Eleven.

Dear Brooke,

Happy 11 Months, Cheeks! When someone asks us how old you are, our new response is "Almost one!" While it may not seem very old to some people, you seem so much older to us now! You can walk. Like, across the room. It's the most exhilirating thing for us to watch. Mommy & Daddy look at each other with the biggest grins on our faces each time you take a series of semi-steady steps. You now have 6 teeth, with a 7th thisclose to breaking through the surface. You eat mostly big people food, and we even ordered off of kids' menus for you a few times this month (which just screams "Big Girl" if you ask us.) You can say 5 words (Mama, Dada, hi, more, & duck) which is about 3 more than is expected of 1-year-olds. You do have your occasional meltdowns that remind us that you are, indeed, still a baby, but most of the time you act like a silly little almost-toddler. Here's what you are into (and not) these days.

Favorites
Hugs - Your hugs are the most fantastic & heart-melting things in the world. They seriously have magical powers. You give hugs on command, and boy do we ask for them a lot! You wrap those adorably chubby arms around our neck, lay your head on our shoulder, and sometimes even give us a pat on the back. One of our new favorite things to do is the family group hug. Please don't ever stop giving Mommy & Daddy these hugs, even when you're 15 and it's soooo not cool to hug your parents.
Opening Things - Cabinets, doors, boxes, puffs containers...if it's closed, you'll figure out a way to open it. You adore opening up the kitchen cabinets and pulling out what's inside. And if we leave the pantry door even slightly cracked? Forget about it, you sneak in as fast as those little legs will take you. You've even gotten smart about how to open certain things, like how you can use your teeth to open up your snack containers. Next we need to teach you how to close things (after we teach you how to put away whatever it is you got out!)
Earrings - Proof that you are already a girly-girl: you have a serious fascination with earrings. If you notice that whoever is holding you has earrings in, your hands go right to them.  You've successfully taken out one of Mommy's pearl earrings twice now. Pierced ears = jackpot. Unfortunately for you, you won't get your own until you're old enough to take care of them...in about 12 years. 
Climbing Stairs - You are a stair-climbing fool! Any chance you get, you dash to the stairs to try to get up. There's nothing exciting upstairs, so we know it's just the thrill of the climb that excites you. It's pretty convenient for us when we have our hands full and can't carry you up. Sadly for you, we've put a gate at the bottom of the staircase until you learn how to slide back down them.
Dum-Dum Suckers - You were introduced to these little gems on Halloween, and it was love at first lick. You've had maybe 3 of these since then and each one was yummy! We even used it as a babysitter for 15 mins while we helped set up for a charity auction (we were watching you the whole time, don't worry!) A little boy at a UD basketball game had one last week and you didn't take your eyes off of him the whole time, just hoping you'd get one, too.
Christmas Music - You are your mother's daughter; Christmas music is in your soul. Turning up the radio with Christmas music playing has a 90% success rate at keeping you happy. Mommy can't wait until next year when you can sing along with her!

Not-so-Favorites
Potatoes - Mashed, diced, roasted. You don't like 'em, period.
The Staircase Gate - As we said before, you love to climb stairs. But since you can climb faster than we can get to you sometimes, we've put a gate at the bottom of the staircase. This allows you more freedom to explore the lower level of our house, but it also makes you very sad. You often stand up at it and just gaze upstairs, longing for the fun that awaits up there.
Being Reprimanded - You're not an angel all the time. Sometimes, your curiosity gets the best of you and you test the limits we have set. Most of the time we just remove you from the situation and distract you. But a few times you've received a very stern "No!" from us. Like today when you bit Mommy on the arm. Mommy's very stern "No!" was met with tears, as you're smart enough to understand that Mommy wasn't happy with you.  
Facial Hair - This bears repeating, as we've already had a traumatic brief encounter with Mr. Claus himself. Apparently you only trust people whose chins you can see. We're certain you'll grow out of this, but probably not before we have Breakfast with Santa in a few weeks...

We're having a hard time believing that we are just one little month away from your 1st birthday. ONE! Wasn't it just yesterday that we watched the ball drop on NYE from the comfort of our hospital recovery room, with a large, warm bundle of brand-spanking-new baby in our arms? It's evident every single day that this is not the case, as you have changed drastically since that blessed day. You have continued blessing us in ways we never could have imagined. We love love love you, lady!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Turkey Day.

Brooke's 1st Thanksgiving was delightful. Turkey? Check. Pumpkin pie? Check. Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade? Check. We hit all the highlights.

