(Lincoln 11 months, Caroline 11 months, Evan 11 months)

I have a great big talky, walky baby. Well, not really talking. He makes a lot of talking noises and babbles non-stop. But the walking is ridiculous. Caroline got him to walk the full lap around the first floor, up and down the transition step and everything. He cannot be stopped. He gets into everything, touches everything, reaches everything, spills everything. I have to pin him down for diaper changes and won’t even sit down to nurse – he stands up.

Finnegan is still pretty bald, so it’s hard to tell if he’s going to be Team Blonde or Team Ginger. The bald look makes him seem babyish still, which is fine with me. He can look like a chubby little baby as long as he wants. I’m not ready for him to be a toddler, even if he spends most of his time toddling around.

Finn takes one nap a day, usually around noon, but will take a second one later if we are in the car for any reason. He goes to bed about 8 pm and sleeps until about 8 am, which means I am finally getting 7 hours of sleep a night and my stress level is significantly lower. If I went to be right after the kids there’s a chance I could get TEN HOURS in a row. I’m not even sure that’s physically possible.

He’s wearing 12-18 month clothes (or 2T shorts if they’re not stretchy) but 6-12 month shoes, because he has tiny feet and huge thighs. It’s truly amazing he can even stand up, let along walk. He still isn’t a fan of things on his head but he will sometimes let me tie on a hat if it’s really sunny outside. He loves being outside, especially on my back in a baby carrier. Once the weather cools down I’m looking forward to wrapping him instead of always using the buckle carrier. I’ll be down to just Finnegan in the mornings, so  we’ll have lots of time to practice using our woven wraps and just wandering around the neighborhood. Or Target. Probably Target.

We’re celebrating both Finnegan turning 1 and Lincoln turning 3 with a joint birthday in mid-August. Our summer schedule was too busy for me to commit to 2 separate parties, but I couldn’t bring myself to not throw any party at all. The themes is children’s books. Finnegan is also having a children’s book smash cake photo session done by our awesome photographer who did his newborn pics. Considering how much he loves eating, I’m hopeful he loves the smash cake with his whole face.

Likes include food, more food, any food, all the food, cuddles, being upside down, nursies, tickles, his brothers, his sister, walking, the trash can, stealing things, chewing on crayons, climbing stuff, doing gymnastics, his blankie, naps, sand, grass, smiling, the cat, the dog, and mama.

Dislikes include being very tired, sitting in the car if it’s not moving, when I leave the room and when people won’t share their food.

11 Month Milestones 

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Says “mama” or “dada” to the correct parent – Calls me mama sometimes, Says dadadadada.
Plays patty-cake and peek-a-boo – Peek-a-boo yes, and it’s hilarious
Stands alone for a couple of seconds – Walks.
Cruises – Walks.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Understands “no” and simple instructions – Understands no, does not obey no.
Puts objects into a container – Only to be annoying. Like throwing the same block into my lap 50 times or trash in my coffee.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Says one word besides “mama” or “dada” – Bababababa but that’s not a word.
Stoops from standing position – He practices he squats like it’s leg day every day.

So, I’m not actually sure how this happened. I was totally fine with Lincoln being 10 months old. I love 10 months. 10 month olds are still babies, but they’re interactive babies who can express love and make you realize that all your hard work is totally worth it because you’re keeping this tiny baby alive.

But 11 MONTHS is basically a toddler. I didn’t ask for a toddler. He insists on toddling almost all the time now. He toddles even in PUBLIC, which means it’s only a matter of time before he isn’t on board with all my babywearing. Don’t tell him that’s an option though, he has no idea.

