Miss Molly - eleven months (and one week)

Molly turned eleven months old last Wednesday! I started writing this post last week, and then saved it because I meant to take a couple of pictures to add to it. And then I totally changed my mind about what I was going to say ... so now it's a week late.

We have been in the process of weaning Molly for a few weeks now. When we started she was not nursing particularly well anyway - more interested in everything else going on around her - so I thought she was ready. And we are planning for both Elijah and Molly to stay in Pennsylvania with Patrick's parents for a week while I get some packing done (we're moving this summer - have I said that?). Obviously, she needs to be weaned before then. Molly did fine at first - hardly fussing at all about dropping feedings, and even nursing a little better at the remaining feedings. By last week we had worked our way down to twice a day - first thing in the morning and at bedtime. And she's been drinking water out of a cup for a while now, although she was playing with her cup more than drinking it. But she just didn't want to try drinking milk out of a cup. And then on Friday, after four days on that schedule, she suddenly got very upset and wanted to nurse again in the middle of the day. And we had a couple of difficult days this week when we dropped her morning feeding. But she is finally drinking her milk now, and I think we're through the worst of it.

Last week - "I don't like it!"

Anway, I can't believe how old Miss Molly is now! Those first few months were pretty much a blur, and the last few have gone by in a flash. Molly is cruising around like a pro now, and has gotten brave enough when she's standing and cruising around the furniture to let go of her support for a few seconds at a time. Our little girl has been much more driven about reaching her milestones and has been doing everything much earlier than Elijah did. I guess having a big brother to look up to and chase after is good encouragement to learn quickly. I wouldn't be surprised if she took off walking on her own sometime this month, even though she hasn't been at all interested in walking while holding my hands! I think it's pretty funny, but I don't miss shuffling around all bent over - I remember the constant backaches when Elijah was at this stage.

Playing with Daddy

Molly is babbling a lot now, too. She often looks at me as if I should totally understand what she's saying and she is expecting me to answer. She is eating like a champ most of the time, and continues to try and like new foods, especially things that she can feed herself. Molly also loves to laugh, and to make us laugh. She and Elijah have a lot of fun together. They are starting to play better together, which I love.



Wow, only a few more weeks until Molly turns one!