11 months old

I just mailed the 1st birthday invitations. How can this be happening so soon?
Mary Lawton's 11th month was exciting--first Christmas, visits with family, our first nuclear family vacation, lots of exploring, lots of investigating. We have a busy girl.

reaching for the cat's tail

She is getting feistier by the day. She would like it her way, thank you very much, and quickly, so get it together. She already has started pitching small fits--she will lie on the ground face-down and just wail. I hate to admit it, but it's pretty funny.
She's doing much better about not putting every tiny bit of something she finds on the floor in her mouth. Now she holds it up and will hand it to us very proudly. I'm sure she still sneaks a few bites, too.
She is funny and happy (most of the time). Probably the thing that makes her laugh the loudest is hearing Sweet LJ laugh. When he laughs, she cracks up. When she's excited she flaps her hands around, and when she's really excited she holds her hands up in the air, eyes and mouth wide open.She's still a good eater. She loves to dine out--for the people watching, not necessarily the food. She waves to every person who enters the restaurant, everyone sitting around us, and to the server on each visit to our table.

munching on half a banana

Her daycare teachers call her the classroom greeter. They tell me she waves to everyone coming and going.

Still she has only one tooth. She will brush her hair if I ask her too, and she will brush my hair.
She gives us hugs and kisses. She usually kisses us by touching her forehead to ours. She also kisses children in books by touching the book to her forehead. I love this.

Her favorite book is one with little poems and sayings about babies that includes lots of photos of babies. We read it A LOT. We have our favorite babies. We don't even have to read it--sometimes we just slowly go through it and look at all the babies. Again. And. Again.

She crawls fast and pulls up and cruises on everything but I don't think she'll be walking anytime soon. She does great with her walking toys, though.

Fun with plastic bags (under close supervision)

People tell you babyhood goes by quickly, and they're not lying. This has been the fastest 11 months of my life. I wish I could have held on to it a bit longer.
We are so crazy in love with you, Mary Lawton. Thank you for all the sunshine you bring to our days.