Sophia is Eleven Months Old!

This has been an big month for us, in terms of Sophia's developments and milestones. She is growing up so fast; sometimes I do wish that she would slow down ... just a little bit for me.

During the first week in January, Sophia cut both of her top teeth. It was a hard week in this household, because during that time, both Sam and Sophia were also sick with colds. We've been waiting for those chompers to come in for a while now (her bottom ones came in at the end of August), and she is already getting good use out of them!

Sophia crawls EVERYHERE now. Not so much using her actual knees, but more of a belly crawl/scoot. And she's FAST! I'm just thankful that I have a good big sister that watches out for Sophia and alerts me whenever she is somewhere that she shouldn't be. For example, this morning she almost tipped over my plant by the front door. Sam was quick to inform me and the near-disaster was nipped in the bud (no pun intended).

(She looks so sad here, but I assure you that she was just tired).


One of her most favorite things to do is pull toys out of a container and throw them on the floor. She'll dig and dig, entertaining herself for quite some time. Sam did the same thing when she was this age.

And like Samantha, she loves my phone!

Sophia loves to be included in everything -- especially whenever we get out any games or puzzles to do with Sam. And Sam is pretty good about letting her play.

Sophia's happiest time of any day is when she is eating, or has just eaten. For as little as she is, she will eat anything and everything, and she cries when all of her food is gone. She eats whatever we are eating now (unless it is something too spicy), and the only things that I have not given her yet are eggs, fish, peanut butter and cow's milk. Some of those, she will be able to have after a year of age.


Sophia, casually observing her sister's fuller bowl of snacks:

And then moving in for the swipe:

The last eleven months have brought with them some of the happiest moments of my life. I can't begin to express here in words how powerful it is as a momma to watch your kids interacting and loving on one another.

This morning, I overheard Sam say to Sophia, "I love you, Sophia. You're my best little sister." Whoa, I'm sure that I gripped the wall and had a moment of pure emotion right there. I mean, sure, Sophia is her only little sister. But she said that all on her own, and when she didn't even think that I was listening.

On days when I am stretched so thin, and my Type A personality is in danger of blowing a gasket, I put my girls together in a room full of toys and stand back to watch them play. They have no idea what kind of therapy that is for me. It totally put everything into perspective.

And this is what being a mom is all about -- celebrating accomplishments and milestones, while also teaching your kids to love one another and hoping that they realize just how much they, too, are loved. I love my girls dearly ...