Continued: Mariella

Mariella is almost 11 months old, and even though she is her own girl, it is very obvious whose sister she is.

She is happy, funny, curious, clever, and stubborn. The world is hers to explore right now, and she does just that. Anything that is new or interesting catches her eye right away, and requires immediate investigation. Depending on what it is, she might poke it, shake it, knock it over, bang it on something else, or taste it. Or all of the above. She'll look at us questioningly, and then break into a giant smile as she decides to fling it to the floor. If said interesting object is removed from her grasp, she often decides to fling herself to the floor.

Walking is starting to come along again. Being sick has really thrown her off, and it seems like she needed to regain some balance and strength. But she is starting to take a step or two again before falling down. Her appetite has really increased. A month ago, we were commenting how she eats like a bird. We know younger babies who ate three times as much as she did. But now, she is like a bottomless pit. She can eat most table foods, but she likes chunky baby foods too. This is a fun age, where she will eat just about anything so we can get a variety of foods into her. I remember how quickly that stage went away with Jacob, so we are enjoying this while it lasts.

She dances. This is one of our favorite things. Any time she hears music, or even if you just sing to her, she will either bounce up and down or sway side to side. She's done this for several months, but it just gets cuter as she gets older. Her mouth is always open wide when she's happy or excited. She loves to hang upside down. She'll throw herself back while in your arms, and when you pull her back up, she immediately does it again.

She loves to pull things out. I have a cabinet with plastic bowls and one with food that she's allowed to play in, and it doesn't take her long to have everything pulled out. Laundry baskets get emptied with great satisfaction. She throws the clothing as though she knows she's done this five times already (I put it back in as soon as she's not looking). She'll grab at the wipes when her diaper is being changed. She's almost gotten to the toilet paper in the bathroom, but I caught her just in time. She had her stinker grin plastered on already.

She loves her big brother. Her eyes will light up for Mommy and Daddy, but only Jacob gets the lit eyes and a "Sha sha," which we are pretty sure is her attempt to say her brother's name. She tries her hardest to play with him, even when he makes it tough. She puts up with his pushing and overly rough play, just because she loves being close to him. She climbs on the play slide in our basement with the hope that he will come over and slide with her. She watches his every move, taking notes for future reference. We are in trouble.

We are really enjoying the experience of having a little girl, and if there is anything I forgot I will add it when we take her 11 month pictures next week.