Eleven down, one to go.

Yeah. The chair really isn't the best place for pictures of Audra anymore.

The crib seemed a safer choice. Though I think it might be time to lower the mattress.

If you've ever seen a picture of Nate as a child, you're probably gasping right now.
She couldn't look more like her daddy.

He was kissing her hands. These two are the sweetest.

Audra is 11 months old! Plus a few days. (As previously noted, I am behind on the blog.) Our little lady has changed so much in these last few weeks.

We've witnessed her first tantrums (is there anything cuter than watching a baby throw herself on the floor in desperation and begin wailing because you won't let her chew on a dog toy?), and she's grown more confident in her crawling/pulling up/standing skills — most recently attempting to stand independently for a few moments at a time.

Her favorite foods are cheese, chicken, fruit, cottage cheese, pumpkin pancakes, and avocado. She's gotten quite adept at picking out anything that resembles a vegetable, and will quickly toss it over the side of her high chair to Mattie. She's joined Calvin's morning ritual of having dry cereal in a snack trap before school, and loves working her way through the little cup of Cheerios Nate brings her every morning.

She recently discovered the play kitchen, and loves to stand at it while waving pots, pans, and utensils around. Calvin's matchbox cars are her favorite toys, along with the Little People fireman and farmer, whose faces she enjoys eating. She has yet to latch on to a lovey, though she sleeps with a bunny and blanket every night.

Eleven to twelve hours of sleep at night is (finally) the norm. When she wakes up too early in the morning we ignore her, and she either puts herself back to sleep or turns on her musical soother to entertain herself. She loves music, and her little body grooves to every song it hears — whether from a toy, one of Calvin's tv shows, or her mama at bedtime.

She never stops moving. She still doesn't like to cuddle with us, and getting her to bed can feel like an olympic event some nights. But she loves to be held, to be near us. While still shy and reserved around people she doesn't know well, she's smiley and silly at home and at school. Her teachers adore her just as much as we do, and regularly tell us what a delightful baby she is.

There have been a lot of changes in our daughter this month (and year) but that is definitely not one of them. Audra is and always has been a delightful baby.

If only I could bottle it for the teenage years.