Dear Sophia: 10 & 11 Months Old

Dear Sophia,

You are now only weeks away from your first birthday and I can’t believe how the time has flown! You are a true joy and I can’t believe our luck that we have you for our daughter. You really are changing into a little girl now and you seem to be understanding more about the world around you.

You’re a cheeky little character and you get into everything, especially all of the things we don’t want you to get into! If there is a little bit of fluff or a wire not quite strapped down, you’re straight there making mischief and we love you for it.

This month saw Mummy finishing working in Birmingham to spend more time with you and so far I’ve been loving it! We have our little routine and enjoy our daily walks, play times and story times. We also have been going to two groups a week – stay and play on a Monday and a library singing group on Friday’s. We always get new library books while we are there as you’re such a bookworm! You love getting out and about and joining in with all the world has to offer.

Your 10th and 11th month has seen you come along so much, both in your development but also in you appearance. Your hair is really growing now and makes you look so much more grown up.

Eating

You still have a fantastic appetite! You eat all the food we give to you and I enjoy finding new, healthy recipes to feed you. Meal times are lovely all together at the table and you love to see that we’re all eating the same. You are gradually weaning yourself off your baby milk and are eating more food during the day. You eat most of what is on your plate and when you’ve had enough you pull your own bib off and push the bowl away (or sometimes start trying to throw the bowl on the floor!). Up until recently I used to load food (like porridge or yogurt) onto the spoon and you’d then put the spoon into your mouth yourself but now you can use the spoon more or less yourself to scoop up the food. You’re trying hard to use your fork too but that’s a little more tricky!

You enjoy having a snack here and there now too, we usually share some fruit or rice cakes in the afternoon to keep you going until dinner time.

(Eating a pear like a big girl)

Development

The last two month have seen more changes.

• Teeth. You now have two teeth on the bottom gums which are completely through and look so cute when you smile.
• Copy sounds. Your speech has come on a lot in the past few weeks. What you say is now starting to sound more like words. You copy the sounds Daddy and I make and you say ‘mud’ for Smudge and ‘bu’ for bye and bubbles as well as ‘mummummum’ for me and ‘dadda’ for daddy.
• Standing unaided. You can stand completely on your own without falling over which is really exciting! You have taken a step on your own and I don’t think it will be too much longer until you are walking.
• Kiss. You kiss us when we say ‘kiss’ which is the sweetest thing!
• Stroke Smudge. You used to be really rough with poor Smudge but gradually we’ve been showing you how to use gentle hands and you now stroke him really nicely. When you stroke him gently you look at us and start clapping, knowing you’re doing the right thing.
• Look at books independently. I’ve noticed that lately you prefer to look at books rather than play with your toys. You sit with them and turn each page carefully. Sometimes you’ll chatter away while your doing it which is a fantastic sign of a budding reader! Although you do this a lot, you’re favourite thing to do is clamber onto our lap to listen to the story.

(Some water play on a quiet afternoon)

Five Favourites at 10 & 11 Months:

Favourite toy: This month it is probably your ball tower which you got for Christmas. You put the balls in the top and they then fall down through the levels to the bottom. Once it reaches the bottom you’ll clap in delight then do it again.

Favourite book: You’re favourite books this month are the book you had for Christmas, ‘Tales from Acorn’ wood which is a lovely rhyming book with flaps in it. You’ve also really been enjoying our nightly bedtime book ‘Goodnight Moon’. It’s a lovely soothing book which we read up on our bed before putting you down for the night.

Favourite food: Cheese! You are like a little mouse! It’s always the first part of the meal you’ll go for. I’m glad you like cheese as much as Daddy and I do!

Favourite activity: Probably still reading. You spend most of the day with a book!

Favourite thing to do or say: You love playing peepo! You like to be the one to hide and then surprise us! When we put you into your cot you pull the blanket up over your head and wait for us to say ‘Where’s Sophia?’ then you’ll pull the blanket down and give us a cheeky smile.

(In this picture Sophia is wearing a little snood that I crocheted myself for her – I love how it turned out and is perfect for this chilly weather!)

We love you so much Sophia, every day you make us laugh and you’re always doing something new and different. Soon you’ll be turning one and a whole new adventure will begin!

Happy 11 month birthday beautiful girl!

Lots of love from Mummy and Daddy.xxx

Toy Storage

As Sophia is growing, so is her collection of toys. I’ve noticed over the last few weeks that she’s losing interest in them despite them being age appropriate. We obviously can’t afford to supply a constant stream of new and different toys (which I don’t think would teach her good values anyway). I think it’s a case of having too much choice.

