Precious Claire Elaine, you’re 11 whole months — plus a few weeks, but who is counting?! Our little baby is turning into a little lady and Mommy and Daddy can hardly believe it. You are an absolute blast, and one of your very favorite things is water! In fact, your official picture this month is from one of our fun days out on the lake:

Here are a few highlights at 11 (nearly 12) months old:

Weight and height: You’re growing before our very eyes, and everyone we meet comments on your height! I sure can’t wait to have you measured when you go to your 12-month appointment at the pediatrician. I’ll wait and post the official stats then.

Eating: You’re keeping your A+ this month, too, and have added a few new things to your repertoire, including watermelon, salmon, mahi, and loads of pesto. You still only have two teeth — but it doesn’t slow you down a bit. In addition to peas and blueberries, your favorite nibbles include pasta, peaches, tomatoes, pita, hummus, and even wheat thins (which you swiped from Mommy when I turned my head).

We’ve been feeding you four solid meals a day — breakfast, lunch, dinner, and a small afternoon snack — and that seems to keep the “hangry” monster at bay. Nursing supplements in between, and remains our wake-up and bed-time routine. I thought you were starting to wean just a bit (as you get better and better at solids, your belly fills quicker), but in the last two weeks you’ve been pulling on my shirt a few times a day…and Mommy gets the hint.

Throwing a little kink in our schedule, I’m actually flying to Santa Barbara, California (for business) right this minute — and we’ll be spending 3.5 days apart. I left behind quite a bit of frozen milk, and plan to pump regularly while I’m gone. Surely we’ll be able to pick up where we left off when I return. I want the weaning process to be gradual, rather than forcing us cold-turkey. (Which, honestly, is mainly based on Mommy mourning the end of this phase.)

You are a diverse, healthy eater and although you’re opinionated about many things, we like the fact that you’re feisty and hope you’ll continue to have an adventurous palate.

Sleeping: Honestly, sweetie, your sleep pattern is our only gripe these days. Some nights are fantastic — you’ll sleep 10 hours straight without a peep from your crib. Other nights are challenging — like at 1 a.m. this morning when the only thing that comforted you was snuggling up between Mommy and Daddy in our bed.

We’re blaming this regression on a few things — you’re growing and changing so rapidly, plus we’ve been traveling quite a bit. Once I’m home from California, we’re going to do our best to re-establish a solid routine. (Although Daddy and I both admit that there’s not much sweeter than having you snooze between us.)

Naps are fairly regular still — you take a big one in the morning, and then two small ones in the afternoon (or one long one if we’re really busy). Thank you, baby!

Playing: Wow, you’re a busy bee! Although you aren’t yet walking, you’re the fastest crawler we’ve seen, and you can “cruise” around the room holding onto your bike, furniture, or our legs. We know that once you walk, you’ll run….so we aren’t rushing you along.

You love, love, love to play and have started to really study your toys. Your “Claire” bench is a big hit, and you will push it around the room and even climb on it to see out the window! We have two big white boxes filled with toys in the living room, and you love to sort through them. You’re also a huge fan of books (although you’ll still only let us read 2-3 pages aloud before you’re ready to move on to the next one).

You adore your water toys, as well as the swings — both make you giggle with glee!

And one of our favorite things about you these days is your use of language. You’re quite the talker and we could listen to that little voice all day long. You string together syllables, and although you aren’t calling us Da-Da and Ma-Ma, you certainly seem to respond to your name and more.

One other fun change is your hair! It’s staying ruby red (yay!), but it’s now coming in thicker…and curly! We got a good kick out of it at the beach last week (photos to come) — maybe it’s time to invest in a good brush.

The next time I write, we’ll be celebrating your 1st birthday. What a year, baby girl. We made it! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you — and, if we’re honest, we’re a bit proud of ourselves, too 😉

All our love, Mommy and Daddy