Charlotte At 11 Months Old

Charlotte Morgan Chambers At 11 Months Old

* Nick Name: Charlotte Bunny

* Eye Color: Grayish Hazel

* Words She Can Say: Really Da-Da is the only real thing she says constantly and that can be understood by everyone. She also says Ma-Ma VERY infrequently and “dOg” with a lot of emphasis on the “O”. She also does her own version of “Thank You”. Charlotte sings songs and you can tell what she is singing by the melody and some of the sounds. Her favorites are Down in the Meadow and ABC. If you sing Row, Row, Row Your Boat to her and pause before singing the rest - most of the time she will sing “Row, Row, Row” back to you! It’s really neat because she says it very clearly.

* Favorite Song: She likes any kind of music and shakes her head to “dance”; now we sometimes get a bum shake and clapping too! With all of her new music toys she is in seventh heaven and tries to get them all going at once. She loves for anyone to sing to her, especially Grandma who knows a lot of neat songs.

* Favorite Game: “I’m Gonna Get You” which is our version of warning her that the tickle fest is about to begin. She also likes to be the one to “get you” so with help from one of us we say “Charlotte let’s get Daddy” and she gets a big smile and holds her hands out. She also likes to crawl around and have you chase her – especially if she spies shoes or socks – the chase is on cuz she really tries to get to them before you get to her. Loves being tossed in the air and having you flip her over like a back walkover.

* Firsts This Month: standing up without any help or having to hold onto anything. Taking steps. Charlotte has taken up to five steps by herself but usually gets really excited after the first few and throws her hands up in the air – throwing off her balance – and falls down. She likes to walk around holding onto your finger. Charlotte has started to stand up without holding onto anything. Climbing like a maniac – its kind scary how far she can get and how determined she is. Still gestures while she is talking, like you understand her? Eating a lot of table food and gets upset if you don’t automatically offer her some of what you are eating.

* Smiles When: You tickle her, she is happy, or on the spot if she sees Mommy, Daddy, Nanny or Grandma.

* Health: This month has been pretty healthy for Charlotte.

* Favorite Activity: Still eating expensive electronics, paper, Wayne’s glasses, and flip flops. She also likes to play with her toys especially the ones that make noise.

* Size Clothing: Charlotte is almost exclusively in the eighteen month size clothes. As per usual with Charlotte we find that the torso length is a better fit but the waist is still too small. Thank God for adjustable waistbands. We spend a lot of time pulling up her pants and rolling up the cuffs.

* Sleep Schedule: We can tell that Charlotte is in a transitional stage or is it teething? Either way she changes her “schedule” for naps everyday…luckily the overnights are still solid. She is starting to stay up a little later but stays asleep once we put her down. Luckily she wakes up happy – rarely cries right off – and will play in her crib for at least an hour before she decides it’s time to get out of her wet diaper!

* Doesn’t Like: To be “stuck” anywhere that keeps her from exploring. We continue to see more signs of her getting upset when you take a toy away from her or don’t let her go somewhere she wants to be – aka block her from trying to eat our shoes. What DOES she see in flip flops? She starts to whine and will flap her arms – the funny thing is that she doesn’t do this right away. After about the fifth time of taking something away, telling her “no” or blocking her attempts to escape THEN she gets upset. She is a very determined little girl…wonder who she gets that from!

* Cries When: She is tired, hungry, wants her ducky, or wants whatever you don’t want her to have.

* Must Have Travel Item: Duck lovie blanket

* Eating: Mostly table food that we either mash or run through the Cuisinart. We have tried finger foods too like corn, crackers, beans which she likes. Charlotte is down to about three eight ounce bottles of formula each day, which we have to encourage her to eat. At least she has mastered holding her bottle and feeding herself! However, if you just give it to her and walk away she will get distracted and “forget” to finish eating.