Well, somebody’s pleased to be 11 months old!!
[[image:allie297a.jpg:Wheee! I’m almost a year old!:center:0]]
🙂 That’s right, the girl was 11 months old last Monday, June 22, 2009. Another fun-filled month has gone by. It seems like I plan to do so much, but then suddenly it’s 8 PM, Allie’s bedtime and the day is done! And she is now 11 months and 6 days old. She sleeps through the night, enjoys music, and seems to be paying attention to the commercials on TV. She still has one tooth (but goodness, it is sharp!) although it looks like others may be coming soon.
Allie is growing fast. She can now pull herself to a standing position if we give her a hand, and she is learning to balance and stands with little help. She can lean her back against the sofa and stand while holding objects in her hands. She sometimes even tries to stand without leaning (which usually means a bit of a tumble although Mama and Papa try to catch her as much as possible). She’s figuring out how to put her feet one after another to “walk” while holding on to things. Her babbles seem to have nuance, tone and meaning, although still no words and she seems to not like to use consonants. She loves to play and Vin and I have to keep inventing new games to occupy her. She loves to be chased and to chase, hide and seek, she can pick out the toys that we name (e.g., I held up Lulu and onother object that I change around and say “Lulu” and so far she has always pointed out the right toy). She loves her books, especially Hippos Go Berserk, and books that have flaps and touchable things. She seems to enjoy playing by herself and is now rolling around, exploring everywhere (childproofing! must childproof house now!). If Vin puts a hat on, Allie squeaks and wants to go with him (hat means Vin is going outside). She is so much fun, and I swear she has a sense of humor because she seems to be making us laugh all the time. OK so maybe I’m a proud parent, but seriously, I never thought she would be so funny so young.
Foodwise, she seems to be enjoying all her food, and I’m fast running out of things to introduce to her. Of course we are staying away from the biggies (allergen-wise, and other reasons) like wheat, tree nuts, berries (other than cranberries and blueberries which are not of the same family as strawberries and the like), cow’s milk, honey, eggs, etc. Also, of course no added salt or sugar until her first birthday. But fear not, Allie’s diet is quite varied. The new foods to which she was introduced (again, 4-day trials) and her ratings are:
1. Ginger and Coconut milk with Rice/Chicken/Onion/Garlic puree (thumbs up)
2. Celery with Beef/Rice/Ground coriander/Carrots/Onion puree (thumbs up)
3. Ground white pepper with the ginger and coconut milk porridge, item 1 (thumbs up)
4. Minced roasted red bell pepper with the beef and rice porridge, item 2 (thumbs up)
5. Sauteed minced mushroom with pureed Chicken/Onion/Garlic/Celery cooked with rice, risotto style (thumbs up)
6. Ground nutmeg with a baked butternut squash and apple puree (thumbs up)
7. Grated parmesan cheese mixed with the mushroom, chicken and rice risotto, item 5 (thumbs up)
I’m trying to introduce more textures (and therefore a bit of chewing) in such forms as overcooked rice, grated or minced foods mixed in, rather than only purees. Allie seems to have taken it all in stride. I enjoy cooking for her and seriously, I look forward to planning her next menus. I am glad that Allie has never had to eat baby food from jars, and I’ve been able to keep a strict eye on what goes in her tummy.
OK enough chit-chat, on to the pictures! Here is how Allie spent her 11-month birthday (which, being a Monday, meant that Mama had to work). In the morning, Allie and Papa hung out, did yardwork and other chores.
[[image:allie279a.jpg:Ready to go outside, Papa?:center:0]]
[[image:allie281a.jpg:Sorting through the mail:center:0]]
[[image:allie280a.jpg:Junk mail!?!!:center:0]]
[[image:allie282a.jpg:Nothing good in the mail today:center:0]]
Inside, she lectures Papa on new things to do:
[[image:allie283a.jpg:Let’s go swimming, Papa!:center:0]]
Allie spent a lot of time rolling around on the floor, somehow getting into mischief.
[[image:allie285a.jpg:What’s that you say?:center:0]]
[[image:allie284a.jpg:Papa, you’re funny!!:center:0]]
[[image:allie286a.jpg:Whatchu lying on the floor for, Papa?:center:0]]
[[image:allie288a.jpg:Pushing off to change directions like a swimmer:center:0]]
[[image:allie287a.jpg:Ranging to the tile floor!:center:0]]
We wanted to have her try the inflatable pool today (weather’s nice and warm now):
[[image:allie292a.jpg:Papa pumps up the pool and Lily observes:center:0]]
Seriously, we pumped and pumped and pumped forever and the pool never fully inflated. 🙁
[[image:allie289a.jpg:Kitkat wonders what all the fuss is about!:center:0]]
Turns out, we couldn’t inflate the pool that day despite about an hour to ninety minutes of pumping. However, the next day, after more ineffectual pumping, Vin decided to just blow into the thing and voila, he got it ready in under a minute! In the meantime, Allie was in her activity center watching all the pumping:
[[image:allie290a.jpg:Kitkat! Can you get me out of here?:center:0]]
[[image:allie291a.jpg:Mama, pleeeease pick me up!:center:0]]
And then it was dinner time!
[[image:allie293a.jpg:Yayyyy!!! Dinner! Dinner!:center:0]]
[[image:allie294a.jpg:Ahhh, nothing better than finishing up with plums:center:0]]
Since we just passed the summer solstice, it stays quite light late into the evening (even at bedtime). We spent some time outside, just relaxing (originally supposed to be in the pool but Allie hung out in her stroller with Mama and Papa. Here are the many faces of Miss Alya Jean:
[[image:allie295a.jpg:Smiley face:center:0]]
[[image:allie296a.jpg:Mischievous pout!:center:0]]
[[image:allie298a.jpg:Big grin:center:0]]
[[image:allie299a.jpg:Cheeky monkey!:center:0]]
(That cheeky grin, by the way, looks exactly like how Hisham used to smile/grimace when he was probably about the same age – Yop, you got any of those pictures to compare?). Anyway, after a day of being photographed, Allie had had enough.
[[image:allie300a.jpg:Gimme that camera!:center:0]]
Then it was bath and bedtime. It won’t be long now before she turns 1. As in “year”. I can’t help but reel at how fast this almost-year has gone by. I can hardly remember the anxiety and the anticipation before her birth, when we didn’t even know which pronoun to use. What a wonderful surprise she turned out to be. We’re looking forward to her very first birthday, as well as many, many more, god willing. We’re blessed and privileged to have her in our lives and we can’t wait to see what the future will bring. Happy 11-month birthday, baby!! Love you!
And to close this entry, one of my favorite pictures taken the day before her birthday (on Father’s Day):
[[image:allie278a.jpg:Giggles with Papa:center:0]]
