Isabel is 11 Months

Isabel is 11 months. I cannot believe we are already talking about first birthday party plans. Where has this time gone? We only have one more picture to take of her in her car seat, which is probably a good thing because she would not sit still for this month's picture. She wanted out of that car seat!

Isabel continues to be on the verge of walking. I am confident that she could walk if she wanted, but she is a big chicken. Though, she is climbing stairs. Initially, she was caught crawling onto the first step and then sitting backwards, which did not fare well for her; however, she did figure out that if she just crawls up the entire set of stairs and then sits down, she is just fine. I love her train of thought: if at first you don't succeed, try, try again on an even larger scale. THAT'S my girl!

We are still waiting for Isabel to cut her first tooth. She seems to be cutting teeth, as she is extremely uncomfortable in the evenings; however, just when you think a tooth has been cut, you see that absolutely no progress has been made. I will be so happy when she finally cuts her teeth. Maybe then we will begin getting a full night's sleep... doubtful, but maybe.

Isabel is a pincher. She has always pinched our underarms when she was being fed or was trying to go to sleep, but I really did not understand how bad her pinching truly was until I noticed the bruises on Gammy's arms... and then on my arms. She's mean! I don't know why she does it, but she does. On a sweeter note, she has begun giving kisses so I suppose that makes up for her pinches.

Isabel is quite the eater. Even without teeth, she wants to eat whatever it is that you are eating. She is not a huge fan of baby food served from a jar; however, she will eat anything if it comes from your plate. We have begun cutting up our own food for her and she will eat every bit of it.  Her favorites include pancakes, tomatoes, avocado, chicken, bread, cheerios and cheese puffs. She will eat anything that she sees you eat and she will eat whenever you eat.

Isabel loves to follow her brother, wherever he may go. For instance, we have been potty training Mason. Whenever Mason goes into the bathroom, she is RIGHT there trying to catch a peek. Gammy calls her "The Supervisor", and she plays that role well. She also loves playing with Mason's trains and toys. Initially, Mason was not a big fan of the extra company, but now he is calling for her by saying "Get him, Isabel!"... "Him" being Mason. I love sitting back and watching them interact. It makes me smile and so happy when I see them laugh together. I do wonder how she will react when Mason goes to school next week and is gone half of the day. I am certain she will miss him.

Isabel has a great playful laugh and scream. I love it. She likes to play peek-a-boo. I jumped up at her tonight and I thought I scared her too much because she was startled and fell backward. She, immediately, started laughing and came at me to continue playing. Her laughter is wonderful. Her smile gets me every time. She has a cute little dimple and no teeth... One of my favorites.

Another new talent that Isabel has picked up is dancing. You can most often find her in Mason's room. As soon as you turn on Mason's radio, she will look up at you, smile and begin bouncing. She has quite the moves.

This time next month we will be celebrating her first birthday. Let's pray for some teeth this month.. though that will not stop her from indulging in cake.