Dear Hadley: Month 11

Dear Hadley:

You are 11 big, amazing months old now! Already, you are acting like a little toddler. You took your first steps alone a few days ago and are prancing around constantly with the aid of one of our hands or a piece of furniture. And, the attitude! Oh my. You let us know instantly if something is not going exactly as you want it. You have this squeal that you emit when you are dissatisfied with the current state of affairs. It's one for the books. But most of the time, you are a happy, content baby and love to learn new things and play with us. You mimic just about anything we show you, copy sounds that we make, clap constantly, and have started waving at anything and everything. Lately, when we walk through the house together, you wave as if you are in a parade and want to make sure your onlookers see you. You also wave to Bella and Allie as we pass them in the house. They rarely respond but you hardly notice. You are happy just to see them.

You spend most of your day cruising around the furniture, or any sturdy object that will support your weight, and walking while holding our hands. You walk very confidently when only slightly touching something. But, the minute you don't feel like you are holding onto something, you plop down on that bottom. It's a security thing for now, but I think you will be walking in no time. A few days ago, you were practicing walking between Daddy and I and you would reach for our hands as you walked to us. One time, you let go of Daddy and couldn't reach me, so you took a few steps all on your own to get to me. I think you were as surprised as we were! You haven't done this again, but I expect you just have to work up the courage.

Your favorite toys right now are little, plastic balls and little, puffy cars and trucks. Your Maggie and Pop are helping foster this love by giving you new balls and trucks to play with, and I jokingly told Daddy that they are going to make a tomboy of you yet. But, you really do love these toys. Your favorite activity right now is to stack toys. You have learned that a ball fits inside a cup and your cup fits inside bowls and you practice this constantly. If we show you a new configuration, you work on that, too. It's so cool to see you learn these things and then apply them.

Things you love this month include cheese crackers, blowing raspberries on our shoulders and knees, your Bella, of course, and any other dog you meet, pasta, cheese, and pancakes. You also LOVE your shoes. You will play with them for hours and actually sit still when I put them on you. You try to put them on by yourself and hold your feet up for me when I put them on you. You may like cars and trucks, Sweet Pea, but you have a little girly side, too!

Unfortunately, this month wasn't all good. You experienced your first loss this month with the passing of your dear grandmother, your Daddy's mom. Memaw had been battling brain cancer for four years, and I hate that you will not remember the short time you had with her. She was a beautiful, talented woman who you inherited your beautiful looks from, and I am grateful she got to meet you and that you were able to spend even a small amount of time with her.

Time is so fleeting. Your first year is rapidly winding down and I sometimes feel that I don't know where the time has gone. I love that we have experienced so much in one year but at the same time, I want to stop the clock and hold you right where we are now. I know I can't do that, though, so I'm determined to cherish and remember every moment. I love you, Sweet Pea.

Love,

Your Mommy