11 Months Old

My baby girl is 11 months old today.
How is that possible?
Ella Kate is such a joy! She has been, and continues to be, a ray of sunshine in our daily lives. Her expressions, laughter and enthusiasm make Rob and I laugh and keep a smile on our face. I miss her when I'm away from her for more than a few hours. She delights us, as well as her brother and sister, with each new phase she enters. Ella Kate has all of us wrapped around her cute chunky little finger!

Short video of EK Walking

Ella Kate has changed more to me in the last month than any other month I can remember. My sweet little laid-back baby found her temper. She is still laid back in many ways, but it seems she's decided that she wants what she wants. Those who dare to come between her and her desires better watch out! She wants to feed herself only food that she can pick up. She will hardly tolerate being spoon fed baby food. She still likes her ba-ba, though she is down to three or four a day as compared to six or seven a day just a month or so ago.

Longer video of EK walking.
EK suddenly doesn't like to have her diaper or clothes changed. She is too busy for that. It's like trying to wrestle a twister to the ground to get her to be still long enough to get the old diaper off and new diaper on! Often she escapes mid way through the process. Squeals of glee are all I am left with as her naked bottom crawls away at lightening speed. Changing her clothes is even worse. I am having wrist problems right now and am convinced it is partially from the strain of trying to hold a 20 pound tiger still long enough to change her. (Sanding an entire play fort also had something to do with the wrist issue) I truly hope this phase does not last long.

Ella Kate has also decided that she needs the telephone or the TV remote at all times. There have been days we couldn't find the phone because we had hidden it so well from EK. But we have to hide it because if she sees it, she will do anything she can to get it...climb, claw, kick, scream. She has even been known to fake laugh to distract us long enough to go in for the kill and grab it from our unsuspecting hands! It is funny, but I am afraid we will have a call to Istanbul or Africa on our next bill. I am waiting for the day she accidentally summons the police with a 911 call and I have to go to the door in my PJs to explain that the baby was playing with the phone! She is a mess!

But the biggest change in Ella Kate came about two or three weeks ago when she started taking little steps on her own. She isn't very steady yet and has the bruises to prove it, but EK wants to walk all the time. She is walking and toddling all over the house! She can still speed crawl, but she likes walking. So does this officially make her a toddler? For crying out loud, she's not even a year old!!!! She just wants to be big and keep up with her siblings.

All my attempts to keep Ella Kate a baby as long as possible are failing miserably. Of course I am thrilled that she is progressing and meeting all her developmental milestones. Having known the pain and heartache of friends whose children did not develop in this way, I do not take that blessing for granted for one second! It's just a little sad for me to realize that my last baby is not going to be a baby baby much longer.

Don't misunderstand. Infant-hood is so challenging. A baby's constant needs, feedings, diaper changes, the lack of sleep and the socially paralyzing schedule are very hard to adjust to and live with. But to me, there is nothing on earth that compares to the feeling of having your sweet little helpless baby curled up asleep against your chest. Nothing feels is as soft as the back of a babies head. Nothing is as cute as their tiny little fingers and toes, not to mention those adorably soft and cushy little baby butt cheeks! Babies are such miraculous little creatures. I had no idea that I could love so much or feel so many emotions at the same time until I had my babies. It's just a precious, blessed time. And it is over so very fast.

I know Ella Kate is our last. I am totally happy with my three kids. I do not want another baby. I just wish there was a way to freeze dry those precious baby days and savor them forever. I think of how Luke 2:19 says "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." I always assumed the Bible was talking about the miracles and the visits from the Shepard's, Kings and the Angel. But maybe not. Maybe it is just talking about the young Mary becoming a mother for the first time and savoring her infant. Maybe Mary was not so different from most Moms in that way. We mothers treasure and ponder these things in our hearts, it's just what we do.

As sad as it makes me to see Ella Kate leave the infant baby days behind, my heart soars at watching her take those little steps. I delight in each new thing she learns to do. Every day as Ella Kate develops and learns to do more and more I get a better glimpse of the unique person God is making her to be. It's like a receiving a gift that changes and finds new ways to delight you as it ages. The blessings change, but never end.

Being a parent is a joy. It is also the hardest thing I've ever done. It's the absolute scariest thing I have ever done. When I think long term, it is the most overwhelming task I have ever undertaken. However, I can't imagine not being a parent. There is nothing I would rather be than the co-parent of these three little people God gave Rob and I. That I get to do this with Rob, well that is the biggest blessing.

Am I rambling? Probably so. Just some things I'm thinking about as my baby turns 11 months old! Have a great day!