Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Gillybean is 11 months old!

Dear Gillybean,

On Father's Day {June 20th}, you turned 11 months old. Hopefully you won't be too upset with me for taking so long to finally post this huge milestone. As you will one day learn, sometimes life gets in the way and even the best made plans change or at least become temporarily postponed.

11 months have flown by in the blink of an eye! I can only imagine that time will only seem to pass more quickly as the years come and go and you continue to grow. It seems like just yesterday we were preparing for your birth, and now here we are planning your first birthday.

Each day we get more glimpses of the person you will become, as your personality continues to blossom and shine. It's been a pleasure watching you grow and change, but I cannot help feeling sad knowing that your baby days are numbered and that your dependency on me will gradually fade as you gain more confidence and independence. Thank goodness we have a couple {a couple thousand} pictures to remind us of your first year. {Don't worry though, Daddy promises to only share one or two of your most embarrassing photos with your prom date.}

You have accomplished much in your 11 months and just recently added walking to the list. You took your first steps just shy of your 11 month mark and haven't looked back since. Now you are not only walking, but running from place to place. I'm really not sure I need to run each morning, keeping up with you is exercise enough. Unfortunately, you have discovered stairs and are fascinated with climbing, which worries your dad and me to no end. Since gates won't work on our stairs, we have to watch you like a hawk at all times. Your adventurous and investigative spirit continues to grow, having some family members convinced that you'll grow up to be an engineer {like your dad}, an inventor, or a scientist.

You've loved playing peek-a-boo for a while now, but just recently you have begun hiding under blankets. We find immense entertainment watching you try to cover yourself up only to jerk the covers away quickly as though you are proclaiming to the world, "Here I am!"

Since summer began, we have spent a lot of time at Gammie and Grandad's. I'm pretty sure you will be a water baby just like I was at your age, since you find splishing and splashing in the pool so much fun! During our last visit you mustered up the courage to put part of your face in the water. At first we thought you were trying to mimic me by blowing bubbles of your own, but as it turns out you were just trying to drink the pool water. Silly, Gilly! Life's never dull whenever you're around, that's for sure!

Your vocabulary continues to expand and your recall is impressive for such a tiny tike. When we take an object away and hide it, you do not simply accept that it is gone. Instead, you set out on a mission to retrieve it. Once you've recovered the hidden item, it's not unusual for you to give yourself a round of applause and beam with pride, smiling from ear to ear.

With less than one month until your first birthday, we are all going to cherish these final days before you make the transition from baby to toddler. Which makes now as good a time as any to let you know that I'm not yet okay with this whole "growing up" thing. No matter how old you turn or how big you get, you'll always be my baby. So one day when you think about turning away as I go to kiss you goodbye in front of our friends remember that through my eyes I'll always see the sweet little baby girl that stole my heart and forever changed my world.

I love you bigger than the sky!
XOXO,
Mom

Taking your picture isn't quite as easy now...

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As it once was!

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{GG, 6 months}


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{GG, 1 week old}



Stats for this month:

Weight: 25 pounds (We're guessing!)

Diaper: size 4 Pampers Cruisers (daytime) and size 5 Pampers Overnights (night time)

Clothes: 24 months, some 2T depending on brand

Food: 3 meals at the high chair and 24 ounces of formula
Your favorite food this month: grilled cheese (especially Grandad's), Gerber's yogurt and cereal bars, Campbell's mega or double noodle soup

Teeth: 4 teeth (2 top and 2 bottom)

Sleep: 8 pm- 7:00 am with two naps during the day. You love to sleep, yay!

Current events: Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, President Obama visits the Gulf Coast, and the U.S. loses to Ghana in World Cup Soccer


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{Top Mommy has reset AGAIN! If you wouldn't mind, click the above picture before you go!}

{It's still not too late to enter the Invitation Consultants giveaway. See sidebar for details!}

26 comments:

Christina said...

She's so sweet! I love your new layout and button! That is an adorable picture of her in her bikini! :)

Kelly said...

You will treasure these notes when your baby girl is older - yay for you for documenting everything!

Happy party planning :)

B F said...

I love your new design!!! Soooooo adorable!!! And happy 11 months!! Almost 1 year!

Mama K said...

Great post!! I love this! I love your pictures and all the details. I need to do this with my son!! :)

Kristin said...

So so cute!

Zabrinah said...

