Davis Family: Avalon's Ten and Eleven Month Updates (from a very delinquent mother)

I am often late with Avalon's monthly updates, but to have to include two in one blog posting is an all time low. Sorry, baby girl. I will try to be more together next month. Here are the hilights:

TEN MONTH UPDATE:

--HER FIRST WORD...DOGGY!!!! Around October 4 Avalon said her first word, Doggy. It was not at all clear (and still isn't) but she would only say it when our beagle, Louise, was around. We weren't sure at first, but it became very clear that she was saying doggie (more like "daw gah"), and others noticed it as well. She sometimes points at the dog, but definitely says it repeatedly when Louise is around or she sees another dog. She has said "Da da" in context a few times and possibly "ma ma" and "bubba" but we aren't 100% sure on those. She has also said "ball."

--No teeth: she still did not have any teeth at ten months, which added to the fact that she looks very much like a baby (still does) and not yet like a toddler.

--She mastered the army crawl and could get anywhere she wanted to go, but that usually meant crawling up to a place where she could pull up and stand. She also began cruising along furniture. Basically, her entire goal in life is to walk like big brother. Crawling is just a means to pull herself over to some furniture and pull up to standing so she can be upright like her big brother. In the very beginning of November she was doing some high crawling, but she quickly realized that she was speedier with the army crawl and she was back down on her belly.

--Around ten months, Avalon became very clingy with mommy. When this happened with Waylon I would sometime get annoyed, but now I know that this time is short lived so I am enjoying the clinginess.

--She moved from three naps to two naps, and averages about 2.5 to 3 hours of napping each day. She definitely naps better for the nanny than for mom and dad.

TEN MONTH PHOTOS:

I did a mini-photo shoot at ten months and decided to dress her in some "big girl" clothes. She is a petite little girl with a rather rotund middle so the pants are a bit snug and also too long. Lets just say she her style leans more towards PJ's and onesies than cutesy girl outfits.

Those eyelashes are to die for!

I want to pinch those cheeks all day!

The army crawl queen.

On the attack!

Up close and personal.

Such a dainty lady.

ELEVEN MONTH UPDATE:

--We have teeth! Avalon decided to be unique and got her top two teeth before getting her bottom two, but she has all four now and loves to chomp on mommy. Ouch! This has allowed her to step-up her table food meals, and she loves to eat all types of meat, veggies, bread, and especially cheese during dinner time. It also means that she has a crazy, toothy grin that looks just like Waylon at this age. We have another charter member of the gap-toothed society.

--Milk is a challenge. At some point Avalon decided that she would only drink milk from mommy or from a bottle administered by her nanny, Jaime. This means that mommy cannot run out at night for meetings, shopping, or anything else because Avalon will refuse to take a bottle from daddy. It has become quite a burden. She also wants nothing to do with the sippy cup and has resorted to chucking them away when offered. I am really bummed because I have a TON of frozen breast milk stored, hoping I could stop nursing early, but since she wont take it in a bottle from us I am still regularly nursing. The good news is that I stopped pumping at work, which has been a huge source of relief for me. Another challenge is that she has taken so well to eating solid foods that we have to work hard to get the minimum 18oz of milk in her each day. Any suggestions about any of this would be greatly appreciated!

--High crawling....and then back down... Avalon began crawling on her hands and knees on December 2, but just yesterday (12/12) she went back to the army crawl. She is incredibly fast and we cannot turn our backs on her for a second. Her goal still continues to be to walk, which she is getting closer to each day. You can just see her watch Waylon and pine to be just like him, running all over. She can now pull herself completely up the stairs, and has even stood unassisted for a second or two.

--Party tricks. Avalon has been clapping and waving for a long time, but now she has added dancing and pretending to answer the phone to her list of party tricks. She is definitely very interactive with us and seems to really understand what is going on, and tries to be part of the family.

--A total joy! Avalon is still unbelievably mellow compared to Waylon at this age. We can put her in various holding devices (bouncy chair, jumper, etc) without protest, and she can sit for quite awhile amusing herself with toys. She has much stronger opinions about things these days, and will let you know when she is unhappy, but overall she is a total joy and just a very happy baby girl.

She can be very opinionated. She was holding a discarded envelope in her hand (pictured) and became VERY upset when I tried to take it away.

After I finish feeding Avalon she often sits on my lap for a few minutes "talking" and playing. She is so happy and cute I've always wanted to capture it on film. Here is my attempt.