Juliet is 11 months!

In one month Juliet will be a year old. My baby girl, my snuggle bunny is going to be one.

At eleven months things have been pretty momentous. Lots of changes going on around here.

First, she is now sleeping without a swaddle. Ha! Only took ten and a half months! I tried a few times to remove the swaddle when she was younger but she just wasn't happy. She liked the tight cozy feeling and would not go or stay asleep without it. Now that she's free she sleeps on her tummy or her side, and I know she really enjoys the freedom.

Another big development is she can now get from lying down to sitting alone. She has still yet to crawl, but oh my is she close. I'm actually surprised that she hasn't started yet, because she easily moves onto her hands and knees, but has yet to move forward in that position.

That said, she easily gets around the room without crawling. Scooting, lunging herself forward, rolling, and a silly move that she invented (from her hands and knees to her bum to her hands and knees. It's kind of a crawl/roll if you will).

Crawl baby, crawl!

Her favorite thing to do when moving around on the floor is find any and all tiny particles and stick them in her mouth. Yum. ;)

She still takes two naps (and up until now, the second nap was with me; more on that in a moment), eats three meals at the table with us, sleeps through the night, and is generally happy and awesome all day.

She's had a bit of a rough month with her schedule being off due to the holidays, an ear infection, teething, and a cold. There were lots of "new" faces and "new" places that we visited over the holidays, and so Juliet did a lot of clinging to her Daddy and I.

Grandma holding her? No way. Grandpa tickling her? Not a chance. My friends picking her up? Are you kidding? Even if I place her on the floor in her own bedroom and there is a "new" person at the house, she is not happy. I hope this separation anxiety passes quickly, I know a lot of people that love her that would also like to hold her.

She is nowhere near walking. James was quite a walker at this age, but Juliet is not interested. She likes to stand up just fine, and actually tries to pull up, but she does not balance, cruse, or even want to take steps when I'm holding her under the arms. But that's ok, it will come.

Her favorite foods are still avocado, fruit, buttered toast and yogurt. She nurses morning and night and sometimes late in the afternoon. Her hair is really filling in, and is getting so long around her ears and the back of her neck.

She is still the snuggliest bunny around. I rock her to sleep every night, not because she isn't happy to go to sleep in her crib (because she is!) but because I love to, and she's my baby, and she won't be a baby much longer.

Up until now I've napped with her each and every afternoon of her entire life. When she was tiny she only wanted to nap next to me or on me (remember this?) so I got accustom to lying down next to her when James napped and let her snuggle to her heart's content. And it lasted eleven long wonderful months.

Recently the three year old (we won't name names) still naps like a champ but WILL NOT go to bed at night. So his naps need to be shortened, a lot. Only problem? When I sneak away from Juliet's side, no matter how dead asleep she may be, she wakes within minutes. So, after much pondering, and a little heartbreak, I finally decided to put Juliet down for her afternoon nap alone today. She slept fine. She was happy and content when she woke thirty minutes after James. But a little part of me, a part that holds babyhood so close, was very sad.

Yes I had more free time. Yes, I wrote half this post during that nap time. And yes, this couldn't last forever. But, even so, I was upset. My baby girl is growing up. And my snuggle bunny does just fine without her Mama by her side. I always knew she would.  PS - I think I'll still snuggle her on the weekends when E can wake the big kiddo!

Outfit details -
Corduroy dress - Old Navy
Leggings - Baby Gap
Socks - Old Navy
Shoes - Old Navy
Hairbow - homemade
Headband - Etsy


And from 1 month until now: