Almost a year old!

Eleanor is going to be a year old in just over 2 weeks!  I can't believe it!  She has been doing so many new things lately, so I just wanted to write them down before I forget.

• She has learned how to pull up on pretty much anything.  It used to be that she could only do it on really low objects and she would push herself up, but now she can actually pull up on things like the sofa.  I've tried getting her to walk behind her little car and push it for balance, but she has no interest in that.
• She is quite musical!  We've been going to Music Together classes (similar to Kindermusik if you're familiar with that) and she seems to really enjoy it.  Her face LIGHTS UP when I play those cd's - or any other Eleanor-approved music - in the car.  Sometimes she dances along to the music and other times she claps her hands.  She has two little maracas that she absolutely loves to play with and she really likes it when I sing while she plays them.
• She can EAT.  I mean, this child can seriously put away some food.  Multiple people have told me that they've never seen a baby who eats like her.  A typical breakfast is a piece of toast, a scrambled egg, and some fruit.  Lunch is usually half a grilled cheese sandwich (whole wheat bread and cheese...nothing else added), vegetables, avocado, and some other fruit.  Dinner might be whatever we're having or some vegetables, whole wheat macaroni with cheddar cheese melted on it (again, no processed stuff), chicken, and more fruit.  And of course there are snacks between meals!  Sometimes I worry that she eats TOO much, but she still weighs about 19 lbs and looks pretty long and lean.  She hasn't really gained much weight over the past couple of months, but she has definitely gotten taller.
• Eleanor really tries to talk.  She babbles to herself all the time, and she repeats words after us.  I'm not claiming that she knows what all of these words mean, but she has clearly said mama, daddy, cat, book, picture, yes, desert (we have several paintings of the desert), and thank you.  I think she actually knows what the first four of those mean, and she has started to say "yes" a lot when I ask her yes or no questions so I think she might understand it...?  The other day when Hunter walked in the room she said, "DAH-deeee!"  SO cute.
• She still loves to read and turn pages, but now she also likes to point to things.  She uses her pointer finger and points to all kinds of little details.  She seems to know what "moon" and "nose" mean and can point them out in a picture if I ask.
• She gives kisses!  Sometimes it's more like biting your nose, but it's still super sweet.
• Finally, this isn't really anything she's doing but just a funny observation yesterday.  She took a REALLY long nap so I went into her room to check on her.  She was sound asleep but the door hit the wall and made a noise.  Her eyes flew open and she immediately sat up with her back to me.  She didn't know I was there.  She grabbed her little blanket and stuck her thumb in her mouth.  She sat there like that for about 10 seconds, like she was trying to decide if she was awake or not, and then suddenly she just threw her whole body forward and lay there on her stomach with her eyes closed, thumb still in the mouth.  I guess she was still sleepy!  :)

My little firecracker!

What's wrong with this picture?

My sweet girl