10 month update :)

I have so much to catch up on from the last few weeks!  My baby turned 10 months old on December 22, CHRISTMAS came and went, and our house is almost fully framed!  I will try to get out three separate blogs for these events in our lives, and this one will be devoted to John Parker's 10th month.

So many things seem to be happening with him lately!  He's ALMOST in the full-blown walking stage - not quite walking everywhere, but taking steps across the room into various loved-ones' arms and he just started initiating walking himself from one object (like the sofa or his "push" truck) to another toy or object.  So, I don't know when he will officially be "walking" but he's close.  He stands alone for minutes at a time now, playing and squatting down to get other things to play with - and we just stand him in the floor when we put him down now and he can sit on his own or just stand/walk to what he wants.  He's also in to EVERYTHING!  He has been so much fun, but it's definitely an adventure - the word "no-no" is a big one for us right now :)  I have read that it's not necessarily a good thing to always say "no-no" to a baby (but instead to use other phrases like, "easy", "careful", or "not for John Parker"), but I have to admit, "no-no" just comes out most of the time when a disaster is waiting to happen!  Our biggest issue right now is his deep love for Dandy (our white fluffy dog) - and his desire to pull her beautiful fur.  She obviously doesn't return the love.  We've had a few "snaps" (no real bites, but scary non-the-less).  He also will kiss on command - he gives the sweetest, wettest kisses and we don't even have to beg - a lot of times when I get home from work, he will just kiss me on his own.  I LOVE it.

He has started saying some new words/phrases this month also - like "ma-ma!!!"  He had said it a few cherished times in previous months, but now, he chatters it over and over - and he's even playing tricks with daddy, saying ma-ma and laughing when John tries to get him to say da-da (which he's been saying non-stop for over 4 months now!)  He also has started saying "wone doww" (I want down) while we are holding him, "wone dat" (I want that) while pointing at toys/objects he "wants", and "aww doww" (all done) when he's finished eating in addition to his current vocabulary of "duuh" (duck), "hay dar" (hey there), ba-ba (bye-bye) and "dawl" (ball/dog - he says this while pointing at both balls and dogs, so we can only differentiate by knowing what he's pointing at).  It's amazing because most people would have a hard time knowing the difference between his new phrases, but he's definitely saying different things.  Watching a baby develop language is truly awesome and completely amazes me!

Teeth!  Oh-my-goodness, have we gotten the teeth this past month!  He has 5 total now, with a 6th on the surface.  He got his top left tooth first right after he turned 9 months, then a week or so later he got the tooth to the left of it - not the other top tooth!  It seemed really weird to me, but in less than another week he got his top right tooth.  The one directly to the right of it is making its way through now - getting 3 teeth in less than 2 weeks was definitely not fun, but he was a trooper, waking up a few times over the course of a few nights, but nothing we couldn't handle; and he really seemed mostly like himself during the day, so we can't complain!

He's completely weened from breast milk now - starting a couple of weeks ago, his 8am nursing session was not interesting to him anymore, so we started giving him milk in a cup for that feeding, of which he rarely drinks more than 2 ounces, but he eats well the rest of the day, so I think he's getting plenty of nutrition!  At 9, he eats a instant oatmeal (strawberries and cream is his favorite) made with 5 ounces of whole milk, at 1230, he eats two baby foods (stage 2 fruit and veggie), at 4 he eats a 6-8 oz bottle, at 630 he eats a stage 3 veggie and a 6 oz whole milk yogurt, and at 830 he eats a 8 ounce bottle just before bed.  In the next few weeks, we will probably try to transition his mid-day bottle to a cup - he just doesn't seem to like it as much, but I guess that's normal.  Hopefully, he will adjust.

He's sleeping from 830pm - 8am (if we let him, he will sometimes sleep until 830 or 9am) and napping around 10am, 130pm, and sometimes a third nap around 4 if his afternoon nap gets cut short.

He weighs around 22 pounds, is wearing size 3 or 4 diapers and 12 / 12-18 month clothes.  We just had to buy a new pair of stride-rites in a size 5! He is getting so big - it's just amazing.
Overall, he's a happy, healthy, very content baby, and we couldn't ask for more!  I can't wait to see what this month will bring.

This video was taken a week ago or so - he has gotten much better, but I don't have a more current video yet :)  New ones to come soon!!