Eleven Months Old and Walking!

I've always been told the older you get the faster times goes by.  I have learned that is no joke!  I know it's cliche to say, but I really cannot believe that we will be celebrating Willa's first birthday in a month.  It's hard for me to express how much I love that baby girl and how much I'm enjoying my time with her.

She is always smiling and has such a big personality.  She is on the go now.  Just when I think I have the main level of our house baby proofed she finds something else to get into.  We have made it this long without buying a baby gate thanks to her strange fear of our foam roller (it's used to roll out sore muscles).  I was exhausted the other day because she just kept climbing up on the fire place over and over.  

 I couldn't turn my head for a second and she was up there again (usually standing up close to the edge).  As you can see, she even drug up her picnic basket so she could play.  So I decided to move the foam roller from the steps to the fireplace.

It actually kept her off of there for a while. But unfortunately, after months of being afraid, she started warming up to the roller in the past few days and I think we will have to break down and buy a gate for the steps.    

She still puts anything and everything in her mouth, but it has been really cute to watch her with her books recently.  She will actually sit and thumb through them and not just use them as chew toy.

She is not afraid to get dirty.  We went to a messy play date at the park and she was in the mud with all the boys.  

 She got in a sandbox for the first time the other day and loved it also.

 She seems to like animals (doesn't get that from mom & dad).  She even has this cute little noise she makes when she sees a dog (or some other kind of animal sometimes).  It kinda sounds like a little bark.  We took her to grandma and grandpa's to see the puppies, but she wasn't too sure about it when it got up in her face.

I'll leave you with the best walking video I have so far.