10 Months

Alec, 10 months! Almost 1 now. For some reason 10 months seems to be this huge turning point between baby and child. Yes, you have been crawling and cruising for awhile now, but there are just such small things that seem to be making you into this little interactive, fun person - not just a sweet baby. HArd to describe, but it feels like everyday you do something that leaves me in awe.

For example, your first new year's eve. We spent it at your friend Carolina's house with her parents Paolo and Viviane. You have so much fun playing with Carolina! You were pushing her on her toy bus and she was trying to ride you like a horse. You kept us adults very entertained. But the highlight was when you picked up a toy phone and stuck it to the side of your head and started yelling really loud. Sort of like "uhhhhh, uhhhhh" Maybe you were trying to say hello. This floored me because it not only showed that you recognized what we do on the phone, but you were starting to understand pretend play. They just seemed like some pretty big concepts for a little guy to grasp.

We're still working on getting off the bed "feet first" though. I thought you were getting it for awhile, but I'm just not sure. I do love to watch you sleeping though. You look so peaceful, so quiet and content. Quiet unlike when you are awake and you are getting into everything! I watch you and I see the little boy you are growing into and I can't believe it. I want to pick up your warm little body and snuggle you close, smell your sweet sour milk damp smell. But of course I don't - never wake a sleeping baby!

You are a carb baby. You totally will not eat pureed baby food anymore. We can occasionally trick you into a bite, but it's usually not worth the effort. Your true food loves are bagels and rice chex. Any bread related product. You will eat fruit dices, but this does not a balanced meal make!

I put you on your rocking horse in your bedroom while I was sorting your laundry and I looked at you and you were rocking back and forth! You figured out how to make him rock and you just had the biggest smile on your face. Now we go and sit on it a lot and as soon as I say "rocka rocka rocka" you start rocking like mad. You can even get yourself off the horse. Not on it yet, but I am sure that will be coming soon,

One of your favorite game sis to be chased. You will take off crawling and I'll say "Alec, do I have to get you?" and you'll laugh and keep going and then I'll get down and crawl, chasing you. Then you;ll turn around and get me! And we both laugh, and begin again.

You have figured out how to put the balls in your Crawl and Cruise Playground. There are small openings and you roll the balls in. For some reason you were able to figure this out on your Ball Blast toy long before the C&C. Don't know why. But those fine motor skills are really working now! A little too well because now you put everything down the Crawl and Cruise - cars, eggs, dolls - and they just don't work as well as the balls!

I could have written about his awhile ago - maybe 7 months? But I'll put it here since I am thinking of it now. But you love lift the flap books. Love them. You can just sit so happily on the floor "reading" and lifting those flaps. Your favorite is called "Where is Baby's Belly Button?" And your favorite non flap book is called "Bear on a Bike" - whenever you see it you crawl right too it, start flipping pages wildly and making your BBBBBBBB noises. A friend said that her grandmother always said that boys are born making that noise - very true! And now you drag your fingers across your lips as well making it more of a "bibbble bibble bibble" noise. Love it.

You walk holding onto our fingers. And you walk very well around the coffee table and couch, but you don;t seem to have much interest in taking steps on your own yet. If you can't cruise somewhere you will immediately drop down and crawl the distance to the next object you can pull up on. I don't mind - I am in now hurry for you to walk. Though it would be easier than carrying you sometimes. You weigh about 27 pounds now! But your rolls are lessening as you grow taller. Not so many under your neck these days. You still have tree trunks for legs though. How I love to squeeze those legs! That's where you are most ticklish too. When we do massage at music class you start to laugh because your thighs are so ticklish. Sweet funny baby.

You love your dad's face. When he holds you you immediately touch his face, eyes, nose, mouth. Like a blind person feeling a face. You do like to stick your hands in our mouths. What are you exploring for?

We call you fon fon. A silly nonsense name taken from one of your Baby Einstein videos. From the German Alphabet rhyme. So silly, but for some reason it has stuck, outlasted all the silly names we called you as a baby.

