Maizie at 11 Months

Maizie turned 11 months old today. Today also marks four weeks since Carrie and I first met Maizie. With these mini-milestones, it seems appropriate to take stock of what our little girl has been through and how she has changed.

In the last four weeks, Maizie has been through a lot: a cultural, language and time change. She has traveled half-way around the world and become a U.S. citizen. She has met a new family and been introduced to cats and dogs. Maizie seems to take all these major changes in stride and is, although she is starting to assert her will and personality and is quick to let you know when she wants something, still a very happy baby.

It’s amazing how much Maizie has changed in the time we have known her. Four weeks ago, Maizie did a military crawl; today she can walk behind a walker and with Carrie or me holding her hands. Four weeks ago, Maizie would only take bottles; today, she eats three meals of solid foods a day, snacks on puffs through out the day and is weaning herself off the bottles. Four weeks ago, Maizie was content to play with her toys all alone; today, she wants to be paid attention to and the center of attention while playing. Four weeks ago, Maizie could only stand with our help; today she can pull herself up, walk around her activity table and even has even let go and stood for a few seconds on her own. Four weeks ago, Maizie had probably never had a book read to her; today, she points out the books she wants read to her (she generally prefers touch and feel books or books with photos of real babies, although she has recently warmed up to illustrated books) and helps with turning pages. Four weeks ago, Maizie didn’t know Carrie or me; today, she looks for and lunges towards us when someone else is holding her. Four weeks ago Maizie had never seen a cat; today, she goes nuts for Meadow and chases her with not one but two cat wands.

We feel very lucky that Maizie seems to be making so much progress and adjusting to her new life. We are really happy with Maizie’s progress to date and are looking forward to her first words (I think she said daddy in Mandarin the other day when she babbled “ba”, although Carrie disputes this) and first steps in the coming months.