So this morning I decided to sort her toys into four piles. I made sure there was a good range in each pile and that each contained at least one ‘favourite’ toy.

I’m going to have a four-week rotating system where each bag will come out on a Sunday and she’ll have a week to play with the toys before they're put away and the next bag comes out. Hopefully only seeing certain toys every four weeks will help her to play a bit more purposefully with them! She’ll have access to her books and toddle truck all the time as I think they’re important.

We store Sophia’s toys on the bottom two shelves of our bookshelf as she can see all the toys and choose which she wants to play with.

The toddle truck holds her books and she enjoys taking them in and out.

I usually use the big bowl to contain her smaller toys, just to keep them neat but from now on I’m going to fill it with small manipulatives. At the moment it contains these small Christmas and animal knitted figures which I was given last Christmas. The kind of things I’ll put in here are things like blocks, small bean bags, giant beads, natural objects such as large pebbles, pine cones, large sticks etc.

To the right of the shelves lives her treasure basket and a bag of library books which she can only look at when supervised (otherwise she’d chew on them!).

I’m hoping that this system will work a bit better for us!

Dear Sophia: 9 Months Old

Dear Sophia,

You’re 9 months old! It feels like such a milestone as you have now been in the world longer than you were inside my tummy. I can’t believe that this time last year you hadn’t even been born and now you’re a smiling, chattering, crawling, active little girl!

You’ve started to sleep less in the day and longer at nights now. It’s lovely to get a bit extra sleep in the mornings and to spend more time with you in the day. You typically go to bed around 6:30pm now and can sleep up until about 8:30am.

As always you’ve been growing and changing lots this month!

Eating

You are still a very good eater! There is no food you dislike and you’re not fussy one bit. You’re gradually drinking less milk and eating more at meal times which is great.

You are able to pick up and put the food to your mouth very well and you can use a spoon and a fork. You wear a plastic bib to catch all the bits of dropped food but your latest trick is to pull the bib off and spill the food! The carpet under your chair doesn’t look so good!

Development

This month you can:

• Wave. When people say hello or goodbye you now wave at them. I think you learnt it from me because I always stand in front of  the mirrors and wave to you. You’ve began to wave to anyone and everyone when we’re out and about!
• Climb. You can climb up onto the sofa by yourself. I was so shocked when you first did it and a little nervous that you’d do it and then fall off but luckily you turned around and sat down.
• Stand. You’re not fully standing quite yet but you can stand and balance on your own for about 30 seconds. You’re getting stronger and stronger.
• Teeth. You have another little tooth in your mouth making the grand total of 2!
• Recognise your name. You know your name and look around when it is called.
• Pincer grip. You can pick things up with your finger and thumb now instead of a whole hand grab. I think baby led weaning has really helped this as you practise picking up bits of food every meal time.

Five Favourites at 8 Months:

Favourite toy: You love your stacker of family fish this month. It’s always the first toy you take off your shelf and you like taking all the fish off and looking at them.

Favourite book: Still big on lift the flap books! A favourite this month has been Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell. We keep it in the bedroom and usually read it on weekend mornings and on my days off. You’re so independent and you love to pull the flaps open and turn the pages yourself.

Favourite food: You love eggs in every form! Your favourite way is as an omelette. I add a handful of frozen mixed veg and some cheese and put it all in the pan. You think it’s delicious!

Favourite activity: Probably reading. If I sit on the floor with a book you come straight over and climb onto me to listen.

Favourite thing to do or say: Favourite thing to do at the moment is to stand up. You spend hardly any time on your bottom anymore – you just want to be up and cruising around all the time.

 

And that’s what you’ve been doing at 9 months old! You’re personality is coming out more and more now and it just makes me love you even more. You’re such a happy, beautiful little soul and I don’t know what we’ve done to deserve you as our daughter but we’ll be forever grateful.

Happy 9 month birthday beautiful girl!

Lots of love from Mummy and Daddy.xxx

Dear Sophia: 8 Months Old

Dear Sophia,

Yet again I’m sat here wondering how time has sped past so quickly. You are 8 months old! 8 months! How did that happen?

This month feels as though it’s been such a turning point in your development, you have changed so much. You’re eating more and being very active, soon you’ll be  a ‘toddler’ and I’m not sure I’m ready for that! As always, I just savour every moment I have with you.