At 11 months old, Linc likes to take 2 naps a day – one short one in my lap/in the car/wrapped in the morning and one long one in his crib in the afternoon. Because he has two siblings who hve schedules and friends and plans those naps don’t always happen when and where he would like. Maybe 2 days out of 7 he gets his ideal naps. Most of the time a few short naps or an extra car nap will hold him over until he can just hang out on the couch with me and relax. And by relax I mean nurse, because he has suddenly decided that is his favorite thing in the whole world. I was starting to maybe sort of kind of think about trying to night wean him right around his first birthday, but I’m pretty sure that would be too much of a nightmare for all of us. I want to get MORE sleep, not less.

At his 9 month check-up (which happened at about 10 1/2 months), Linc was 22 lbs 3 oz, 29 inches tall and his head is 48.8 cm around. I bought him a pair of real shoes finally, in a size 5.5 (he hates them, but they fit). He’s wearing mostly 12-18 month clothes, although really his drawers have stuff from 9 months – 24 months and most of it fits…fine? Baby clothes are weird.

Likes include mama, daddy, anyone who smiles at him, screeching, waving his arms, shouting, grabbing things, flinging himself backwards, walking, climbing, the cat, the dog, music, tickles, the water, being worn, necklaces, pulling my hair, brother, sissy, yogurt raisins, Cheerios, and eating things off the floor.

Dislikes include the shower, being tired, the word NO, and not getting exactly what he wants immediately.

^^^^DO YOU SEE THIS? He’s trying to climb out of the crib. Good thing he hardly ever sleeps in it.

11 Month Milestones (from Caroline’s 11 month post, please also see Evan’s 11 month post here)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Says “mama” or “dada” to the correct parent – E still thinks he says Dada. Mostly he says “Do!” to the dog or “Dat!” for “That!” when he points. Still no mama.
Plays patty-cake and peek-a-boo – Pretty good at peek-a-boo with a blanket
Stands alone for a couple of seconds – Walks.
Cruises – Walks.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Understands “no” and simple instructions – Understands no, does not obey no.
Puts objects into a container – Yyyyyyyyyes? Not when I TELL him to, but he can.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Says one word besides “mama” or “dada” – Do and Dat, if those count.
Stoops from standing position – Walks. Squats. Leans. Climbs.

I take back everything I said about 8 months being my favorite baby age. And 9 months. And 10 months. My new favorite is 11 months. 11 months rocks. 11 months is where it’s at. It’s the BEST. Oh, I know, blah blah blah my baby is awesome blah blah blah so cute blah blah blah you should see her blah blah barf.

Whatevs, dude. As a mother, it’s my right to say these things. I get to change my mind every single day…although based on how 2 1/2 is going with Operation Ginger Dominance 1.0 I doubt I’m going to be saying “I love this age the best!” forever. So I am enjoying the crap out of 11 months.

Like I said yesterday, Caroline is headstrong and independent. She can hold her own against her big brother and has even started initiating games, such as “Lie on your sister until she squeals”, “Oh no run away the baby is coming!”, and “Use the dog as a step stool to climb onto the couch”. She can also be exceedingly stubborn when it comes to holding onto things (keys, my phone, my camera) that she shouldn’t have, and will wail hysterically if you take them away. You’d think I’d tried to take a toe instead of a dirty key fob. Most of the time I just give in – both because I am a pushover and because I am TIRED.

Caroline is still not sleeping through the night – although I’m not SURPRISED I am ANNOYED – and it’s exhausting. She is easy to put to sleep, which I so appreciate. But she is up 2-3 times a night to nurse and I no longer think she needs to be. I talked about night weaning Little Evan a lot but he sort of ended up doing it on his own, so I’m going to have to either make a better plan or keep being tired for a few more months. I will probably just be tired, because doing anything that might make her unhappy is out of the question. See above, re: pushover.

