kellehampton.com/2012/09/nineteen-grays.html  And if that's not the case, here are her collages (all other photos belong to the respective IG members and the collage is the creation and property of Kelle Hampton/enjoyingthesmallthings.com)

Your first appearance.

And your second appearance.  (Sorry for the blurriness, but I don't feel right about posting other people's pictures without their permission.)

 Obviously, it's not all about Instagram around here.  It's been quite a while since I've posted and you've had some big firsts.  Just this week you began standing for a few seconds at a time.  Of course, this led to another first: your first boo-boo.  You fell face first into the coffee table the other night, and your right cheek has a bruise the size of a quarter as proof.  I've never heard you cry so hard.  I had to trick you into putting an ice pack on it by pretending that I liked to lay my cheek on it.  You mimic every move and sound we make lately, so the ice trick was a success.  I'm selfishly grateful that the fall didn't happen closer to your first birthday, but the bruise will be around for your 11 month pictures, for sure.  Speaking of the whole "mimicking act" you've been putting on lately, you are saying quite a few words now.  You will attempt pretty much any word we repeat to you ("turtle", "Cruz"...daddy's current favorite Giant).  Your steady vocabulary are things like "Mama", "Dada", "Yeah", "Dog", "Night Night", and my favorite: "I love you".  But you also do the cutest whisper imitation every time I whisper to you.  Your head-shake for "no" is now accompanied by a wagging finger (where on earth could you have learned that), and you display this trick right before you reach for something that you know is off limits...which is frequent.  And you copy daddy's beat boxing when he's trying to entertain you (it ends up being the other way around).  Your two bottom teeth are becoming visible.  You like to test them out when you nurse.  I don't like that part so much.  You have been eating some big girl foods, too.  I try to feed you a little bit of table food at dinner time,  I shred everything to the tiniest size but your lack of teeth makes it difficult for you to actually eat most things.  It's a slow process, but I really hope you are able to down some birthday cake next month.  Next month!  Yikes!!  Where has this year gone?