10 months

10 months

To Olen Ray,

Oh my goodness. You are 10 months old! I am actually getting this posted before you turn 11 months, so someone better write that down in my "mommy book."  Don't worry though, I will get behind again since I will have to start planning your first birthday party, like tomorrow, and won't be able to blog during nap time 'till it's complete.

You started off your 10th month celebrating your very first Christmas.  I must say, Christmas has a whole new level of excitement with a little one around.  I will try to post some pictures of you Christmas morning and give more details there, but you LOVED it. We had you open a Christmas book every night the whole month of December and by the second week, you had figured out how to get the paper open if we just popped off the ribbon and tape. It was perfect practice for you to open your gifts on Christmas Day. "Santa" brought you a slide, swing, push toy, tunnel, and some cars in your stocking. We also gave you a stroller adapter for your snacks (because you HAVE to eat everywhere you go), books, and animal cards.  You were the center of attention for all three Christmas celebrations and it made me smile to watch you enjoy each moment.

A tooth, yes Olen Ray, you finally popped a little white speck through on January 4th.  Of course you did break a sweat, lose a little sweat, and have a fever because of the little thing.  I am sure most people didn't believe me when I told them it was there because you could barely see it.  It is your lower right incisor and it is about halfway through right now. You haven't really bit me yet while nursing, feeding you solids, or when you give me kisses. We shall pray that doesn't change anytime soon.  You really have to still look to see it though when you smile. I am thinking another might be getting ready to join it soon because you haven't slept well the last night or two. 

You still love to stand up and even let go off things for 3-5 seconds now. Your daddy said you let go of a drawer, took a step, and grabbed the cabinet door the other day, but I haven't seen it.  No, we don't let our baby play in the kitchen cabinets on a regular basis, just every time I am trying to cook dinner :-)  Crawling under and between things is still a fun adventure for you.  The slide, oh the slide. We have it set up on the screened in porch since the weather has been so crazy this month, one day it is 40 and the next 70.  You can almost climb the steps by yourself if I just hold onto your body.  It is so cute to watch you put the foot up there, grab on with your hands, and pull up with all your might.  The preferred activity with the slide is the toss your animals down it and attempt to climb up the "wrong" end, but you will figure it out.  WEEEE and off you go in the swing, which you love.  The fun element increases if we sing songs or make silly faces at you while you are swinging.  You are starting to enjoy riding on your little motorcycle or giraffe. It is cute to watch you put you feet up on the wheels so we can push you around the house.  

I have really noticed an improvement in your receptive language skills this month as well.  You starting to understand the names of objects like ball, car, paci, blankie, dog, etc.  If we are playing with something, I can tell you "bring it to mama" and you hold it up to place it in my hand.  Waving "hi" and "bye" is a new task for you and sometimes you do it just to play and get someone to pay attention to you. It is pretty cute to watch you open and close that little hand. You will give "high fives" too!  Let's see, every time Bailey barks, you crawl to the front door to check on her and see what she is barking at.  You LOVE that dog and Addison the cat too.  Anytime you have a bump to the head during playtime, a sure way to stop the fussing is a quick visit to see the animals. 

Now your sounds, oh my!  You are hilarious and such a chatter box.  There is a lot of jargon there, but lots of sounds too! I haven't noticed any new words, but you love to stick your tongue in and out and make a "nanana" sound over and over and over again.  Just today when I was nursing your before nap, you would stop, make that sound with your tongue, and nurse again. Such a funny kid! We still get to see the stink face, fish face, and always great smiles each day as well (I even caught one in your sleep on Saturday).  

Speaking of nursing, you are down to just four times a day.  Sometimes if you are really fussy in the night, I will give you an extra feeding so you can get some sleep.  When we are out and about, you get a little distracted, but it is a sure way to put some happiness back into you if you are not feeling well.  You can eat with a fork if we put a piece of food on it and otherwise your fingers are your go-to utensil.  I haven't let you try the spoon yet because we have enough of a mess with just the fingers.  You still eat like a champ anything that is placed in front of you! I am so thankful for that I must say. 

You are sleeping well at night from 8:00 to 8:00 with one wake up around 5:00 or so. Some nights you wake up other times, but usually fall back to sleep on your own within 5 minutes.  Most days, you will nap around 10:30 and 3:00, usually 1-2 hours each time.  We are trying to keep your pacifiers and blankets to "crib use only", so it is funny to watch you take off down the hall to your room to go find them in your crib.  You do love those things, and yes we do use them in the car as well!  Oh, another funny thing you love to do, is crawl around with a baby sock in your mouth. Not sure where you got that idea from, but you love to play with them, pull the pair apart, stick one in your mouth, and off you go!  

Such a little joy you are baby boy; to me, to your dad, and everyone you meet.  Stay sweet little baby, keep giving your mommy kisses (forever), and keep playing chase with your daddy (soon you will be chasing him and catching him).  Now that you are up from your nap (it was too short today), I should go get you I guess!

Oh, I should add that these photos are super funny. I do realize that pretty much everything is wrong with them when it comes to a photographer's perspective (back lighting, shadows in your hair, cold and windy day, etc) but everything is right when it comes to those cute faces!

Love, Mama and Dada