11 Months!

          June is eleven months old. This is the first month where I have felt more on the side of "she's been in our lives forever and ever" than the side of "how is she growing up so fast?!" She is growing up fast but as we're nearing a year, it feels like we're about to hit thirteen instead. June's...passion...shall we say, is becoming more and more evident by the spectacular fits she has been throwing. It's amazing to me that such a small human can have so much emotion inside of her.

         She has started to "kiss" us. It's a rare occurrence but every so often I can ask for a kiss and she'll come at me open mouth and smother me. This has caused the greatest joy in my heart. For a girl who is so anti-cuddling it means a lot to her highly affectionate mom that she's starting to love a little bit.

          Before I overload you on overly adorable pictures, let's take a look at our handy Baby Center chart.

11 months

Says "mama" or "dada" to the correct parent Plays patty-cake and peek-a-boo Stands alone for a couple of seconds Cruises

Understands "no" and simple instructions Puts objects into a container

Says one word besides "mama" or "dada" Stoops from standing position

          June calls Thomas "Dada" and me...nothing. Unless she's mad and then she yells, "MAMA!" Which usually means she wants me. She's a huge fan of peek-a-boo. Stands for more than a couple of seconds and does nothing but cruises.

          She definitely understands "no," not that she likes it but she gets it for sure. She loves taking things out of a wipe container and them putting them all back in. 

          Junie says a lot of words: hey, hi, yeah, bub (Henry, our dog), Lisa (I'll explain that one in a minute), Pop (my dad), and baba (bottle). She can definitely stoop from standing and uses that to horde toys. 

          My mom runs a family daycare out of her house and that's where June goes while we're at work. My mom's name is Lisa. The other daycare kids call her Lisa. June now calls her grandma, Lisa. It's hilarious. I don't know how to correct her when she's around other kids that don't call her Grammy all day! I've thought of trying to figure out a cute nickname that goes with Lisa so that Junie can call her that but nothing is working. At least she even calls her something. I still don't get a name unless she's angry.

          June's favorite thing to do, beside stand and hold as many things in her arms as possible, is reading. Books are her activity of choice. I currently write for Parenting OC and just chronicled my love of books and the hope I have for June. I'd love if you'd pop over there, too. 

          And now, some pictures of my hilarious, sweet, smart and precious ELEVEN month old!

She loves books, I wasn't kidding!

We needed a break at the beach.

She LOVED crawling in the sand. This is a huge change from our last beach day!

Some wild hair and her constant companion, bunny.

Are you even kidding me with this face? I don't know how I got so lucky to be her momma.

5 Months Old, Lovies and Surgery

Well, folks, we have a five month old. She is finally rolling over from her tummy to her back and absolutely hates the process. It would be sad if it weren't so hilarious. She lays on her tummy, rocks back and forth, rolls to her back, looks furious and then cries. I don't know if it's the motion that upsets her or if she just gets confused. Either way, it's adorable. (I'm aware the fact that I laugh when my daughter cries probably disqualifies me for the mother of the year award but c'mon, it's pretty funny.)

A while back I read on Emily Southerland's blog about introducing a "lovey" or security blanket/stuffed animal. My sister Emily had gotten June an adorable organic cotton doll while I was pregnant and I was adamant about making that her lovey. I bought an extra one, believing that we would need it. We named these her "ghost babies" but darling June rejected them. She had no interest in them when I tried to get her to cozy up to them.

Ghost Baby!

On a whim, I introduced her to a sweet, fluffy bunny that my dear friend whom with I lived in Paris had sent us. June took to this precious bunny like I couldn't believe. It has since become her dear lovey. She sleeps with it next to her face, stroking the satin and chewing on the ears. Thus, proving that even babies have minds of their own!

Junie and her favorite bunny.

On a less adorable note, I'm having more surgery! Dr. Man is no longer covered by my insurance because I'm no longer pregnant. Silly insurance companies! (Read: I effing hate insurance companies!) I'm still having incredible pain and while ultrasounds have revealed some pretty extensive scarring in my uterus, there have been few answers. 

Luckily, Dr. Man is a sweet man and referred me to his friend and colleague Dr. Latino. (In case you forgot or are new, Dr. Man is not his real name and my new dr is not legally named Dr. Latino, either.) I met with Dr. Latino today and he was wonderful. Dr. Latino agreed with Dr. Man and that we should schedule a laparoscopy (caution: pictures are included) to diagnose and treat Endometriosis. Unfortunately, endometriosis can't be diagnosed without actually seeing the scaring and growth. If you want to read more about this disease read this! 

A major concern of mine is that endo is a major cause of infertility and secondary infertility (being unable to get pregnant more than once). I have come across a lot of research that says basically the sooner you diagnose and treat, the better your chances are of becoming pregnant again. I had two nurses in the ER suggest that we try to get pregnant again right away so that we don't let the endo grow. That terrifies me. Everything about this is scary and I'm not sure I want babies only 14 months apart. 

Does anyone have any experience with endometriosis or know anyone that does? I want to find some sort of support system!