to our 11 month old talker

again mommy is late with your letter. you turned 11 months old while we were vacationing in the UP with mark and katie. which is also where you said your first definitive word..."nana". we thought we had heard words before, but this was a definite. we were cutting a banana for breakfast and you saw it. and then starting shouting, "na NUH. na NUH. NA NUH!!" it was hilarious. your saying it was so intense that it made us all laugh. nice work having a two syllable word for your first word, though. you have also been saying "mama" and "dada" to us. your papa gets you out of bed each morning, and you have started saying "da. da. da. da." in the morning as if you were calling to him. so much talking.....you babble all the time and i can tell that you know exactly what you are saying. you also have picked up the signs that we have been teaching you. you know the sign for "more" and use it ALL THE TIME. you have also done the signs for "eat" and "all done".
you continue to take several steps at a time, often as you are lunging towards the nearest piece of furniture. you have also discovered that you like to lean backwards, and have figured out how to turn around so that your back is leaning on the couch and then you lean your head back on it. it looks like you are lounging...you also like to lean back when we are holding you and will do this again and again.
it is completely amazing to me (and a little terrifying when i think about it) how much you UNDERSTAND. things like "brush your hair", "take a bath", "brush your teeth", "take a drink" are all things you know the meaning of. you will point to trees, babies, girls, boys, doggies, and various body parts (hair, toes, eyes, noses, teeth, etc). there are so many things that we say that you respond to....i wish i could remember them all so i could write about them here. you have also learned to shake your head "no" which makes me wonder when that word will appear in your vocabulary.
you are eating more and more food and are now down to three bottles a day. you love LOVE oatmeal and are pretty much fine with us feeding you from a spoon now. sometimes you even point to the spoon or the bowl to indicate to us that you want another bite.
you look at books so much during the day, and sometimes you let us read them to you but most often you like to look at them yourself and turn the pages. sometimes you will "read" them outloud to yourself and you point at the things on the pages like mommy and papa do. you love to carry things around while you cruise.....it seems that most often you like to carry TWO things in ONE hand. you like to carry around your drumsticks and now you like to carry your mittens around. your latest fascination is to put things IN containers (another phrase you understand). you will take things out and then put them back in. you have also started really inspecting things and noticing the littlest detail. you will point at a small decal or a tiny screw hole on a toy that you have had for months, and whenever we hand you something you turn it over to check it out from all angles before playing with it.
you are so friendly when we are out and about and love to wave to and flirt with anyone who will pay attention to you. whenever we pass someone on a walk, you ALWAYS lean of the stroller to watch them as they walk away.
and the dancing continues. you have new moves....still the booty shake, but you've added a head bob, a head twist and an arm wiggle. your papa will say, "alright alright, let's dance!" and you go to town, even if there's no music playing.
you smile so easily and laugh so often, you are a real character. i feel like you are blossoming and soon you will be one year old. i can't wait to see what the next year will bring.