The Hobson Family: 11 Months - September 22, 2010

Dear Emily,

You are now 11 months old. As we fast approach your 1st birthday, I'm seeing my little "baby" turn into a toddler. You are officially "on the move" and so am I (trying to keep up with you and make sure you don't get into anything you're not supposed to get into!)

We've had a lot of changes this past month. Crawling opened a whole new world for you. Within a day of you learning to crawl, you were pulling up on your bed. We had been letting you sleep in a "sleep sack" because I was convinced it made you sleep better, but now you were pulling up on the bed even in your sleep sack, so we had to lose it. Pulling up on your bed brought new nap challenges for us because you just wanted to pull up on your bed all the time instead of nap - you had just learned a new skill, so you wanted to practice it all the time, but the new eventually wore off and you were back to napping good again. You like to sleep with your head propped on your bumper...it's so cute.

I also introduced you to whole milk this past month! I'm still nursing you and will continue to nurse you until you are 1 year old, but I wanted to at least introduce the whole milk to you (in a sippy cup), so you could be getting use to it. You didn't really like it very much, but hopefully, you'll learn to love it because the boobie is soon going away! I'm basically giving you a little whole milk in a sippy each day to get you learning/liking it.

Tooth Check..still NO teeth!

You started clapping this past month too! This is the cutest thing! We went to a football game to cheer on Uncle Bo (Brandon Police Dept vs Brandon Fire Dept) and you were cheering and clapping! You're becoming such a big girl!

One of your favorite toys this past month has been the fridge farm magnet set. This is very handy for mommy also as it keeps you occupied for a while, so I can actually get some things done around the kitchen.

You also still love swinging...we swing a lot.

You don't really play with any one toy for very long. Instead, you just want to pull all the toys out of your toy box. That's big fun for you!

And of course what would a childhood be without a picture of you inside a diaper box..haha!

While pulling up on your bed was the 1st thing you pulled up on, you very soon started pulling up on EVERYTHING. You would pull up on something and then look at me with such proud eyes...mommy is so proud of her big girl!

You're favorite thing to pull up on is Mommy. =) This is my view most of the day...

You would really love to play with your puppy sisters more, but they pretty much "tolerate" you for now...they haven't accepted you as a play mate just yet. But, at least they aren't scared of you. This was my big fear when you were born - I knew it would rock their little worlds to bring a new little baby home, but they've done great. Harlee was a little upset at first - she would hide in the bathroom or in a corner when you would cry, but now she will sit right next to you and even let you pet her. =)

We doggie sat my friend, Lesha's, puppy, Lizzie, this past month and you really had fun with her. Lizzie actually wanted to play with you (unlike your puppy sisters).

You like playing with other babies/kids. You're main play mate is Abby, but you get to play with other kids too. It's so fun to watch you interact with others.

With the Fall weather coming soon, we had our last swim of the summer. You love splashing in the pool and mommy loves watching her girl splash in the pool. =)

You have become a bit clingy to Mommy this past month. I think this is just a phase that all babies go through. While I love that you want to be with me, sometimes it can be a bit challenging having a baby on your hip 24/7. Example, I helped give Miss Mandi a baby shower for Cooper and I couldn't even put you down long enough for us to take a picture with all the hostesses of the shower, so...you got to be in the picture too. =)

But, even though you LOVE your Mama, you also love others and everyone just LOVES my Emmie...

Mommy is with you a lot, but Daddy does his far share of helping out with you. He LOVES his baby girl and you love him. I love watching you play together.

Here is Daddy being a light tester for Mommy before one of our photoshoots...this pic just cracks me up. What a trooper he is. =)

Baby girl, you are just such a joy to me. I love hanging out with my favorite little person. You are so funny - you think you are a comedian - haha. I think you get this from Daddy. He laughs at himself a lot and thinks he is hilarious...I think you have the same personality. You laugh at yourself a lot too. It's so funny. One thing that is hardly ever missing from your sweet little face is a smile. It lights up every room and makes my heart skip a beat.

You are truly the love of my life - my heart and soul. I sometimes think to myself, "wow, how did God know...you were just the one I wanted! You are my perfect, sweet angel baby and Mama loves you more every single day.