I agree with the comment above. You will cherish the posts of your daughter forever.

She is so adorable.

Best wishes,

~Zabrinah

Mungee's Ma said...

Hooray for walking! I love the monthly pictures with that flower pillow :)

Jen said...

Wow! One more month until the big 1!!! So cute!

Carol said...

What a beautiful letter to Gilly. It's amazing how quickly stop looking like babies once they are on two feet. Infancy is so fleeting.

Sara @ Domestically Challenged said...

What a great way to mark her passage through her first year! I wish I had done this with my boys! She is precious!

Unknown said...

Thank you SO much for stopping in on my blog and saying hello!
I'm glad you did, because I'm your newest follower!
Your blog is adorable, and your baby girl and the most precious thing ever! I love how you are keeping up with everything && different ages! That's awesome. People now-a-days don't do any of that!
So nice to meet you. I'll be sure to come back!! Hope to see you soon!

Don't be Shy.. Follow Me!

Unknown said...

GG sounds like she keeps you on your feet! I'm laughing at the pictures because Drake's 11 month pictures look just like that with him all over the place! I'm in the process of making a 1st Birthday slideshow and have all my month pictures back-to-back, it is AMAZING how much they change in just 1 month!!

Happy 11 months GG!

Jennifer said...

I have to say, I love looking at pics of GG....she just makes you smile. But I love your home too (I am assuming most pics are taken there). You have such great taste. I hate the stairs too....your eyes have to be on them at all times!!

Same Sweet Girl: Memoir of a Southern Belle said...

Aww!! What a sweet post! I feel like I already know little GG just from reading your blog! How's the birthday party planning going???

Thanks for entering my giveaway!! :)

liz said...

Happy 11 months!

Karen At Home Blog said...

Happy 11 months to GG!!! I hope all is well wityh you, I feel like we haven't chatted in ages. Life is certainly flying by this Summer, isn't it? We just got back from Myrtle Beach and I still need to write Jillian's 6 month post from June 21st.

Take care!
Karen

Karen At Home Blog said...

BTW, love the new layout, it's so fun and summery!!!

Anonymous said...

I love the new layout! She is so adorable!! As for the sippy cup...I've been trying to get her to drink out of it for a while. she would just chew on it. The first cup I let her try was weird. You had to bite down and suck to get any juice out. So I got a different one that you just have to suck. She still chewed on it so I gave it to her when she was hungry. I think that did the trick because she wanted to suck and not chew. I kept giving it to her until she got the hang of it. I hope it works out for you!!! Happy 11 months little GG!!

Anonymous said...

P.S do you have a twitter?

Spit Happens said...

how exciting! I bet it's a lot of work chasing her around now, but how cute to see her little baby thighs running around the house. I can't wait for that! Love the look of your blog. So cute! And that picture at the top is priceless.

sara said...

How very sweet, she is just a dollbaby! Eleven months does not seem like that long ago, and now mine is 2 years old! Enjoy these moments, they are more precious than anything else on this Earth. Can't wait to see what you have in the works for her 1st birthday!

Heather said...

Aww! I loved the comparison pictures on the flower pillow! Happy 11 months Gilly!!! Time definitely flies by. I can't believe mine is 10 months and we're planning her 1st b-day as well.

Me said...

Hey, thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting! It's always good to know there is another Twilight fan near. I'm into Edward asl well. I just LOVE him! My husband is actually taking me to Forks for my Birthay. How I talked him into that I will never know. I should be ashamed, but I'm not, at all!

Also, you should photograph the hell out of your saughter's things Those things are great! When my son turned 6 months old he weighed 22 pounds and wore a size 5 diaper. Now he's 3 years old and weighs 49 pounds and wearsa size 13 shoe. Bigger kids are more expensive cause they go through everything faster. My daughter is 17 months old, weight 22 pounds, a 23-diaper and her feet are so tiny that I can't keep shoes on her. Go figure!

great post!

Michelle
http://pietrosmomma.blogspot.com/

Meant to be a mom said...

These pictures are so sweet. I love that you posted her little tiny baby pics too.

She couldn't be any cuter! Happy 11 months!

Heather said...

Shannon, your girl is so cute!! My daughter has the same 2 piece as the picture in your header, love the pink and green! Love your blog, so cute, following along and can't wait to read more! Great to "meet" you! You have a beautiful family!

Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam & Dylan Too said...

Happy 11 months! She is adorable!