Miss Independent

Daphne is over 11 months old now and really taking charge of her life.

She feeds herself whenever possible and is starting to resist spoon-feeding.

She rearranges the furniture. And anything else she can move. It's funny to watch because she's so petite (still in mostly 6 month clothes, some 9 month stuff) but she is so strong and practically fearless.

And prefers to see the world from her own unique perspective.

She loves to go outside, especially now that she has shoes and gets to walk around on her own.

I should say she gets to RUN around on her own. We let her loose on the front yard for the first time last week and she just took off in every direction. It's the same if we take her out of the stroller at Costco or Target. As my mom says, she has two speeds - fast and faster.

I'm trying to support her sense of Manifest Destiny by taking down the barriers at home once in a while (beanbags, pillows, blankets and chairs which used to keep her confined to the family room all day). I thought maybe after a few days she would realize the rest of the house is not so great, and head back to the family room where her toys are. No such luck. She is an explorer and never tires of finding new things. And she always notices when something is new or even just out of place. She also knows when something she is NOT supposed to have is accidentally left within her reach. She smiles or laughs at it. Points at it. Keeps her distance for a minute and then runs for it when she thinks I'm not looking. When I get tired of chasing her, the family room barricade is reassembled, but now she's able to move the chairs and climb over the beanbags so there's really no point in trying to stop her anymore.

She is learning so much so fast. When I ask her if she needs a diaper change, she runs to where the diapers are. When I ask her if she's hungry, she runs to her high chair. When I say "let's go outside" she runs to the front door. When I ask her if she wants a Cheerio she runs to the pantry where the cereal is. (By the way, the answer to "Do you want a Cheerio?" is always YES.) She often folds her arms to pray when asked, and sometimes even without being asked. She makes all kinds of funny faces. She loves all the attention living with Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Katie and Uncle Josh. I hope she doesn't go through withdrawals when we move into our own house...

Surprisingly, with all her new-found freedoms, she is getting more cuddly than ever before. But we're not complaining about that.

Only one more month until her FIRST BIRTHDAY! I still can't believe it.