Eleven Months Old!

Well, as everyone warned, I blinked, and here we are closing in on a year. It feels totally ridiculous that eleven months have passed since the single greatest days in our lives, but that is what the calendar tells me.

I had the great pleasure of watching Marin play the other day, and I realized that she is really no longer a baby. She is a little girl. A toddler. Preposterous! Marin is a flurry of constant activity. Here is a sampling of what she's been up to this month:

* She is walking very well. Lately, she has begun running. Baby running- Not like a full blown sprint, but she's definitely harder to catch. She loves to move constantly. She walks all over gathering little things she can grab along the way- (a doll, spoons from her cabinet, a bottle brush)- and smiles brightly, babbling in her own language- stopping only to wave hi or goodbye to someone entering or leaving the room.

* Marin LOVES to climb. Especially the stairs, and not just in our house. She climbs stairs anywhere she can find them. I follow behind her and let her explore. It is like an adventure for her- "What is going to be at the top of these stairs?" Sometimes when she gets near the top she goes more quickly, like she is excited to find some secret waiting for her at the top. Often she looks over her shoulder at me standing behind her, and smiles as if to say, "Look at me, mommy- way up here!" When she does that my heart skips a beat, because she treats each stair like it is its own floor. She stands up straight right on the edge of the stair, sending me lurching forward to make sure she doesn't fall backwards, tumbling down the stairs. Recently, I found her standing on top of a stack of books at my parents house, reaching for her doll. Oh my- her adventurous little spirit is sure to keep us up at night for years to come. :)

* Marin is strong. We joke that she has abs of steel. She gets up from the ground to walk from any position and does so with little effort. She also carries things around the house that are as big as her head. The other day I found her carrying her economy size formula jug over to her dollies. They must have been hungry too. ;)

* She is such a little cuddle bug. She loves to snuggle up in our laps, and she loves to give hugs and kisses. It is the absolute BEST feeling ever. Marin also loves to give Norah hugs and likes to pat her belly- which really ends up being more like a beating for poor Norah, who takes it all like a champ.

* Marin is babbling a lot and making an attempt at a few words. When I come in a room she often yells, "I ma!!" Which is her way of saying, "Hi Mom!" This month she also added, "whoa" and "wa-wa" (water) to her vocabulary. Still, despite her new additions, she mostly just babbles in her own little language, while we pretend that it makes perfect sense. And "da-da" is still a clear winner in her language race. "A- da-daaaaa!!!!" Is her favorite saying ever. Gee, I wonder who her favorite is? ;)

* She is pointing everywhere. When we put a new light fixture up in her room, she pointed at it for days and we would say, "Yes, light. Pretty light." One time Jason's dad was holding Marin when he asked her, "Where's Norah?" And we were all shocked when she turned around and pointed at Norah. The sudden realization that she actually knows what we are saying is amazing.

* Much to my great delight, I think Marin might have inherited my anal streak. She is actually pretty tidy. I don't expect this to stick, and it is sporadic, but often times when Marin picks up a new toy, instead of dumping the old one on the floor, she puts it in the place of the new toy. Example: She was caring around a red block the other day, and she saw a paper in my grandma's purse that she wanted. So she picked up the paper, and put the red block in her purse. Hysterical. She does this in her room, too. She has little bins of toys, and if she sees a toy in a bin she wants, before she picks it up, she puts the one in her hand in the bin instead of on the floor. If only this were intentional. :)

* Marin is continuing to test the limits (often times on purpose it seems) and we are having tell her "no" more and more. She looks like the cat that swallowed the canary many times, as she walks up the stereo with at great big smile on her face, only to look back at you as if to say, "Look at me. I know this isn't allowed."

* Jake and Katy taught Marin to give high fives. It's her newest trick, and Uncle Jake's proudest moment with Marin to date.

* She is still sleeping well and eating well. She boycotted vegetables for a few weeks, but luckily zucchini won her over and she is back on the veggie bandwagon. Marin has begun eating pretty much anything that we eat. When Jason made chili, the other day, I gladly let her have some of the kidney beans- one of her favorites. After I gave her about 15 of them, and her cheeks were beat red, and she had drank a ton of water, Jason told met that they weren't kidney beans, that he had used chili hot beans instead. This is how we discovered that Marin likes spicy food.

* Marin continues to love going to Ms. Kathy's and playing with her friends at daycare. She is really quite independent. These days she goes right into daycare to start playing, without even looking back at boring mommy.

We are looking forward to her first birthday next month, and are excited to celebrate the best year of our lives, with our family and friends. Every second with Marin is truly a treat!