Rudolph the red nosed baby

Taylor’s cute rug burn evolved into a wicked road rash by the middle of the weekend. And as if I didn’t still feel horrible enough for allowing her to walk off the top of the staircase, any errands or public gatherings we attended brought numerous comments such as, Oh my! What happened to your little nose? Or, Looks like someone fell on her cute little face! Basically just pointing out the fact that my daughter is missing the top of her nose.

She’s fine, of course. And hopefully the scab of all scabs will be gone in time for her first birthday. Just in time for her to bury that cute button nose of hers in cake and ice cream. Oh, and we’ve been practicing with the ice cream.

First big spill

Well, it finally happened. Last night Taylor suffered her first big fall, and Chris and I pretty much suffered our first heart attacks. Oh, and it was a big tumble. She basically took a swandive off the top of the stairs. Yep, I took my eye off of her for two seconds and she ran, RAN, out of our bedroom and walked right off the top of the staircase. But thank goodness our stairs are carpeted AND Ruby Blue was at the bottom to cushion her fall. And after lots of tears, poking, prodding and praying, we breathed a big sigh of relief, and thanked God about a million times, that she’s totally healthy. Just a nasty rug burn.

And because I still feel like a negligent mother and totally responsible for the entire ordeal, I haven’t let my baby T get more than two inches away from me today. Lots of hugs, kisses and tickles today. And ice cream. And not just remorse ice cream, as we’re still begging those front teeth to pop through and make an appearance. If she doesn’t knock them out first.

My girls

Now that spring has officially arrived, we've been spending lots of time outside enjoying the beautiful mountain sunshine. And my girls couldn't be happier.

She’s got the look

My daughter’s giving us a new face. I can only explain it as a cross between a supermodel pout and a something-smells face.

And for the past few days, when she’s not puckering, she’s been giving me the rage-face.

This is because she’s in the process of cutting her top-front teeth. Both of them. At the same time. Double the fun, huh?

Walk the line

It’s been roughly two weeks since I posted the video of Taylor taking three steps, and now I’m posting this:

.

Yes, this is our new life with a walking baby. And I can say WALKING baby now. Before, if asked, I would say, Oh, she’s taking a few steps here and there. Nothing consistent. And now I say, Excuse me? I didn’t hear you. I’m too busy chasing after my kid.

The sound of silence

I’m starting to learn that a quiet baby isn’t necessarily a good baby.

11 months old

Today is Taylor’s 11 month birthday. Eleven months old. You can’t see it, but right now I’m shaking my head in disbelief. One month from today, we’re gonna be wiping birthday cake and ice cream from her chubby cheeks.

And speaking of food, it’s hard for me to grasp that I’ll be able to feed her anything and everything in a month. Milk, peanut butter, berries. Yumminess. This past month we introduced pasta and crackers to her diet. Loved them both. Especially the Cheddar Bunnies crackers, which are just more-healthy, organic goldfish. Because I’m still a bit of a freak when it comes to her not eating junk. On our way home from the beach, we stopped at McDonald’s for lunch. Taylor’s first fast-food experience, and this mean Momma didn’t even let her eat any french fries or hamburger. Just banana puffs and her choice of peas or pears. And, just to spite me, she chose the pears.

The biggest milestone this past month was her walking. And while she still favors crawling over her wobbly walk, everyday she’s taking longer and longer strolls. Just in the past few days, she’s gotten stable enough to stand up from sitting without holding onto anything. Except her baby doll.

Speaking of that doll, it’s her new favoritest thing ever. Libba brought her this doll right after she was born, and because, at the time, it was about the same size as baby-T, I just stored it on the top of the bookshelf in the nursery. And last week while Taylor was pulling down all of her books, she grabbed her baby's foot, pulled it down and pretty much hasn’t let it go since.

And other than her baby and her books, she also loves playing with any of her toys that either shoot balls into the air or make lots of noise. Or, preferably, both.

And while her arms, legs and belly are growing, Taylor’s little personality is also starting to get bigger and bigger. She has always been a happy baby, but now she is just hilarious. She’s constantly laughing, squealing and dancing. Total cheeseball.

I feel like she does a little bit of growing up and changing everyday. This past month more than other months, I have felt truly blessed that I am able to stay home and be with her. And while it’s easy for me to get caught up with chores, cooking and errands, I have to stop and remind myself that I need to take advantage of every second with her. Because someday I’m not going to be able to take naps with her on my chest, dance with her to cartoons and spend hours giving her slubbers and kissing her cheeks. Yes, laundry and dirty floors will always be there, but for now I need to cherish every moment I can get.