Eating

You are still loving your food! You are eating more at each meal and are taking in less milk. You really enjoy the social aspect of eating. Every meal we sit at the table with you and show you that we are eating the same thing and you love being a part of everything. You are now using a glass to drink out of and are enjoying being the same as mummy and daddy. I thought you’ spill all your water at first or drop the glass but you are so clever at using it.

You’ve tried pumpkin for the first time this month and seemed to really enjoy it! You’ve tried it as soup, dipping your toast soldiers in and as a pasta sauce. You liked both ways.

Development:

Oh my goodness, this month has been a game changer! You’ve hit lots of different milestones…

• Clap. Granny taught you how to clap and you love to do it all of the time! When you hear music you start clapping or when you do something you are pleased with you do it too.
• Pull yourself up. You pull yourself up anything you can and shuffle along the furniture. Daddy and I got you a push-along truck which you have a go at walking with. You’re not quite there yet but I’m sure it won’t be long.
• Tooth. You have one tooth coming through on your bottom left gum! Finally! Your gums have been bothering you for what feels like months and finally your teeth are starting to make an appearance. It’s about half way through so we’ve started brushing your teeth which you LOVE! I’m not sure if it’s the sensation of the brush you like or the taste of the applemint toothpaste.
• Dance. As well as clap to music you’ve started to move your whole body to it!

Five Favourites at 8 Months:

Favourite toy: This month you have been enjoying playing with your wooden instruments. You have a maraca and a castanet and you love shaking them.

Favourite book: You’re really interested in lift-the-flap books this month. I need to keep a close eye on you otherwise you rip the flaps right out! You love the fairy tale books by Nick Sharrat, in particular the Three Little Pigs Story.

Favourite food: This month you love oranges. I cut a big orange into wedges and you have 1 or 2 wedges at your meal and make ‘mmm’ noises as you eat it. You also love chicken. We had fajitas the other day and you loved the chicken!

Favourite activity: You’re favourite thing to do this month is to knock things over! I use your stacking cups to build a tower and you promptly knock it over and clap in delight. You’d happily do this all day long!

Favourite thing to do or say: You love to make ‘echo’ noises with your mouth. You babble and use your hand to make a funny noise, it’s such a sweet thing to watch you do!

And that’s it for this month! You are so interactive now, we laugh and smile together and when you are tired in the afternoon we cuddle up together. I’m so proud of all that you are and everything you do. I cannot believe my luck that you are mine. My daughter.

Keep shining bright sweet Sophia.

Happy 8 month birthday beautiful girl!

Lots of love from Mummy and Daddy.xxx

Discovery Bottles

Sophia is into everything at the moment! She loves playing with new and interesting objects so I decided to make her some fun and inexpensive discovery bottles.

I washed out some ordinary, clear drinks bottles and filled them with various things. Some ideas are…

• Dried rice or pasta - you could even add food colouring to make it more fun
• Bits of ripped up foil – the sound the foil makes is quite soothing and the reflections of light provide an interesting sensory experience for your baby
• Beads – making a musical bottle
• Bells – these would be perfect for a festive bottle along with some glitter
• Cut up pipe cleaners – different colours and lengths
• Off-cuts of different types of ribbon – these can be bought very cheaply on ebay
• Pom-poms – different sizes and colours
• Oil and coloured water – the separation of liquids will intrigue your baby
• Water beads – these can be picked up in florists or home ware shops
• Shower gel and small objects – you could use tiny animals or sequins to float in the clear and colourful gel

You can use just about anything in the bottles to stimulate little minds. For older children a nice idea would be to add in objects beginning with a certain letter to promote their literacy skills or numbers and shapes for some maths development. They really are very versatile and budget friendly!

**Safety note: I would recommend gluing the bottles shut and checking them regularly to make sure they are safe.**

Sophia’s Play Area

I thought I’d do a little post on Sophia’s play area. It’s in our living room.

In it she has…

• Play mat
• ‘Boppy’ cushion
• Basket of toys
• Shape sorter
• Fluffy rabbit (bought by Daddy for her before she was born)
• Selection of books
• ‘Treasure’ basket (post coming soon!)

Sophia definitely doesn’t stay on the mat much at all but I think it’s nice for her to have a ‘base’. We have to put cushions along the hearth as it is very hard and we’re scared of her banging her head.

By the end of playtime it looks nothing like this as she takes everything out of the baskets and moves things around and sometimes even rolls herself up in the blanket! However, this is how I set up her area each time she goes up for a nap so she knows where to find everything again when she comes back down.