Happy 11 months darling girl!

Dearest Staci,

How is it even possible you are almost 11 months old? 

As I write this, I find it hard to believe that exactly 11 months ago I was checking into the hospital where you were born.  The same hospital that had me sign a form stating the only people I wanted in the room during delivery were the nurse, the doctor, and your father, and then went ahead and invited the entire staff as you were crowning. I can't imagine why they made me sign all that paperwork when I was in labor.  In HARD labor.  I would have agreed that I was an elephant and should live at the Zoo if they told me it meant I'd be done signing forms! It's even more difficult to believe they took 7 tries to insert a simple HEP lock.  And then did it during a contraction.  Does anyone wonder why I'm strongly considering a home birth for the next kiddo?  I digress. 

Staci, some of the sweetest memories I have are of you as a newborn.  Your little newborn sounds, snorts, and snores.  The way you slept on our chest all day long (and refused to sleep anywhere but there even at night).  I would relish in every new thing.  Your father and I would just watch you in amazement.  And then we would watch some TV while you nursed because you would nurse for hours. 

Now, you are so different.  It's all I can do to get you to nurse just a few minutes at a time during the day.  You are so busy!  You started pulling up just a couple of weeks ago and are so good at it now.  You can pull yourself up on pretty much anything.  Your daddy is even helping you do pull-ups using the dining room table.  He swears you're doing most of the work.  Little Baby Hulk! 

--You are now wearing 9-12mo and 12mo clothing, with a few 6-12mo sized items thrown in.
--You are finally in the biggest size of your one size diaper. 
--You are pulling up and cruising, and even after only a couple of weeks are able to move from one piece of furniture to the next.  You're a little daredevil and will reeeeaaach for things and then fall if they are too far away.
--You are working on learning to climb the stairs.  Mommy is not encouraging this behavior.
--You still have no teeth
--Even though you have no teeth, you can eat just about anything. 
--Speaking of eating, you have lots of food allergies that mommy is hoping you will outgrow.  So far, you have had not-so-nice reactions to dairy, eggs, and peanut butter. 
--You are still waking frequently at night to nurse.  Mostly, now, because you are too busy to nurse during the day

Thank you for deciding to enter this world and allowing me to be your mommy.  I love you so much and I promise to help you along your path, whichever way you choose to go.