My Loves

My little cuties!

11 Months Old

She looks more and more like a little GIRL and less and less like a baby...

How did this happen?  My baby girl is nearly one already?!?!?  I really cannot believe how much she has changed and how much joy she has brought to our lives.  She is our little sunshine!!

Here's a little of what she's been up to these days:

-Sleeping is finally back under control.  She averages an 8 PM bedtime and a 5 AM morning feeding, and usually goes back to sleep for nearly an hour.  She only wakes at night to get a Nuk, and maybe only once or twice.  Whew!  We survived a long stretch of sleepless nights!

-She is a bundle of energy! Speed crawls everywhere, especially if it involves chasing her brother.  Scales the stairs in record time.  Stands on her own for a few seconds and can go down nice and slow from standing to sitting.  Loves to walk around while holding onto our fingers.  We can tell she's THINKING about taking those first steps.

-FINALLY got a tooth!  One single, lonely tooth now occupies her bottom gums.

-Really likes big people food and drinks... If she can feed it to herself, there's a 99% chance she loves it.  She eats what we eat for meals now.

-Has been practicing drinking from a real cup in the bathtub.  She has also been practicing staying seated in the tub... that's not going so well.

-Adores her big brother.  She still gives him the biggest laughs, the sloppiest kisses, and the most excitement of anyone.  She lights up when it's time to go down to his room to wake him up from a nap or in the morning.

-Loves being outdoors, stroller rides, and going to the park.  Is getting into bubbles, push toys, and can get on and off low riding toys in the yard.

-Is starting to copy lots of actions, like putting objects in a bucket or bag, holding her shoes toward her feet, putting the comb on her head, swinging a bat at a ball, and turning the light switches off and on.  Oh, and loves to hit the button on the cable box and shake HER finger at US when we tell her, "No, no, no."

-Enjoys books more and more each day.  I like to hold up two books for her and let her pick one.  Sometimes she surprises me with her choices :)  Her favorite books are Pooh's Five Little Honeypots, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, B is for Bear, and Puppies and Kitties.

-Is a little jabber box!  No more quiet-as-a-mouse Izzy.  She screams and squeals with the best of them.  And she likes to copy noises that we make back and forth with her.

-Still loves to dance, bop, and groove to any music (especially if Cooper is dancing, too).

She loves bottles, cans, or cups of anything anyone is drinking.

'Atta Girl!  She's getting the hang of this bat and ball thing :)

Mommy and Izzy at the Dozinky Days parade. She was mesmerized by all the sights and sounds!

Soon to be a walker!

With a real tooth comes a real toothbrush!

Worm Hunting (Otherwise known as Woem Hunteen)

Cooper and I had the pleasure of a mommy-son date in the backyard last weekend after a night of rain. There were worms everywhere... A boy's dream;)

He gave them a ride in the dump truck...

He poked and carried them with a stick...

And he showed them a better view up on the deck.

Izzy looked on with excitement! 

"Pretty soon you can come Woem Hunteen too, Izzy!"

Vehicle Fair

Cooper and Izzy had a blast at tonight's ECFE Vehicle Fair!  Cooper was kind of like a ping pong ball, going from truck to truck to playground back to favorite truck, etc.  But it was fun :)  It was a great chance to get out on a gorgeous night!!

What little boy doesn't dream of driving one of these?!?

Izzy in the bucket :)

My little police officers.  They look pretty tough, don't they?!

Out of ALL the cool things in the fire truck, Cooper loved the seat belt.

I had to bribe him with fruit snacks for this photo...

She's got a little growing to do...

I think he'd be a natural.  Do you think it's in their blood??

Children's Museum

We tried out the Children's Museum a few weekends ago.  It wasn't exactly what we had expected, but the kids did have a great time.  I think it will be REALLY fun in another year or two when Cooper and Izzy are both doing more pretending and imaginative play.  It was really nice to have a safe place for Izzy to play, since most public places aren't really prepared for the curiosity of a nearly-one-year-old.

It was fun to just watch them explore and discover things all morning :)

Hands down, Izzy's favorite spot.  The water tables.  She looked so cute in her little apron!

Cooper had a little copy-cat following him around...

Our little firefighter! (With really big boots.)

Shopping!  This guy was hungry...

Land Ho!

Yep, she goes up the steps like a pro.

Checking herself out

Potty Training... Check!!

We are the proud parents of a potty-trained BIG BOY!  It finally all clicked, and Cooper is sooo proud!  He's been peeing in the toilet for months now, and he's been dry for about two weeks, but we just couldn't get the 'other' business taken care of.  But we've reached the Holy Grail of potty training :)

And as a cherry on top, tonight around 9 PM, we heard crying from his room and he was sitting up in bed.  "Daddy, I have to go potty," he said, in his sweet little boy voice.  I would be happy with just dry days, but I think he's going to go all-or-nothing for us!  He's been waking up dry for the past two weeks, as well.

I never knew I could get so excited about a person using the bathroom... 

Great Job, Cooper!!  We are so proud!

Ya, mom... I got this down!

YES!  No more diapers!!