Kiwi is 11 months

If my kid is covered in bruises, please don’t worry. It’s just that her ambitions are outpacing her motor skills.

There was one week when Kiwi had several bruises on her head, a goose egg above her eye and a gash on her gums. She had taken several headers, pulled both a chair and and end table on top of herself, and slipped in the tub—twice. All the bonks made me feel terrible, but it’s hard to rein in an 11-month-old baby who is set on cruising and climbing.

All that practice is paying off, though. Kiwi is standing on her own and crawls almost faster than I walk. She still loves playing chase, and she follows us from room to room.

One day, my dad asked me when I thought she’d start walking.

“Oh, probably in a month,” I guessed.

Not two minutes later, Kiwi took two steps unassisted. It was as if she were saying, “Ha! That’s what you think, Mom!”

Communicating clearly

Kiwi has also started talking—well, at least a little. She says Mama, Dada and dog! It’s no wonder she says dog—she loves Finn. I am still so impressed with how tolerant he is of her grabbing hands and poking fingers. One of her favorite things to do is to touch his eye. (She does it to me, too, Finn—don’t take it personally.) We’re working on “gentle” as her fourth word.

She also loves to point. She’ll make a humming “mm” noise and point to a photo on the wall, a dog outside or the swaying trees as if to say, “Mom, look at that!” I name the things she points to, and so we have somewhat one-sided conversations.

Milestones are all exciting. Her sitting was a huge one—it allowed her to see and interact with the world more, and it was a big step forward in her relationship with Big Sister since she could play more. Crawling, obviously, was another biggie, since it allowed her control in moving through her world.

Pointing has been an unexpectedly important milestone, too. Pointing allows me to understand what she is thinking about and interested in. It gives me a tiny insight into her mind. Her pointing makes me feel even closer to her.

Team Sister

These sisters are going to give us a run for our money.

The other day, I was lying on the floor with Kiwi and Peeper. Kiwi lifted up my shirt and blew a raspberry on my belly—one of her favorite games. (It never fails to make me laugh!)

Peeper saw and scampered over. She tried to blow a raspberry, too, but it didn’t quite work. Kiwi blew another one. Peeper looked at Little Sister and tried again. pfffffffthhhhhh!

Success!

The two took turns blowing on my belly until tears were streaming down my face from laughing so hard. When Eric came home that night, Peeper told him, “Kiwi taught me to blow on Mama’s belly!”

The sisters make a great team.

Almost 1

This is Kiwi’s last month as a baby. Soon she’ll be walking, and then she’ll technically be a toddler (though, if she’s anything like her sister, I’ll resist calling her a toddler).

In a month we’ll celebrate Kiwi’s first birthday (and Peeper’s third). We won’t be having any more babies, so this next milestone—her first birthday—will be a big one.

I tend not to mourn the passing of stages. Each new stage Kiwi and Peeper live is even more exciting than the last. And because we know what’s ahead for Kiwi, thanks to Peeper, I know the wonderful developments ahead.

But this last month of Kiwi’s first year, I will cherish her baby-ness a little more. I’ll snuggle her, memorize the sound of her babbling and appreciate that I don’t have to chase her as she runs in the opposite direction as she’s supposed to.

I will love on my baby even more.