Eleven...

Today we celebrated 11 wonderful months with our sweet baby. I can't believe I am starting to plan her first birthday party!!!!

We took her to A-Town Pizza tonight- it is her favorite! She loves the cheese bread.

Before I get started on the events of this past month, I wanted to share a couple pictures from Monday at Nana's. We FINALLY got a picture of Nana, Papa, and Annistyn and Blakely.




Papa is one of Annistyn's favorite people. You can say, "Where's Papa?" and she will look until she finds him. As soon as she finds him she smiles a huge smiles and says, "He he!" If she hears him praying in church, she always tries to talk to him. She loves Nana too, of course!

Blakely has grown so much!



Here are several of her and Annistyn.
Annistyn really loves having a cousin!


She likes to talk to her.


And kiss her.


And sometimes she likes to grab her foot.


But Blakely doesn't like that very much.


There really isn't as much of a size difference between them now! My favorite thing about the pictures is Blakely's expressions. She looks like she's saying, HELP!!!

It's funny, because there were a few months that I had SO many accomplishments to share that I didn't know where to start. The main changes now aren't the ones that are so obvious. She grows up a little more every single day. But it would be impossible to list every new word she's learned this month or every new "trick".

So I'll just hit some highlights!

At 11 months Annistyn's language skills are growing like crazy!!!! She has learned a lot of new words over the last few months. This month, she recognizes ducks (like the one in her bathtub) and calls it "duhh". She calls Finley after I call him. Her's sounds more like "Illy!" If I say, "Let me tell you a secret!" she puts her ear to my mouth and waits for me to whisper something. She "asks" permission to do things by looking at me and saying, "Eh?" in a question tone. If I say no, she asks a couple more times. She usually does it anyway about the third time... then she runs from me laughing.

She loves singing and music and "dances" all the time. She sticks her little fanny out and shakes it. I really don't know where this come from. She's never seen her mommy do that!! If you tell her to dance she will dance! She knows how to clap, does pretty good identifying shapes (triangle, square, and rectangle). She knows the difference between the red ball and the blue ball when I ask her for a certain one. She knows the parts of her kitchen.

She loves her "friends" and she loves children and babies. She still likes to "kiss" and will even kiss pictures of people she knows. When she kisses now she says, "Oooh" because we always say, "Oooh, weee!" when she does it. She also responds to phrases like "Give Mommy love" or "Love Mommy" by laying her head against you and hugging. She likes to say "hey" and "byebyebye" and responds to both with a wave. She says "MMMMMM" about every bite when she's eating. She is very expressive and loud when she talks and she LOVES to sing- especially in the car and bathtub.

She likes feet and shoes. She takes off her socks and shoes everytime I put her in the carset. She knows what a "foot" is,but we also count her "toes". She will put her foot up and point to each toe like she is counting with me.

Annistyn loves reading and books. She would sit for hours and listen to me read. Her favorite book is the "Peekaboo Kitty" book. She likes to pull the flaps open on any "Peekaboo" books and find what's underneath.

This month she has started wanting to sit by herself in chairs, on the couch, and on the pew at church. She thinks she is a big girl.

She is doing a good job walking. She can walk from the couch to the kitchen and I guess if she didn't want to play with the bar stools she could probably keep going. She moves pretty quickly!!!

She really likes to play outside. We try to do that on afternoons it's not too chilly.
She has started pulling the cushions off the couch to "climb" up on it. She also has learned how to climb on her rocking horse to ride it. She will use anything for a step, so you have to watch her.

She hasn't really gotten that much bigger since last month. Clothes are still the same size- I am buying only 12 months for summer. I really don't think we'll be in 18 months anytime soon. I'm buying size 3 shoe. She's still wearing her 2's right now. Her hair is getting a lot thicker and it definitely is going to have some curl. Her eyes are big and green.

I am sure I have forgotten something, but her receptive language skills have improved so much and her mouth isn't far behind! Ha!

11 months ago, I was really really big, my ankles were beginning to swell, my face was puffy, and I was sooo tired. I had absolutely no idea the way I feel one year later. I had no idea how much you can really love another person or how much more blessed my life was about to become. I also had no idea that I would look back a year later and it would seem like yesterday. There are times in my life that I wish had gone by faster. Yet right now... I just want freeze the moment and take it all in. I love this little girl so much!!! I keep saying it can't get any better, but every month... it does. It is really proof to me that we serve a forgiving God. I know I could NEVER EVER EVER EVER thank Him enough for the people in my life.
Especially this one...





Happy 11-Month Birthday to my precious angel!