11 Magical Months!

Isla and I are still coming down off of the high of tons of company and sugar...

We had a very quiet day today - lots of cuddling, playing and some grocery shopping.
On Sunday Isla celebrated her 11 month birthday by eating an entire banana at the Hotel Del.
For my sister's last day visiting we drove down to Coronado and walked on the beach and then had cocktails and appetizers at the Del. The stop was  unexpected and Isla got hungry - luckily they were well stocked with "buh-na-nuh"s.  I still can't believe she polished off the entire thing! 

Lately she has been obsessed with Bananas - she finds them in her books, delights in the piles of them at the grocery store, asks hopefully for them at every meal, tries to chew her way through the peel when she gets ahold of one, and even proudly identified a white and yellow surf board in Surfer Magazine as a "na-nuh".  We don't always hear all 3 syllables, but she has been using them all with greater and greater frequency.

This past month Isla has had an explosion of language.  She now says over 25 words, not counting the more questionable ones.  Of course her articulation isn't perfect, and many are adaptations -e.g. "Pah" for Paci and "wawa" for water, but are still very impressed   Most are nouns, but she uses "more," "eat" and "up" too, and although I don't count it as a word, she makes a funny noise with her tongue (it sounds like gargling) when she wants a drink. 

We are seeing a lot more pointing and gesturing lately.  Although she points with her finger more and more frequently, her signature point is with her thumb and the knuckle of her pointer finger, aptly dubbed the "Bill Clinton Point" by my sister.

She isn't walking yet, but she is using every available item she can get her hands on as a walker - kitchen chairs, laundry baskets, storage boxes and her high chair.  We just borrowed a walker from her little buddy Noah, (aka Isla's "Silver Fox" - we attended Noah's 2nd birthday on Saturday - here is our little party animal at her first kid party.  She was pretty awed and overwhelmed by the big cool two year-olds and the bounce house terrified her).

Back to the walker...after getting over her nervousness about the concept, Isla was zipping across the floor.  She is still pretty unstable, so I don't expect her to be walking alone soon, but that is just fine...it is hard enough to keep up with her as it is.

We've been doing more pretend play and it is so exciting to watch her put connections together.  Gr. & Gr.T-H gave her doll for Christmas and I was showing her how to pretend bathe it.  She found the doll's paci (it has it's own little paci!) and popped it on to the doll's mouth.  I grabbed a pop bead that looked like a bottle and pretended to use it as a bottle of shampoo.  Isla took it and pretended to drink with it and then took the paci off the doll's mouth and offered her doll a drink from the "bottle."  Her favorite pretend play activity is to feed her animals and kiss them and give them to us to kiss.  She also loves brushing her hair and our hair with a "hat" (hair brush - anything that goes on the head or is related to the head, including hats, bows, headbands, sunglasses, and hair brushes is a "hat").  She also loves imitating us.  She received a cloth tool kit from Gr. & Gr. A, and eagerly copies us when we demonstrate how to use the tools.

Isla, you haven't reached an age or stage that I don't absolutely love.  Right now you are so silly and full of joy!  We love watching you roam around and explore things.  Lately you have been extra cuddly - giving hugs and snuggles - and you also enjoy reading books with us.  I love waking up to the sound of your orations in the crib, and nothing starts my day off better than peaking in your room to find you standing in the corner of your crib with your head resting on your arms and a huge smile on your face.  I know Daddy feels the weight lift off his shoulders when your little dimple greets him after work.  We are so proud of your daily explorations and accomplishments.  You are proud too, which makes us even happier.

Here are the 11 Month Stats:
Weight - 20 Pounds (45th percentile - approximately)
Height - 28 Inches (30th percentile - approximately)
Head Circumference - 43.5 Centimeters (18th percentile - approximately)
Still no teeth!