10 Months Old!!!

Only 2 months until I'm one year old! Isn't it exciting? Every day mom and dad are amazed while they watch me learn another new task. And nothing pleases me more than exploring new ways to use my toys and to get around. I actually "think" about how to do what I want to do, and strategize about different actions. I still fall short a few times before getting it right, but I'm sharp and catch on quickly! I'm starting to mimic mom and dad when they show me new things (like clapping, and using my toy hammer, and starting/stopping my musical toys, etc). I love using my toys for their intended purpose - I finally figured out how to put the pieces together and the shapes inside the box, etc. Putting things inside of other things is way cool.

I'm now 21 pounds and 30.5 inches long. My growth seems to be mostly in fat, rather than length these days. I'm happy to report that I now have 2 (maybe 3) teeth and have had my first hair cut (a few hairs and only around my ears and neck but hey - a cut is a cut). I'm sad to report (very very sad) that I've outgrown my bouncy seat... yes, my bottle-drinking, tv-watching, stuffy-nose-sleeping, monthly-picture-taking, plush, blue, bouncy seat is gone. :( One day I bounced too hard and snapped it. Rest assured, there's a new seat in play - though make no mistake...it is NOT my bouncy seat. However, mom's going to use this chair now, for my monthly photo (seen above).

My top 10 favorite things to do:

1. Pull up on anything and everything.
2. Once I'm up, I like to drop small objects and pick them up without getting down.
3. I like to cruise from furniture to wall to toy to mom and back again - I'm starting to cruise with one hand and sometimes no hands at all (using my pot belly to balance against something)!
4. I also love to chase the dogs and laugh at them as they scurry to the corner or hide in another room.
5. I love taking baths in the big-boy tub where I can crawl around and splash and really stretch my legs. Bye-bye baby tub!!!
6. I REALLY love riding around on my little car and airplane. I've figured out how to push myself too (so that mom and dad can save their backs).
7. I love following mom into whatever room she's going to (even the bathroom) and I'm fast enough now that I can keep up.
8. I love playing with all of my crib toys that I couldn't reach until now.
9. I love talking to my toys, and my binkys.
10. After a long nap, I love seeing mom and dad peek into my room to wake me up... I get so excited and I kick my legs and squeel and fling my blanky around. Then I scurry to my knees and stand up and rock against the crib rail until they pick me up and hug me. And...
11. I LOVE getting and giving hugs... ( I know - I said top 10, not 11 ).

I've been getting my little fingers into everything so mom and dad have really had to clean-house. They even put little annoything latches on the cabinet doors. :( It's ok, it's only a short crawl to dad's office where I can chew on all of his construction plans and reach up to the top of the desk and knock all of his papers to the floor (he hates that because I ruin the organized piles).

In the next few months, there's talk of "walking" and I CAN'T WAIT to see what that's all about!