10 Months

Max, you are 10 months old.  All of a sudden, you’re not just a cuddly little baby.  You’re active.  You’re squirmy.  You are super curious about the world around you.  You have opinions, voiced in high-pitched squeals.  You have likes and dislikes, and even without words, you can make them known.

I remember hitting this point with Alex, and I remember thinking, “He’s not a baby anymore.”  It’s happening again…

It snuck up on me, this getting bigger stuff, and suddenly you no longer seem like my baby.   I remember telling you not to grow up.  It seems that you didn’t listen, my boy.  You’re getting bigger every day.

Each day, though, I try to cherish all your little baby moments.  You’re only small once, and it’s such an amazing time. 

I love to watch as you explore new things – what does wet sand feel like?  How does grass taste?  What happens if I pull my brother’s hair really, really hard?  There’s so much to learn when you’re little!

I love to watch as you slowly get more mobile.  You’re still not crawling, but you’re anxious to figure it out.  Each day, you spend a good amount of time rocking back and forth on your hands and knees.  It’s only a matter of time before I’m chasing two boys instead of one!

You’re rolling all over the place.  You also lay on your belly and use your hands to spin and scoot where you want to go.  You let out a triumphant squeal when you finally manage to grab what you want!

You’ve learned that food is really good stuff, and now you’ve reached the point where you want whatever Mommy is eating.  You like to try a little of everything.  For a while, I was wondering if you would be my picky eater.  (Alex eats just about anything.)   Now, though, I think you’ll do all right.

When we were in Indianapolis, you ate a real breakfast with us each day at the hotel.  I hadn’t started that at home yet.  At home, it was a tray full of Puffs and some baby food fruit.  At the hotel, you had scrambled eggs and shredded cheddar, bits of waffle, and a container of yogurt.  You were a little piggy every morning! 

Since we’ve been home, I’ve been feeding you a little more in the morning – diced pears, yogurt, pancakes, bread.  You had your first Cheerios today in the church nursery, and you loved them! 

You shriek to be fed whatever I’m eating, whenever I’m eating it.  You made a crazy scene in Steak and Shake last week because you recognized a french fry (thanks, Grandpa S! *Ü*) and you wanted it…really wanted it! 

I try to offer you a little of whatever we’re eating for dinner.  You really love diced macaroni and cheese, tiny bits of canned fruit, watermelon, breads and muffins, and kernels of corn.  You’ll try other things, too.  You seem to like ground beef (taco meat, sloppy joes, bits of hamburger, etc) but it takes you a while to swallow the meat.

We still feed you two or three containers of baby food each day, mainly fruit purees, sweet potatoes with corn, carrot-applesauce, mac and cheese with veggies, and vegetable-cheese risotta.  You really like Beechnut’s ham and pineapple baby food, too.  (That’s the only baby food meat I give you, as the rest just smell disgusting to me!) You like diced veggies, but you do NOT like green beans, peas, or mixed vegetables in baby food form. 

You’re definitely a store-bought baby food kid.  When I (finally) decided to make homemade baby food, the blender exploded on me.  So…no saving money here.  Since I hope to be finished with baby food by 12 months, buying a new blender would probably undo the savings of the homemade food at this point!

You’re doing better with a cup, but you’re more likely to steal Alex’s sippy of watered down juice rather than drinking your own sippy of water.  I often hear Alex saying, “Hey Bubby, that’s MY sippy!”  (That’s what Alex calls you quite often – Bubby.)

You have 7, almost 8 teeth now – 4 on top, and 3 on the bottom.  There’s one more that hasn’t poked through yet.  Judging by the way you’re biting everyone and everything in sight, it won’t be long.  (Seriously, boy – you bite holes in my shoulder and leave me fresh bruises there just about every day!  You nibble on just about everyone’s fingers, and you often get legs as well. Ouch!)

You’re really proud of yourself in the past week for practicing – and now succeeding in – pulling yourself to stand. 

You’ve been trying so hard, and you finally accomplished it with an audience.  Grandma and Grandpa  S, Grandma and  Papa P, and Kyle were all here when you used the Bumbo to pull yourself to stand.  You were at it again the next morning, standing while holding the same dinosaur toy that your big brother used for the same purpose.

You’ve discovered that it’s fun to show off to get attention.  You like to do “So Big”, wave hi, and clap your hands whenever you’re looking for a little extra attention.  You give BIG grins to the people who take notice! 

Daddy’s glad that you’re gaining mobility, starting to stand, and getting more interactive.  He loves when his babies reach this more active stage!  (You already know what Mama thinks about it!)

At Daddy’s request, I pulled out the Baby Signing Times DVDs last week.  We’re playing them for you a few times each week.  So far, you seem to recognize the sign for milk (which I’ve used with you for months) and the sign for more (which I use when feeding you baby food).

You’ve turned into a real water lover.  You *love* to be in the pool, the lake, the bathtub.  You scoot your way across the bathtub and take over the whole tub, leaving Alex with one little corner to himself.  I move you, and you do it again.  Poor Alex! ;)

You go to bed around 8 PM, and every night is different.  You might sleep through the night (until 5ish) or you might wake 3 times.  I just never know!  You’ve been waking at around 6:30 each morning in the past few weeks.

You nap from 9:30 – 11 AM, and you nap again from 2 – 4 or 4:30 PM.  We’re flexible with that, but you’re a GOOD napper!  I try not to mess up your schedule too much, as I really like it.  Thanks – I’m glad to have a good napper this time around!

You love to smile at other people just for fun, or to get attention, or because they’re staring at you in the grocery store.  We get comments everywhere we go about what a happy baby you are.  Whether it’s grocery shopping or sitting in a restaurant or standing in line somewhere, people mention that you’re one of the happiest babies they’ve seen.

You’re still a mama’s boy.  You’ll go to other people, fuss or cry when I walk away, and be fine once I’m gone.  You do fairly well in nursery most of the time now, unless you’re really tired.  If Mama’s nearby, though, you think I should be the one to hold you.

Baby Boy, we LOVE you!  Even if I don’t want you to grow up, I love the little boy you’re becoming.  It’s so fun to watch you as you go through each stage.  You are a special part of our family, and once again, we’re SO GLAD that God blessed us with you!