Eleven months!

We are one month away from the big birthday! How in the world did this happen so fast?!!!

Measurements:
Height: 29.5 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 24 lbs (95th percentile)

Eating
Gracen LOVES to eat. She hasn't really met a food she didn't enjoy but she is really over her bottles! It's a struggle most days to get her to take any formula during the day. We definitely aren't going to have any problems pitching them at the end of the month. I'm thankful for that! She still takes both her morning bottle (6 ounces) and bedtime bottle (8 ounces) really well and I offer her a few others during the day but she usually only takes a few more ounces. She loves drinking water out of a sippy cup but doesn't really like to drink formula out of one (who could blame her...yuck).

For breakfast she eats yogurt, fruit, cereal bars or oatmeal. For lunch her favorites are cheese, fruit, shredded turkey, grilled cheese, mac n' cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt and applesauce. For dinner she just eats whatever we are having unless it's spicy and then it's usually a stage 3 babyfood dinner. She loves green beans, potatoes, squash, zucchini and carrots. She had her first hamburger and french fries this month and ate every single drop. She would eat a whole jar of mandarin oranges if I would let her and she has found a new love for sugar wafers. I blend up fruit cups (no sugar added ones) in our baby blender and she loves it. Especially the cherry mixed fruit and peaches. She screams and throws a fit if all of her food is gone and she is still hungry. When she is finished she will throw her "leftovers" onto the floor. Baby diva.

Sleeping
She take 2 naps a day. One in the morning from about 10-noon and another in the late afternoon from about 3-4. She goes to bed about 8 every night and sleeps until 7:30 or 8 in the morning. If she's really sleepy or growing she will sleep later until around 9. I've never seen her sleep later than that though.

Before bed, she loves to go up to her room with Big Sis and play with toys. She loves getting a bath and will sometimes throw a fit if I get her out before she's finished playing. As soon as I turn on her air purifier and hand her the bottle she is fine to settle down and cuddle. She loves her bed and cuddling with her blanket at night.

Temperament
Temper, temper, man does she have a temper. She is easy going for the most part as long as you let her do EXACTLY what she wants. However, if you take something away from her she wants or don't let her do something she wants she will arch her back, scream and pitch a fit. If she's really mad she will make sure you are watching and then roll around on the floor and cause a big scene lol. She acts like a toddler! She is always super grumpy when she's tired or teething. She does not teethe easily. Whew.

She loves playing with Leighton's dishes and the play food in the kitchen. She tries to sneak away and crawl up the stairs or get into Leighton's art desk or Amos' food at any given opportunity. She is such a busy baby. She can stand on her own but I have yet to see her take any steps. She seems content cruising around the furniture and crawling full speed to get into whatever she wants lol. When I unload the dishwasher she always gets into the dish towel/bib drawer and drags them all out.

She loves to play patty cake and will dance when she hears music. She can wave bye-bye and loves to give kisses and rock her baby dolls. She puts her hand up to her ear and pretends to talk on the phone and will sing when we tell her to. She is such a fun loving and silly baby and such a joy. She has a smile that will melt your heart immediately.

She hates wearing bows and will usually pull them out of her hair within 10 seconds. If I put her in a headband she yanks it off and throws it haha. So different from Leighton! Leighton wakes up in the morning and picks out her bows! I think once she gets a little older she will be more tolerant of them (fingers crossed anyway).

Details
She has six teeth but I am almost positive she has two more coming in on the bottom. She has been so cranky and sensitive lately and she is usually only like that when she's cutting teeth. She's a daredevil and knows no fear. She will dunk her head in the water at bath time or when swimming and thinks it's funny to be splashed. She tries to climb up all my furniture and will race up the stairs when I'm not looking. She loves to be on the move. We chase her around the house and growl at her and she thinks it is hilarious. Sometimes she will crawl up and growl at us to try and get us to play!

She has started pulling on her clothes when she's riding in her carseat just like Leighton. It drives me crazy. I have no idea how I managed to have two kids who do this. They hate to be restrained lol. She is a good shopper and likes to ride in her stroller especially at the zoo. She loves to smile at strangers when we are out but doesn't like to be held by anyone she doesn't know and will look around to make sure Toby and I are near if we are at a family event.

She has no interest in tv which isn't a bad thing except it would be nice to have something keep her attention while I do chores. Most times she just follows me around the house. She is a little scared of the vacuum cleaner but will crawl toward it with a scared look on her face versus crawling away from it haha. She likes to stand at the back door and look outside and LOVES to swing on our playground.

I can see her slowly transitioning out of babyhood and into toddlerhood which gives me all sorts of mixed emotions. I have enjoyed having a baby again and would love to have another someday just not in my near future :) I love seeing her experience new things and I can tell she is soaking it all up like a little sponge.

Sister Stats
Gracen is still the bigger of the two babies! Leighton started slowing down around this age. It will be fun to see if Gracen does the same!

Here are Leighton's Eleven months measurements:
Height: 29 inches (75th percentile)
Weight: 21.9 lbs (75th percentile)

They are the best of friends. Leighton will always run and give her a kiss in the morning or after she wakes up from a nap and says, "Oh Sissy I missed you so much!" I love seeing them together. Gracen loves to play with all of Leighton's toys and Leighton is pretty good about sharing. I can tell they have an unbreakable bond and are so close. I hope they always stay this way.

Eleven months down in the blink of an eye. 4 weeks left until her birthday and a lifetime ahead of her. I am thankful, so very thankful, for my Gracen girl. She is such a joy to us all.