Eleven Months.

Dear Ellie,

Today, you are eleven months old.  You started your day at 4:45 am, after a 2:30 am fakeout.  I'm happy to report that Daddy was on morning-duty today.  Daddy took you downstairs and gave you a bottle, read you Bible stories, played with your busy box, and listened to you yell in pain (teeth), delight (life) and fun (waking Daddy up early).  Now Daddy needs a nap, and you are attempting to climb your giant stuffed elephant. 

Your ability to crawl and scoot along has exploded over the past few weeks, although you manage to get stuck frequently.  You are a Houdini in shopping carts, but you are hopeless under the coffee table, crib, bed, and any other elevated piece of furniture.  Pulling to a stand on the bottom stair is your favorite trick, but you need to grow a bit before you can pull up on anything taller.

Ellie, you are a master of forward propulsion and perpetual motion, but we're hoping personal flight is a long way off.  You never stop moving, even in your sleep.  We're waiting for a healthy fear of falling to develop.  Your ability to crawl has led to a new game: "Chase the Naked Baby Around the Changing Table."  Daddy says that getting you ready for the pool is a team event.  Since I quit that team, Daddy is having a rough go. 

You are a human garbage disposal.  Your favorite foods include curry, chili, enchiladas, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, hummus, and anything that is not apple based.  What kind of baby eats chicken curry with rice and naan, but refuses a squeezie applesauce pouch?  You also mix all of the foods on your plate together, stuffing handfuls of chicken, Cheerios, and hummus into your mouth in a flavorful and disgusting combination. 

(A little pout.)

Baby girl, you are already making a difference.  Your birthday wish continues to raise funds to help your friend Charlotte come home.  You bring smiles to the faces of passers-by when you give your sweet little wave.  You charm the neighbors, you flirt with men of all ages.  And you've got your parents wrapped totally and completely around your finger.

("Flirt?  Me?  Never.")

PS. Ellie's giant birthday giveaway kicks off in a week!  Ellie's birthday wish is going on until Kyle and Kelly are fully funded to bring Charlotte home.  And the birthday party planning?  Well, that's in full swing.