Louisa at 11 months

Louisa Josephine Tuttle Magee turns 11 months today! Our baby girl has become so independent, funny, mischievous, fearless, curious and in a constant state of nearly giggling.

As expected, Louisa is an animal lover. I mean, she really had no choice. Her first word is cat, of course, although we believe she assumes all animals are called cat. When she sees Veronica or Eliza, she  calls to them, "Cat! Cat!" then attempts to say their name, "Sssss!" We go to the dog park daily to watch the pups chase each other and she points and squeals "Cat! Cat!" or "Puh! Puh!" When we go out to the stable, she sees the horses and calls "Cat!" or "Baa! Baa!" and enthusiastically receives nuzzles from the nearest horse. She also knows a sheep is called a baa baa so whenever we read a book with a sheep (which is the majority of her books) she will point and say baa baa. In fact, we read her favorite book, Brown Bear, and even before we get to the black sheep, she will say, very matter-of-factly I might add, "baa baa" and move on. 

Her love for animals has made her fearless around most creatures. On Sunday we were at the Goodells for Easter brunch and egg hunting. They have a large Golden Retriever, Rufus, who has appeared here previously. Louisa loves Rufus and spends much of her time at the Goodells tracking him down and waiting for licks on the face. I was reminded on Easter that not all children have such an affinity for non-humans. Rufus was being his goofy, clumsy, lovable self and a friend's three year old who joined us for brunch was desperately frightened. He was wailing with fear and couldn't bear to be in the same room as this gentle creature. Louisa, on the other hand, sat contently next to Rufus and tried to topple him as he cuddled up next to her. And, of course, at Fir Hollow, Louisa has no fear of getting a nuzzle from a horse or giving them affection. The first thing we always do when we arrive at Fir Hollow is greet Rosie, the newest addition, and she rubs her nose in Louisa's tummy. I am proud that my baby has already established this connection to and ease with animals. Even if she ends up being a crazy Republican or a gluten-free vegan, at least she has the Snyder-Tuttle gift with animals.

Here are some photos from Easter weekend. Unfortunately Amos was out of town, but this meant we could have ham on Easter!

Louisa and her best friend Pia on the swings. Louisa squeals with delight when swinging.

Doing pull ups so she can compete with Spencer in gymnastics.

Louisa and her Portland family.

Trying to whistle using grass. Louisa did not enjoy this.

Louisa's new hat from Tina's step-mom.

Her first Easter Egg Hunt!

Gazing longingly at a puppy.

When are those top teeth going to come in already?!

Louisa also loves being chased. Her favorite game is to crawl a few feet ahead of you, look back at you with a devilish smile, giggle and sprint toward the stairs. My baby enjoys teasing and being teased and delights in the daily wrestle with her dad.

Louisa has also mastered standing on her own, but prefers to be cheered on as she does this. Luckily we were able to catch this on video the other night. Last night with the Goodells, however, Louisa was in fine form. We spent a good twenty minutes watching her stand and cheering for her feat. 

Finally, Louisa's sleeping has been sporadic. When she was first born, she was a reliable sleeper. I attribute this not only to her laid back temperament but also to my diligence in establishing sleep rituals and environments I had learned from the many books we had read, experiences from other friends and, most helpfully, our breastfeeding class. For instance, initially I had her nap in our living room with bright light and surrounded by noise in order to avoid her mixing up day and night. I also cluster fed her starting around 6pm every night to fill her tummy before bed and ensure longer sleep periods at night. Finally, I let the cats sleep in her pack-n-play with her because, seriously, she might as well get used to it.

Although Louisa was a sleeping star her first nine months, she had a bit of a blip in her tenth month, waking up a couple times every night and fighting naps. She has mostly surmounted this brief phase, however, periodically she refuses to nap and instead prefers to read her farm book over and over (and over and over) again. I sometimes crawl into the big bed with her and she will often give in and fall asleep there. The other day I had to resort to this and she finally fell asleep after multiple books and an attempt by me to pretend to sleep. Luckily she posed perfectly as she slept and I was able to capture my cherub in her slumber.

And, as usual, she woke up with a smile.

Sorry if there are typos in this post. Louisa has woken up from her nap and I am typing this as she sits on my lap, sucks on a highlighter and calls to Sissy. Hope everyone has a good weekend!