10 Months

Only two more of these monthly updates before you are a year old. That gives me such a sinking feeling in my stomach. I feel like I'm holding on to the ankles of time...who just keeps marching on.

A look back on your ninth month of living:

Stats: 12 month clothing fits you perfectly in length, but are still a little baggy. You are still wearing size 3 diapers.

Sleep: Another challenging month. Now that you pull yourself up on everything, you stand up in your crib and scream and cry because you can't get back down. One night your Dad and I went in and laid you down 15 times and you popped right back up. Our poor neighbors. You are still a really bad napper. Most of the time I'm lucky if I get 30 minutes, and sometimes it takes longer than that to get you to fall asleep.
New: It was a clingy month. You don't want to leave mama's side for even a minute. Even your signing DVD (which always ensured a solid 30 minutes of peace to make dinner) cannot capture your full attention. You will follow me in your walker and whine at my ankles. If we play in your room, you want to climb all over me instead of playing with your toys. In order to take a shower, I have to put you in the pack n' play outside of the bathroom and sing The Wheels on the Bus, and play "peek a boo," and practically put on a puppet show to keep you entertained. I've skipped more showers than I care to admit. And although there are days where I just want FIVE minutes to myself, I also realize that this stage is so fleeting. In the grand scheme of things, you are only small for a tiny part of your life. And if what you want right now is your mama, and only your mama, then I want to soak that up.

You are into everything now. I can't really take my eyes off of you for a second. You beeline straight for the stairs, or the toilet, or anything else that I don't want you near.

You are dying to walk. Your favorite thing is to take our fingers and go walking all around the house. Sometimes you forget that you have to hold on, and you take off on your own...only to eat it. You will also hold on to the couch and walk the whole thing. You will stand on your own if you're distracted. The minute you realize that you aren't holding on you get nervous and fall over or sit down. You also got your first bruise :-( One on your eyebrow, and then a week later, a bruise under the same eye! You keep bonking your face on things.

Food: What you lack in nap points, you make up for in food points. You LOVE to eat. You are eating about 4 small meals a day, and nursing about 4 times a day. Some new things you've tried are pinto beans, cheese, bits of tortilla. Honestly, you will eat ANYTHING we put on your tray. It's easier to feed you off our our plates now. I'm not sure how much longer you'll eat the purees that I make for you. Blueberries are your favorite! You cannot eat enough to be satisfied. You have also started to eat an entire banana for breakfast.

One of my favorite faces you make is a huge open mouth when you get excited. I had no idea where you really got it until I got a good look at the same expression I always make when I'm trying to get you excited and smiley.

 I love you munchkin!