Hope your Thanksgiving was as blessed as ours was!

Pumpkin pie didn't go over so well. It's a texture thing, I'm sure.

Pretty Much Adorable.

Isn't she?

Things have been, well, a bit on the crazy side lately. Crazy in a good way, though. The Big Lady is keeping us busy, of course, especially now that's she's taking steps here and there. I wish there was a more dramatic way to say "she's getting into EVERYTHING" because I feel like a broken record. But, you guys, she is. Times ten. She is so much fun right now, I can't even explain it. So yeah, Brooke-o is keeping us busy.

But during those long naps and magical moments of quiet self-entertainment of hers, something else is keeping me busy these days. Remember a few weeks ago when I said I was grateful for family and friends that were supporting me in a new adventure? Well, I'm proud to introduce....

See that bow on Brooke's head in the picture up top? It's mine! I've started a new little business! After realizing that I could make the bows and headbands she's been wearing since birth (rather than paying a premium for them in stores), I decided I might try selling a few, too.

So, The Pretty Much Adorable Bowtique was born. I've been working on my inventory for several weeks now and have finally ventured into online sales. Am I nervous? Quite. Crazy? Probably. Excited? You bet. Especially when I made my first sale!! Within 24 hours of listing items in my new Etsy shop, I had my first sale. (Etsy.com is an online craft marketplace, similar to an ebay, but for crafters only.) Just yesterday, I put this in the mail for a stranger in Texas that decided my bow was cute enough to buy.

I'd love for all of you to see my handiwork in my little online shop, so please head on over to The Pretty Much Adorable Bowtique and look around. I'd love opinions on the products and any ideas you may have, so don't hesitate to send along comments. Word-of-mouth will probably be my best bet as far as advertising goes, so if you know a Mom with a little lady, I'd greatly appreciate it if you passed it on. I've also started a Facebook page to keep everyone in the loop to new products and promotions, so if you're on the Book, please "Like" PMA on Facebook (click here). Oh yeah - I'm also going to be in the Blue Ash Holiday Craft Show next weekend.

Oh my goodness. This is all sorts of official now. Crazy-excited :)

And big kudos go to my Mom for inspiring me to get started (as she was the original headband maker.) And to my sister for being my biggest supporter and Official Mom Counsel. And to the husband for not thinking I'm crazy and letting me overtake our house with grosgrain ribbon and glue guns :)

Thankful Thursday.

In one week, everyone will take a minute to reflect on the big stuff in their life that they are thankful for. Myself included, for this has been one hell of a blessed year. But right now? Here are the little things I'm thankful for on this cool and cloudy Thursday.

 ~ Breakfast for dinner (though I'm not super-excited that my whole house smells like bacon now...)

~ Household to-do lists, often with timing goals (i.e. clean bedroom in 20 mins, finish laundry by 10:30, etc.) Because then I actually do it. And I have a cleaner-than-usual house to show for it in under 2 hours. (Call me a dork if you want for the timing part; mind games work for me.)

~ A girl with a good appetite, who comes running (well, crawling) as soon as she hears the refrigerator door open in hopes that she'll get a bite of something, and who loves to help put groceries away, and by that I mean try to climb into the fridge and pull out anything she can get her grubby little paws on.

~ A girl with a good appetite AND an awesome palate for beverages. That's my girl!

 (Perhaps you're wondering why we have 3 bottles of champagne in our fridge. And, frankly, so am I. *Mental note to drink one or all this weekend.* And notice none of them costs more than $10. High-class folks up in here.)

~ Christmas music, the likes of Mariah, Celine, Michael, and, of course, NSYNC. And a munchkin that already appreciates it like her Mama. We got home from The Mart tonight and, when the music turned off in the car, she started signing/saying "more". Again, that's my girl!

~ Being able to sing along to said Christmas music this year (oh, pregnancy flashback...)

~Making it through tooth #6's arrival with minimal whining.

~ Belly laughs over the most mundane things. Apparently I am hilarious. If I lean down under her high chair to pick up her sippy cup (which happens about, oh, 9 times a meal), she giggles like crazy when I pop back up (and not in a "Haha, joke's on you for picking that up for the 9th time" kind of way, more of a "Mommy's playing peek-a-boo during lunch" way.)

~Being greeted each morning by this:

 "These lights are too bright this early in the morning, Mommy!"

Oh, and this just in: the Chickadee took 4 steps tonight! Woohoo!! And she was so insanely proud of herself. I'm not considering her a walker just yet, but we're so close I can taste it :)

Bliss.

