11 Months Old

Elena has had a very busy  month.  December is usually busy, isn't it?  Well, to start off the month, she showed us how she can roll her R's.  Yes, she is our latina.  Another physical milestone is she has gotten really good at climbing down the stairs.  That's a relief (but even so, we got a gate).  Elena has also shown interest in dolls and likes to hold them and pat their back.  She also learned how to go from a squatting position to standing up, without holding on to anything!  And the lil' gal even took 2 steps while trying to get from one couch to the chair.  Will she be walking before her first birthday?!  We shall see.....

This month we realized that she understands and responds to her name.  It's pretty cool.  She also understand us if we say No and pull her away from a) the stairs b) the Christmas tree c) the cords under the desk d) books up at Grandma's e) the recycle bin  f) the garbage can.....  Elena also has a fake laugh that she does if she realizes she might have an audience.  And when Elena is amused, especially by small people, she has a great laugh.

Elena has been developing into a very busy child.  It's difficult to have her in a restaurant, church, a concert or anything for more than 5 minutes.  She's not interested in staying still at all.  So she doesn't go on very many social outings where sitting is involved because she'd much rather be crawling around and pulling stuff down or crawling under chairs or squawking etc.

She makes an oooo face and kissy lips too.  One word for that: hilarious.

Elena did not want to share a bath with her cousin Titus.  It's not like he's an unfriendly guy, but the large white tub upstairs was a bit foreign to her.  She loves her little sink bath downstairs.

Elena had her first Christmas and was very entertaining to watch.  She got the hang of opening presents, and then proceeded to suck on all the wrapping paper.  We had to point out to her the toy that was within the package.  She loves turkey and sweet potato (especially with marshamallows) is a huge hit.

Just yesterday it seemed that when I waved to her and she waved back, she said what sounded like Bye-Bye.  Of course I heard her speak because I'm her mother and think she is utterly brilliant :).  But maybe she'll say a few words in the next while that everyone will understand.

Oh and her two top teeth finally did come.  It was like the side one took a break while the other pearly whites emerged.  She wasn't too cranky, but now with those chiclets, has a very different look.

Elena is changed and growing so fast, we can hardly keep up.  It's almost time to start planning her first birthday party.  Wow.