Miss Mary at 11 Months

Mary's inching her way to her big first birthday, without any permission from her parents!  These last few months have flown by, which is one reason I have no 10 month post for little Mary.  Her days have been full these last two months.  She was along for the ride in her Ergo as her sisters enjoyed all of their end of the school year activities.  She took it all in, quiet and docile as can be.  That all changed with the end of the school year.  Suddenly, Mary is an older, more active baby!  It's a rare moment when she sits in the carrier quietly now.  I think she knows Mommy and Daddy have time for crazy baby shenanigans now.  She is more curious than ever, and needs to be doing what the girls are doing, now.  We have never had a shrieky baby, but Mary is trying to fill that void for us.  At 11 months, she's making her presence known, as well as her demands.  She has even started biting!!  (Poor Tessa was the victim to Mary's new teeth.)  Little Miss Five is not going to let One, Two, Three and Four get all of the attention if she can help it!  I feel ridiculous trying to shape her behavior at 11 months, but some of her fussiness truly needs to be nipped in the bud.  She gets a sharp "NO" every so often, at which point a sister will rush defensively to her side, and admonish me with, "Mommy, she's just a baby!!"  Yes, she has her sisters wrapped!

But, she is cute, so that helps her cause a little bit.  These first pictures were taken closer to the 10 month mark, when school was still in session.  

She is now the proud owner of, count 'em, six teeth!  Her two front teeth came in during our OC Trip, which made her a little more cranky than normal.  Other top teeth are following quickly.  But, those two middle front teeth are pretty cute and have a little gap between them.  It's very Bridget-esque.  It's still fun to see how and when she looks like her big sisters.  She reminds us of both Megan and Bridget, which is funny because they look nothing alike!  

Besides those teeth, she has been working on some other things, too.  All of a sudden, she can now climb an entire flight of stairs, in about one nanosecond when we're looking the other direction.  The twins' toddler beds are equally tempting.  She likes to grunt and wiggle her way up on to those, and then sit up proudly and clap her hands.  She also gives high-fives like they're going out of style.  I don't remember the older girls doing this.  I love it at this age.  It's such an adorable way for her to express herself, and she gets such a charge out of it every time!

She's still saying "Dedda," "MumMum" and now something that resembles "baby," since she loves baby dolls.  She also loves anything the girls are playing with, and is constantly pulling all of the books out of the shelves in the little girls' room.  Sigh.  I can't complain about this age too much though.  I not-so-fondly recall the same stage with the twins, and I'm so thankful to have just one almost one-year-old this time to keep an eye on right now!

Did I mention she has Daddy pretty wrapped around those fingers too?

I was about ready to publish this post, but I felt bad about how few pictures I have of Mary at this age.  So, I snapped a few more this morning.  She and I were home alone while Matt took the older girls to mass, so I took the opportunity to play some peek-a-boo with her, a surefire way to get a smile!

Then we peeked out the window for some people-watching, and inspected a little unicorn.

 I call this Chubby Baby on a Horse.

There.  We officially have some 11.5 month pictures!

Miss Mary, you are a squirrelly delight! You have added so much to our family in these short 11 months.  Each of us has been touched by your giggles, your cries and your little personality that can't form words yet.  We've all learned a little more patience since you arrived, and have loved being back in babyville with you!