We've got a talker!

Emma's 11 month birthday quickly came and went amidst all of our traveling. We were actually in Paris at the time. And now here we are days away from her one year birthday! Where has the time gone?!

Although it may seem like I didn't take my usual quota of photos during her 11th month I think we did perhaps exceed most months when you take into consideration that during that month she visited Germany, Greece and France! And of course I think we took just a few photos in each of those spots.

While we were busy traveling it was nonetheless a memorable month for Emma developmentally as we heard her say her first words outside of mama and dada. We were in Mykonos to be exact when we heard her quite deliberately say "banana." My mouth about dropped when the three syllable word came out at breakfast as I started peeling a banana for her. Most times now it doesn't come out as banana but more like "manana," but I now know exactly what she is referring to. It was without a doubt one of the most exciting moments thus far as I really thought "wow she is learning things so fast and I am teaching her these things everyday!" And to our surprise just a few days later in Santorini she said "all done." It is so interesting to see what words they say first and I guess it really just goes to show you how carefully they are listening to everything you do say. Now I know I really do say "all done" as we finish every activity throughout the day!

Happy now that the sticker and headband are off!

Along the lines of talking she also became much more vocal in all forms of communication during her last month. She especially likes to communicate with animals (real or fake) that she sees. Most of the time this comes out in the form of panting, but mooing sometimes comes into play as well (of course both of these do not explicity apply to dogs or cows, all animals are fair game!).

How can you not laugh when you watch this? Thank goodness for these toy animals that were the best airplane gift ever!

She also loves to interact with people by coughing back at them if they make any sort of noise close to a cough or sneeze. In general she just loves to do anything to get a reaction out of the people around her! Making friends is certainly one of the things she does best, and we feel extremely lucky at how happy of a baby she is most of the time. We often have complete strangers tell us what a happy baby they think she is and they are impressed by how much she interacts with them. To say we feel blessed is an understatement considering how much we travel with her and she is in public because otherwise we know things could be much more difficult!

Emma loves to play peek-a-boo!

She continued to gain confidence a little at a time when it came to walking with less support and standing more confidently. Although we are anxiously awaiting her first steps as we anticipate some things will become easier, we also know many other things may become more difficult! Also, we continue to wait and wait and see when that first tooth will finally come. She may be diving into that first birthday cake toothless come her first birthday!

Just because there is no walking doesn't mean there is no climbing!

I simply fall in love with Emma more and more each day and it is so much fun as she becomes older and more able to communicate with us. I cannot wait to see what the end of her first year and beginning of her second year has in store for us! But I know one thing for sure and that is there will be many fun times ahead!

Too concerned with getting that sticker off to smile for the camera!