You play peekaboo now, usually in the bath where you'll take your blue bowl and put it over your face. Or your new favorite is to close a door, you on one side, me on the other and then fling it wide open. You are so proud of your new trick! And you are so fascinated by doors! You have figured out that the door knob is how the door works, and you keep trying to reach it but you just aren't tall enough yet.

I think you may be making some signs now. Not sure really. You do make the sign for "nurse" but you only want to nurse sometimes when you make the sign, so not really sure if you are doing it consciously or not. You do understand the various signs when I make them to you though, you're just not that interested in signing them back to me. Tonight you got all excited when I made the sign for bath :)

You now bang things together. These things seem so trivial as I type them out, but in reality they are such developmental milestones. Your face was priceless the first time you banged two cups together - you thought you were so cool!

You share your food now. You always make sure to offer me some - holding out a piece of smashed bagel of mashed pea for me to eat. Thank you.

Your food issues are getting much better. You have discovered YoBaby yogurt. You get so excited now when you see me grab a cup of it - you make your (somewhat annoying) crazy "heeee heeeeee" noise - it's this crazy whine noise you make when you see something you want, or just want something in general. When we don't know what it is you want your dad will look at you and say, "Just learn to talk!" As if it's that easy :) Besides the YoBaby (which we call YoBaby YoBaby YoBaby Yo) you also have rediscovered peas and carrots and chickpeas. But you must feed them to yourself. No being fed for you anymore, with YoBaby being the only exception.

You tried to feed yourself with a spoon today. You didn't get much actually onto the spoon and into your mouth, but you had the action down with your hand. I was very impressed!

Oh you are getting stubborn. You arch your back something fierce now. And you are so strong, sometimes stronger than me I think. And I fear you will be more stubborn. You know if we are about to do something you don't want to do, and you now realize if I pick you up and you don't want to leave what you are doing you get upset and start to throw a tantrum Doe snot bode well for the future!

Your sock came off and I said "put your sock back on Alec" never thinking you would understand me. But then you took your sock and put it to your foot. Obviously you don't have the dexterity to put it on, but you understood where it goes and the motion you need to make. Once again, I am awed by you. It really is the simple things.

You made me laugh the other day and I actually got this on film. You took the piano you got for Christmas and you were heaving it and rolling it and pushing it all about the room - upside down, on its side, every which way. No idea what you were doing with it but it was so funny I had to laugh!

You are going form a sitting to a kneeling to a half squat position. The precursor to standing I think - to standing without having to pull up on anything. To almost stand all by yourself. It seems like you were just learning to sit by yourself!

We've been working with your shape sorter and you are starting to get it. Well you have now grasped the concept that you can put a shape through the hole - matching the shape to the right hole is still a bit hard, but you are working on it!

You do love to put things into containers - if I offer you a snack from a bowl or bag, you have to take it out and put it back in several times. If I take it out for you, you are quick to put it back in and get it out for yourself. Quite the independent streak!

Well Alec, you did it. You took your first step! On Thursday, January 23rd. We had playgroup here at our house and you were standing there holding on to a chair and Viviane opened her arms and you took a huge step - to her! I just stopped what I was doing and said - he's never done that before! And all the moms erupted in cheers. You couldn't quite figure out what the big deal was! I couldn't believe it - your first step and not even to your mom! Sniff, sniff :)

Later that night when your dad came home you did a repeat performance for him - taking big step lunges. We are both so amazed and proud of you Alec. I hope you know how loved you are. We love and marvel at you every day.

The next day you and I left for a trip to visit your Rothenberg grandparents in Florida. Your dad was so sad, hoping you didn't walk too much while we were away - he didn't want to miss it. You did get much steadier while we were in Florida - taking up to 4 steps from person to person. And you walk very steadily for a long time just holding onto one of my fingers. And once, when you thought no one was watching you let go of a wall and toddled around their living room for a good 12 steps. I got all misty, watching you from the kitchen. My baby boy! And then you grabbed hold to the sliding glass door and just stood there looking so proud of yourself! You knew what you had done! You are catching on that this walking thing is fun! (You actually did your big walking feat on your 11 month birthday so I guess I should continue this over on your 11 month page....)