Ten Months Old!

Hello, my little one. You have had a banner month! As I write this, your Auntie Corrie has been staying with us for about two weeks, and you've been having such fun with her. You've also been developing gross motor skills like crazy. Summer is in full swing, and we have been playing outside a lot and going on lots of fieldtrips, all while trying to preserve some semblance of a nap schedule.

The gross motor skills development has been quite dramatic this month. You can now crawl with your tummy off the ground, go from sitting to crawling and vice versa, and you're starting to cruise a tiny bit and try to pull up. You can also sit down from a standing position, usually without falling over. You are still cautious, but becoming more bold in your explorations with your new-found skills. No object goes unturned, and no shoe or dog hair goes untasted, much to my great joy.


Due to all of this excitement, you've become somewhat resistant to napping. You prefer to move about in your crib until you're stuck, and then cry for help. When you're tired enough, you fall asleep in some pretty ridiculous positions (say, sideways in your crib, with your legs up on the side). You seem to need about 1.5 naps a day now, so I imagine we'll be down to one before too long.

You are such a social butterfly these days. You love going new places and meeting new people. You are especially fascinated by watching older children. This includes your friends Polly and Sam, who can now both walk! You go eagerly to lots of people other than me and Daddy now, and get really excited when your favorite people appear. You stayed with Aunt Corrie for a full day, and hardly seemed to notice I was gone.


You are becoming quite the chatterbox. Your regular vocabulary includes mama (which also seems to mean hungry), dada (still also generally a joyous noise), ball, baby, and dog. You are using gestures a bit more to indicate what you want, and you're starting to wave a bit more consistently. You're starting to show some frustration at your inability to express yourself, so it might be time to put forth a bit of effort into sign language.


Eating is still a favorite activity, and you will eat just about anything. I used to carefully rinse the seasoning off of the food we eat, as it tends to contain lots of chili powder, cumin, and the like. I've stopped, though, because you gobble up spicy foods with as much eagerness as anything else. You're also really enjoying the many berries we've been picking up at the farmers' market -- fruit is the closest thing to candy you know, and you just can't get enough.


I never know how to wrap these things up. I could go on and on about how marvelous you are and how madly in love with you I am, but we don't want to bore or nauseate the readers, do we? You just bring more joy to me and Daddy every day, and we are enthralled with the little person you're becoming. 'Nuff said.

Love,
Mommy