10 months old

dear miles,
you are 10 months old (and 4 days...i have been a slacker!) and loving life. here are some things about you right now -

let's move it!

you want to walk. badly. you refuse to crawl or anything that resembles crawling. but if i hold out two fingers to you, you will grab on and pull yourself up and walk around. at first you would only take a straight-legged step or two, but now you can walk all across the house and bend your knees as you step. you also have a big grin on your face and bounce up and down excitedly between steps. you can also stand up while holding onto the coffee table or couch, which also makes you very proud of yourself. you have taken one or two steps toward something while holding onto the table, so i'm quite sure by next month's update you will be cruising for sure, with walking not too far away either. this still makes me nervous! but i am excited for the new opportunities it will bring you.

eat
you are starting to eat more and more solid foods. you have 4 teeth now to help you( 2 on top, 2 on bottom)! though you are still nursing 4-5 times each day, you are starting to eat 3 meals plus a snack each day. for breakfast you usually eat yogurt melts (freeze dried yogurt & fruit) which we call "dots" and rice cereal mixed with apple or white grape juice. for lunchtime sometimes you have chicken & carrot sticks, turkey & veggie ravioli pickups, or cheese & crackers & chicken with some lil' crunchies. sometimes we go out to lunch with your daddy or friends and you are quickly learning that this is way fun! you love sitting in the high chair and eating your snack and trying whatever we are eating. you also like to order a kids water so you can drink from a straw and cup just like everyone else. in the afternoon you usually have a fruit & cereal bar or lil' crunchies for a snack. for dinner you often eat pasta & veggies, veggie soup, or whatever your dad and i are having for dinner. throughout the day and with meals you drink water from your no-spill cup with a straw, with the occasional cup of juice. the other night i was eating chicken and some macaroni and cheese while you were playing and you just HAD to have some. you absolutely loved it and couldn't get enough. you got another treat yesterday on our spring break road trip to mom mom's and big papi's house. we stopped at a sonic for lunch and you got to sit in the drivers seat with me and eat a grilled cheese and apple juice...you were the happiest little boy ever, you thought you were so big! you also got a tot baby and a balloon which you were very proud of.

sleep
you have become quite attached to a little blue blanket square that my friend mindy gave you when you were born. its silky on one side and soft on the other. as soon as i lay you in your crib for a nap or bedtime, you stick two fingers from your right hand into your mouth, and stick out your left hand to cuddle the blanket. when you wake up and i come in to get you, you almost always are playing with the blanket happily. you also have a blue bear (from your great aunt sara) and a brown bear (from your daddy) that you enjoy playing and sleeping with in your crib as well.

you have a bedtime routine that we start around 7-8pm of bath, pj's and lotion, 2 medicines (prevacid and iron drops), nursing, brushing teeth, reading good night moon, and then laying down in your crib. you've been sleeping really well, from about 8.30pm until 4am, waking up to nurse and then sleeping til 7.30am (8.30am now that daylight savings came!). on sunday night you slept from 8.30pm-8.30am and it was awesome. you woke up and cried once but you quickly fell back asleep. we have been doing some cry it out with you and are now down to just one nightly feeding which i'm hoping to phase out before your bday...i'm sure you will be thrilled.

you are still taking 2 morning naps and 2 afternoon naps, though occasionally you will combine two of them for a 2hr nap instead of your usual 1hr nap...i'm hoping this trend continues and becomes your norm.

things you enjoy
baths
straws
puppies
lift the flap books (we had our first flap casualty this week :( )
mirrors
your jumper
toy baskets
tags
teeth
your toes
climbing on your dad in the morning
giving me kisses :)
strings
looking at things sideways and/or upside down

things we did
surprised aunt bekkie for her birthday in college station
played with grandma and grandpa
helped daddy build a deck in our backyard
went to church and small group and played with the other babies
met daddy for lunch
swing at the park
went to see big papi, mom mom, aunt bekkie, uncle jared, and aunt rachel for spring break

i can't believe you are 10 months old, now i truly understand what people mean when they say it goes by so fast! thoughts of your first bday party are already forming in my head. yesterday in the car i just kept looking back at you, singing to yourself and sucking on your toes, and i was thinking wow i have the sweetest baby in the world. you bring me so much joy and i love you very much!!