Beulah, 11 Months!

In one month my baby will be ONE!! When parents say time flies, they're not kidding! We are having so much fun watching her grow. And, thank God for cameras!

Beulah is starting to take steps! She usually gets one step in before she decides she needs to sit and crawl. But, hey, ya gotta start somewhere, right?! She will walk short distances holding just one of our fingers though!

She's still head banging, but she's added a new little knee bounce and head-shake to her dance, which I have yet to catch on video. Every time she sees the camera come out she tries to come and get it (see video). So, I'll have to try and sneak to get a shot of that so you can enjoy it with us. It'll be well worth the wait. :) Somehow though, I did capture a still shot of her standing unsupported (see picture)! It was a freak moment when I was trying to get a picture of her doing something else, but I was more than happy to get that instead!

Beulah has gotten really good at mimicking us. This is the age when you have to start being careful of what you say and do. It's also the beginning of us seeing how we act as she repeats it back to us. This should be fun!
She copies us when we...
*open our mouths wide and say "Ahhhh".
*bat our eye lashes (hilarious!).
*wave.
*nod.
*shake our heads.
*bounce.
*sway.
*make mouth sounds.

She's also started saying "Hi" and "Bye"! That's been really fun! Even if I'm just hanging up the phone, when she hears me say "Bye", she waves and says "Bye"! She's not as consistent with saying "Hi", but she can do it when she wants to. On occasion she'll mimic us when we make certain word sounds too.

Beulah has become quite feisty at meal times. She's decided she only wants finger food. Pureed or finely mashed foods aren't good enough anymore. Unfortunately, when you only have three teeth, your choices are pretty limited. So, we have a battle of the wills pretty much every time she eats. She's learned that she has to eat the spoon fed foods too though, and will do it rather reluctantly most of the time. We're exploring our options on how to foster this excitement for finger foods in her while still getting all the nutrients she needs as well. If it were up to her, she'd only eat puffs all day every day. But, she also loves banana, avocado, grapes, strawberries, and eggs, which are all soft enough to mush with her tongue. When, she gets the foods she wants, she says, "Num, num, num". And, she hums all the way through her meal, just like her mama. :) Oh, and she must eat with her right foot up on her tray (see picture). Sometimes she'll take a bite of toe in between. :)

She's doing pretty good with the sippy cup (see picture), although, sometimes she gets too much and chokes. I guess that's all part of learning. The mouth piece on her sippy cup is silicone though, and she'd much rather chew it that drink from it. I think any drinking she does is probably accidental. Maybe that's why she chokes!

A handful of nights this month, Beulah slept 10-12 hours without waking up one time! *singing Hallelujah Chorus* Otherwise, she's only waking up once for about five minutes and then she's back down till morning! Earlier in the month, I was walking her in the night and just prayed that God would grant her the gift of sleep. I prayed that He would progress her towards restful sleep through the night, and she got better almost instantly! Praise the Lord! And, thankfully, the first night she slept through was the night I woke up at 3 AM with a stomach bug. It was great to not have to worry about her while I was so sick. Then, poor thing, she caught it from her cousin a week and a half later. :( Oh, so pittyful.