Goodness, Grace, and Giggles: Hadley Kate- 11 months

MY BABY TURNS 1 IN LESS THAN A MONTH!!! Somebody hold me. When Hadley was a newborn people would tell me how time flies, and that your babies will be grown before you know it. Secretly, there was a somewhat significant part of me that seriously hoped so. That sounds so bad, but I was looking at this little smushed human who didn't sleep for longer than 3 hours at a time, and had reflux so pardon the fact that I was clinging to that sentiment a little to tightly.

However, after the first 3 months or so, I feel like Johnathon and I really hit our strides as parents and the rest of this first year has been SUCH A JOY. I seriously, cannot believe God entrusted this precious, beautiful, adventurous, joyous baby girl to Johnathon and I. What a blessing she has been. In honor of her 11 month birthday (it was on the 1st), and in anticipation of her first birthday next month, here is all things Hadley Kate, 11 month edition!

SLEEP: I feel like I need to start with this so I can brag about this chica for a minute! She has been sleeping through the night since she was 14 weeks old and never looked back. From birth we followed loosely the Babywise theory for getting babies to sleep. I realize this is a super polarizing strategy, and if your super against it please don't judge me, but it worked wonders in our house. We weren't as strict about her schedule as some Babywise followers, but we tried really hard to keep her on an Eat, Awake, Sleep pattern and to make her daily routine as similar as possible at first, and I really feel like that helped her become an excellent sleeper and napper. She still takes 2 naps a day ( about 10am-12pm, and 2:30-4:30pm), and for the most part they are 2 hours each. Sometimes she will cut one or both short, but for the most part she is a very consistent napper. This was one of my biggest concerns that I was going to have a baby that didn't sleep or nap, so I am so glad I've been lucky in this department. If you want to learn more about Babywise, I found this mommy blog and this one very helpful.

EATING: We've been a little more hit or miss in this department. Hadley still isn't a big formula drinker. She never nursed for very long while I was breastfeeding, and once we switched to formula and bottles around 8 months, she still was kind of hit or miss on bottles. Sometimes she will chug 6 ounces. Sometimes I have to distract her with 483,567 toys just to get her to drink 4oz. The good news is that for how picky she is with her bottles, she LOVES solid food. She will literally devour solid food, and gets pretty sad if it gets taken away before she has had her fill. She always wants whatever Johnathon or I are eating and loves to "help me" feed her. I think when we hit the 1 year mark, she is going to move on to cow's milk and full on solid foods and never look back!

MILESTONES: Hadley has been a crawling machine since about 9 months. She literally does laps in our house from the front door, to the back door, then back again. She also enjoys chasing Sadie around. Unfortunately, the feeling isn't mutual on Sadie's end. Hadley can pull herself up to standing easily, but can't stand up unassisted yet. She's sooooo close though. She kind of puts one leg up a little like the Captain Morgan's pose:

She is finally mastering walking with her elephant walker, and no longer panics when it moves away from her! She knows what "kiss" means when we ask for one, but thinks it's cute to lean in, then push your face away. Adorable. Johnathon hopes she keeps this game up through high school at least! ;) She also says "Mama" "Dada" and "Daggie" for doggie. She is still super small (She's 11 months and 16.5lbs), but about 50% in height. I always look at her and think of the Shakespeare quote "Though she be but little, she is fierce!"

TEETH: She got her first two bottom teeth right around 7 months old, and since then...nothing. Every time she's cranky I swear she's teething, but I have no actual toothy proof of this. Just a few days ago I noticed two white bumps or either side of her bottom teeth, and it really looks like her next set of bottom teeth are about to poke through, but she still hasn't gotten her two front teeth yet! Has anyone ever had a baby get their bottom 4 teeth before their top teeth?!

PERSONALITY: Goodness I just love her so much. For how fussy she was in the beginning, she really is the most easy going baby now! She wakes up in the morning and just talks and plays by herself until I go in to get her. She always has a smile on her face when she wakes up, and that sunny disposition never leaves! In addition to being one happy baby, she is definitely a people person. She wants to be in the middle of the action, and gets pretty miffed if she thinks we are hanging out without her. She definitely has her adventurous side, and loves to take off exploring wherever we are. On that note, she also has a bit of a stubborn streak, and will continue to pursue whatever catches her eye, even if mom and dad redirect her SEVERAL TIMES. She never does something on cue; she definitely has to want to do it herself and on her own time. I'm sure this will be a sight to see when she really hits her toddler years, but I like to see that confident, albeit slightly stubborn side to her! Hadley has never been a super cuddly baby. She doesn't like to be rocked to sleep or held for very long, but she surprises us at the most random times with a hug, kiss or snuggle session. I love seeing her personality come out more and more each day, and I can't wait to look back a year from now to see how much she's changed and grown.

To wrap things up here is a look at Hadley's monthly photos so far:

** For those that don't know, my husband is an Engineer, and Star Wars enthusiast and ~~suggested~~ insisted that if we were going to do monthly photos,a Star Wars robot would have to make an appearance**

10 MONTHS: