10 months

a year ago, i sat in the lab, getting an ultrasound. when i saw the picture, i thought.....

o....
em......
geeeeee.....

my baby is the joker.

everything was kind of blurry, but her mouth was VERY pronounced. and very joker-esque. it may have been the hormones, but i started crying. my mom was with me and i turned to her and said, "i don't want my baby to be ugly!"

yes, i know. how terrible. how vain. but the fuzzy glimpse i just got of my child was not a pretty sight. all i could imagine was this petite little face with a great big joker mouth.

scary, no? picture it on a teeny little baby and you can see why i was crying.

bella is 10 months today, and not once in her little life have i thought for a minute that she wasn't the most beautiful baby ever. of course, if she was, i would never know. because she is my baby.

she does have a big smiley mouth. and she is constantly showing it off. she smiles all the time, big and mouthy. 

so she is 10 months. she is a proficient walker, and has even started running (aka waddling quickly). she says mama, dada, "doo" and "yoya" which i SWEAR is duke and lola. maybe not, but it sounds like it. she pushes things with her head and when they won't get out of her way she screams and tries again. 

she has 7 teeth. she chews on EVERYTHING. she has been eating a lot more stuff lately.

and recently, she has decided that sleep is for losers. and since she is no loser, she has quit sleeping. which means.....i have quit sleeping. 

this past week has been harder than when she was a newborn. but for some reason, i still feel like this has been my favorite age. maybe it's because she has more personality. she is like a little person, toddling around after me, talking to me with conviction, like what she is saying is important. yesterday, at target, she "read" to me all throughout the store. she is becoming a small person, instead of a baby. she is insanely expressive. 

it's exhausting. but it's so fun. and in 2 short months, she will be one. year. old.

where has the time gone?

right?