Little Miss Jo Jo is 11 months old. How is that possible??? And yet, those baby days of immobility, bottle after bottle, moby wraps, swaddles, swings, bassinets, and bouncers seems like it was 10 years ago. I feel as if I’ve always had a baby who could walk, ok run, everywhere. A baby who can play with toys, reach table tops, remove her own clothing, eat pizza, offer to share, laugh at animal sounds, and dance to music.
It’s harder and harder to differentiate between the months. One change is that Jo Jo now recognizes her favorite TV characters. I showed her Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Sesame Street, and she immediately got excited and happy over Mickey and Elmo. Now I let her watch those two shows. She recognizes the music and gets so happy when she can dance to them. She likes to play with the toilet plunger (I had to hide it), the dustpan, the remote, my phone, her Ga Ga’s computer, her Noah’s Ark, my bedside clock, and any type of cord or outlet she can find. She is crazy about her pacifiers, and I really am not that concerned about it. It definitely helps her sleep.
Speaking of sleep, we are having better nights. Not every night, but sometimes she will sleep up to 7 1/2 hours at a time (WOW!) and falls asleep with less fuss in her crib (thanks pacifier!). She still takes two naps, although they are usually short, 30-45 minutes if you’re lucky. Unless we’re in the car, then she’s totally out!
Jo Jo still has 8 teeth, four on top, two on bottom. She’s getting too tall for her 12 month clothes, and I am so not ready for 18 month stuff. It looks so big! She’s finally wearing shoes and not tripping. The days of hair bows and headbands may be over, she won’t leave them in anymore. She’s had a bit of a cold, and just like the last time, she eats much less, probably because she can’t taste much. She still likes to eat from a spoon, but this month she has started feeding herself with it! This works best with chunky stuff, as she can dip the spoon and then put it into her own mouth. It’s a mess but I’m proud of her!
She’s so funny the way she shakes her head “no”, and pushes you or your hand or her bottle away forcefully when she doesn’t want it. If someone tries to hold her or take her, she will just put her hand on their chest and push, turning her head away. Such a little brat! I love her strong personality. She continues to be practical, always driven toward her ultimate goal, whatever it is in the moment. She isn’t easily distracted, nor is she a daydreamer. You do have to work a little to get a laugh out of her. She doesn’t give them away, but in general she is a happy, content kid.
I love her with love I never knew was possible until becoming a mother.
Mother of All Things 
Beautiful.
Just curious…I assume you call Jo Jo her birth name when speaking to her? If you do adopt her, will you change her name, and do you think that will be hard to start calling her something else? Or do you mostly use nicknames and terms of endearment anyway (as a lot of parents do)?
I call only call her Jo Jo online. She has a lovely birth name and I’m going to keep it, changing only her middle and last names. I will also start calling her by her real name on this blog once adoption is final.