This is bliss, my friends. Bliss for the whole family. Brooke Mary is happy as a clam, bottle in the mouth & Elmo on the TV. Mama is happy as a clam, no bottle in my hands and 10 free minutes to be productive.

Let me reiterate the fact that I had no bottle in my hands. Somebody fed herself her bottle this afternoon. This is huge, kids. Huge. Normally she wants no part of holding it. When I try to get her to hold it, she looks up at me and is all "Woman, this is YOUR job."

Somebody's growing up.

The little things.

I know I'll forget. There are a million and one things going through this head every day, and more are added each day. I'm undertaking new projects and planning for upcoming holidays. She's on the move, I'm on the move; there's never a dull moment around here. Which is why I know I'm going to forget.

The little things.

She changes daily in such monumental ways that I know I'm going to forget all of these adorable little things that she does. Maybe not soon, but eventually. I'm already struggling to remember when she started crawling. If it wasn't for the blog, I'd surely not know what day that first tooth popped up. Or when she first climbed stairs on her own. Or the first time she was called "handsome". I've filled out some of her baby book, but it's not comprehensive (shockingly, there isn't a fill-in-the-blank in there for the "First time your little girl was called 'handsome' by a crazy old lady".) So thank goodness for this blog, because it's acting as a developmental timeline for Brooke's first year.

There are so many more little things that she's been doing lately that I don't want to forget.
~ She gives the most heavenly hugs. If you ask her for one (and she likes you enough to think you're worthy), she'll wrap those chubby arms around your neck and bring her little head in so you're cheek to cheek. It's pretty much the most awesome thing of my life.
~ She says "Hi" now, although it actually comes out more like "Ha" in a high-pitched voice. And it's accompanied by a hand wave, the open-&-close-your-fist kind. Precious, my friends.
~ She knows what to do with a hairbrush. If you ask her to brush her hair, she'll hold the brush up behind her ear and "brush".
~ She also knows what to do with a phone. She'll hold it up to her ear and say "Ha" if you ask her to talk to someone. (Her fake phone call of choice is to Daddy. "Ha dada!")
~ She's working on her balance a lot now. She'll let go of something she's holding onto and just stand for up to 5 seconds. She's so darn proud of herself when she does it, too.
~ She has learned her first sign. She signs "more" and uses it appropriately. The other day, we played patty cake about 15 times in a row because, after each one, she signed "more" and I was so proud of her that I couldn't say no. This is a big one for us, because we hadn't been pushing it all that hard. We only use it every so often so I didn't expect her to pick up on it. Clearly, she's a smart cookie.
~ No matter where we put her down in her crib, she always sleeps/wakes up in the same position: on her belly, butt in the air, with her head wedged up against the bumper, always in the same corner of the crib.

I know I've been blogging less & less lately, but I promise I won't abandon it completely. I love going back and reading about those first few days home from the hospital or even back when I was pregnant. It's so nice to have this virtual memory at my fingertips. I may start to forget, but these things will never be completely forgotten. And I owe that to my favorite girl.

You know, the goofy one who thinks Mardi Gras beads are the best teether and who crawls around with a winter hat on but no shirt. No way would I want to forget that.

Trick or treat!

Our first family Halloween was a success! The day was filled with pumpkin-carving (talk about last minute....), trick-or-treating, and candy-eating (by all 3 of us!) It was a best-explained-in-photos kinda day, so here ya go!

"You mean I get to put my hands in here and just play?"

Shortly after this was taken, she tried to eat the seeds. (Bet you didn't see that one coming...)

Our incredibly adorable Dorothy, in a very rare Toto-holding moment (she was NOT a fan.) Check out Brooke's pumpkin on the left, complete with a bow & her patented "O" mouth.

 Halloween is so much more fun with your very own trick-or-treater! (A little blurry, but look how excited she is!)

Stopping at the first house with Brooke's cousin Owen. It was the first of 3 total houses, not too shabby for her first time.

 Guess who likes Dum-Dums? It immediately went in her mouth when our neighbor handed it to her, so I just took the wrapper off and let her go for it. She sucked this thing all the way to the stick and got really angry if we tried to take it away from her!

 "Look! I found another Dum-Dum!"

 Brooke's favorite part of Halloween was unloading the candy bowl and spreading candy around the room. This made it a fun game for Mommy when actual trick-or-treaters came to the door!

Hope your Halloween was as delightful as ours was!