She has a zillion teeth with the other zillion about to come through. She has gotten taller, and is finally fitting into 9 month and even some 12 month clothes. She has big feet for a little baby, and is already in a size 3 or 4 shoe – which is fantastic, because we have a whole closet full of adorable hand-me-down shoes in size 4. She has totally stopped crawling, which is kind of sad since her funny monkey sideways shuffle was so cute, but it means now I can put her down in the mall and the aquarium and most importantly on the bathroom floor when Little Evan has to potty without her hands touching the floor.  It also means I rely a LOT on my friends to help wrangle my TWO TODDLERS in public, which is incredibly unfair of me but I’m kind of a crappy person and I keep letting it happen. I’ll make them all some nice cookie platters for the holidays and continue begging for forgiveness.

Caroline’s favorite things include cheese, walking, climbing onto benches, bouncing on things, sliding, grapes, chewing on electronics, sitting in her brother’s chair, talking, hugs, smiling, dancing, splashing and drinking bath water.

Least favorite things include falling on her head, accidentally touching the radiator, being set on the floor when she wants to cuddle, soap in her eyes and lying flat on her back for JUST A DAMN MINUTE so I can take her picture.

I am holding her down with my foot

Escape!

E took this picture while I sat on her legs. I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S BOSS, TINY BABY.

No pictures please

Evan sat on her. She loved it.

Tutu fast

Cabled owl vest was a gift from my amazing friend Desiree

Third hand pink Converse - still practically brand new!

One more month until she's one and I CAN'T EVEN STAND IT.

11 Month Milestones (from BabyCenter, as usual)

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)
Says “mama” or “dada” to the correct parent – Calls me mama, and I’ve heard her say dada a couple times but not often.
Plays patty-cake and peek-a-boo – LOVES peek-a-boo
Stands alone for a couple of seconds – Stands, walks, can get to standing from the floor without pulling up, can sit down from standing, can jump if she’s standing on the couch holding the back.
Cruises – See above.

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)
Understands “no” and simple instructions – Understands no and hates it. Will come if you say “Come here Caroline!” Sometimes listens to other directions but mostly ignores me.
Puts objects into a container – Yes, which means my child labor force just increased by 100%.

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)
Says one word besides “mama” or “dada” – She says “hi” sometimes, in context, totally correctly, but I’m still not sure she means it. She babbles so much it’s hard to tell.
Stoops from standing position – Have I answered your question fully?

I was going to write a whole big joke post today (I’m pregnant! AHAHAHAHA HILARIOUS!) but I don’t really like April Fools jokes. I’m not very good at pulling them and have pretty much no sense of humor when they’re pulled on me. It’s like pinching people for not wearing green on St. Patrick’s Day – the only person laughing is the one doing the pinching.

Besides, announcing I’m pregnant a year after having my last baby isn’t really that shocking or funny.  And I kind of hope it’s true.

April 1st 2009 was my due date. I had been counting down every day, every hour, every second until the morning I woke up on the first of April and thought TODAY. Today, I will meet my baby.

Except that I didn’t. Baby Evan didn’t read the memo about due dates and how important they are to pregnant women (I mean, I tried showing it to him but I think the paper got too soggy to be legible). I tried sending him gentle hints.

I tried the whole list of things that are supposed to induce labor, including eating a very questionable can of pineapple rings I found in the back of the pantry. I walked my way through a brand new pair of running shoes. But the first rule of babies is you can’t make them do anything they aren’t ready for and Baby Evan clearly wasn’t ready to join us in the non-amniotic world. (Second rule of babies: Don’t talk about babies. Well, ok, talk about them sometimes. A few times a day. All day. Every second of every day. Forever.)

The five more days it took Baby Evan to make his appearance were some of the longest and most strenuous of my life. I tried to will myself into labor and then take it back as soon as the doctor suggested actually doing something to induce me. There’s just no way to explain those last few days of pregnancy when you go from totally eager and prepared to meet your child one minute to scared shitless and hoping the baby stays inside forever the next. Let’s just say if you find yourself researching adoption laws at 41 weeks you wouldn’t be the first person.

But I promise you’ll be OK. And it is so worth it.

2 more days until Baby Evan’s First Birthday Party.

4 more days until my baby is officially one year old.