afton's eleven months

Eleven.

How did we...?

I don't know, but here we are!

Afton is:

... so smart! She is very observant and seems to watch every move we make. She'll see me do something - like putting silverware in the dishwasher - and then she'll want to try. So we'll spend twenty minutes putting silverware in and taking silverware out... And after just a few tries, she figures out how to get it in the right place. It's really quite amazing!

... cruising! She's so quick - I can set her down and just turn my head for two seconds and she's already zoomed around the corner. She's getting really confident in her mobility. She's started just using one hand to steady herself and will walk around just holding onto one finger. Sometime's she'll lose her balance or slip, and she does this funny Indiana Jones-esque one-handed save and swing her body around until she's sturdy. It's pretty impressive.

... giving lots of hugs and kisses lately. She's has such a sweet little heart and has started giving real hugs around the neck, and giving lots of sloppy, silly kisses. She's so funny - she'll grab my cheeks and smoosh her face into mine. Then, if I don't kiss her back, she grabs my lips until I pucker up. It sends me into giggle fits.

... a master of the stairs. She's super fast at climbing up, and she's getting pretty good at sliding down backwards. We're still a little nervous about her slipping, though, so the baby gates will remain up for a long time. :)

... expanding her vocabulary. She makes all kinds of sounds and has started mimicking sounds we make, too. The other day, she was around the corner from me and I said her name a few times. I turned the corner and said her name again, to which she instantly said, "WHAA" -- like "What, Mom? What do you want?!?"

... making funny faces lately. She's doing this thing where she scrunches her nose, and sticks out her lips, and then breathes in and out really fast. It's hysterical! My little sister, Pie Face, made the same face when she was little, and it's been funny to relive it with Afton. We don't know how she picked it up, but it makes us laugh.

... our favorite girl!

 [such focus and determination... ha ha]

[This picture. That face! I just... can't even... (sigh).]