Zeroing in on One

Claire is just a month away from being ONE. I can't believe it. It has seemed to go faster this time, I think, and it's all relative how I think of a baby's growth now. Whereas Kate seemed "so big" by this point, Claire is still "just a baby!" I'm sure when Kate is six and Claire is three, three will seem more baby-like than it does now.

I never posted Claire's 10-month milestones. Once it got to be the 12th or so, I thought "eh, we're halfway through the month, I'll just double up next time!" So here we are with months 10 and 11.

Here I am at 11 months old!

Here's my tummy...

And here's my bear...

And here I am all dressed for school in one of my cute hand-me-down jumpers!

Flashback! Here I am a month ago. Not too much different.

Sister was still trying to cuddle/crush me at every opportunity.

So here's a little of what we've been up to lately.

Claire has gotten more and more mobile in the last two months. At nine months, she was just starting to pull up on things, and it wasn't long before we had a bonafide cruiser on our hands! She can cruise along the edge of the coffee table and couch, and will "walk" pushing her little cart or a kitchen chair or holding my finger halfway across a room! She has seemed on the verge of taking her first solo steps for about a month now, but she tends to "hang out" at stages like creeping and now cruising for a few months, in no hurry to move on. If you try to make her stand or walk hand-in-hand (as she will do voluntarily) she refuses, and sits down quite firmly, preferring to crawl.

She is saying "Dada" (sometimes even "Da-dee") and—when I'm lucky—"Na-na" for Mama. She's more verbal than Kate was at this age (though less mobile, so they've each got their strengths!) and seems to imitate sounds when we say things to her. She is pretty social too. At a playdate on Saturday with a new friend, she kept handing her playmate blocks and interacting well. 

Maybe it's the sister thing, since she's observing a bigger kid all the time. Kate loves to play Chutes and Ladders since Nala and Popi gave her the game a month ago, and Claire not only tries to get in on the action, but actually taps the game piece along the board, just as we do when we're counting spaces for our turns.

We haven't had a checkup since 9 months, but I expect she's holding at the petite-in-height, almost-average-in-weight thing. Devouring table food as she does, her weight has gone up, but she still seems petite overall. Her feet are smaller than Kate's at this point, since the shoes Kate wore constantly at this age are still a bit big on Claire.

Claire in the dress Kate wore at her first Christmas.

Claire's top two teeth have just broken through, though (thank goodness!) they are still only visible when you flip her upside down. I always mourn the loss of gummy smiles. She's had the bottom two since 8 months, but those top two make a big difference in losing that baby look. And in her ability to bite me, I imagine. I plan to stop pumping at the 1-year mark, but will nurse her for a few more months, as long as the milk holds out. She claws and pinches me to death, but biting hasn't been too much of a problem, with only those two bottom scrapers!

Wearing Nala's heirloom dress. 

Also in the last month, we met our new friend, Baby James.

Claire wasn't so sure what to make of a baby younger than she. Especially when Mommy held him or got close to him.

It's okay, Clairey! You're still my baby girl! Even if you are well on your way to toddlerhood. Tantrum-like behaviors (like putting her forehead to the ground when crying) have begun just recently, and she really seems to have shot up an inch or so in the last week! That one-year mark is closing in, and while I'll be sad to see infancy fade away, it will be fun to see my sweet second-born as a mobile, chatty little toddler!