Ten Months

Connor is 10 months old. He just gets cuter and cuter every day. I mean look at these pictures!

     

He gets tired of pictures way before mom does.

This last month he got his first and second teeth...the two bottom center ones. The first one came through a week after his nine month well checkup, and the second a week after that. It wasn't super fun for him, he had a runny nose and was unusually clingy and fussy so I knew he was hurting. Tylenol seemed to help with that, but I was so glad when the first one popped through. He seemed to feel better immediately...at least for a day or two until it started again with the second one. His smile is even more adorable with his tiny teeth.   

Connor is continually getting into everything...something that I'm sure will only get worse. He loves the dishwasher. He loves to push and pull the bottom dish-rack in and out and listen to the dishes clink, although he loves to do it whether there are dishes loaded or not. Usually I just let him play while I'm loading it, but I have to be careful to put the knives in last cause he always is pulling the silverware out of its holder. He also loves the fridge. I made the mistake of leaving the fridge door open for a few minutes while he was standing in front of it. He managed to pull over the very full pitcher of fruit punch Crystal Light that I'd just made, dousing himself and flooding the kitchen floor. Red punch everywhere. Oy vey! He immediately started to cry, dropped to all fours and tried to crawl away from the cold liquid as fast as he could. It was both frustrating and hilarious. When he hears me open the fridge door or the dishwasher he comes crawling as fast as he can, he can be playing on the far side of the living room, and be in the kitchen like a flash. 

He has also discovered the toilet paper roll. I have to keep the bathroom door shut, or he's always in there unrolling it. I'm usually pretty good about keeping the door closed, but every once in a while I'll forget, and discover that he's gone through half the roll, giggling the entire time. He also likes to eat it. He tries to spit it out once he gets some in his mouth, but it sticks to his tongue, and he hates it. I'll pull it out of his mouth, but if he is still holding some he'll try to eat it again. Silly boy.  

     

Opening cupboard doors is another of Connor's favorite pastimes. He's fond of the kitchen cupboards, but especially loves the doors on our tv stand. He's always getting into our dvds and loves to pull all of them out onto the floor. He'll play with them for a minute or two and then move onto something else. When he's otherwise distracted, I'll put them all away again, but when he notices they aren't on the floor anymore he'll pull them all out again. I really need to get a childproof lock for the doors so I don't have to pick them up over and over again. 

He loves to play with us, and one of his favorite activities is to lay on our legs while we bounce him up and down. He still loves to play chase, and also likes peek-a-boo, tickles, and raspberries. He is quite the raspberry aficionado and does them better than I can. He blows big slobbery raspberries on our cheeks and laughs when I squeal.  

His newest trick is to stand on his head in a downward dog position. I don't know why he started doing this but he did, and he does it all the time. He'll reach for his toes with both hands and balance on his head. It's the funniest thing. My mom was visiting us a few weeks ago and came to church with us. During Sunday School, when I was teaching, she was sitting on the front row with Connor and put him on the floor so he could crawl around a little. Once he was on the floor he immediately started standing on his head at the front of the room, and the class members all started to laugh. They thought that he was so funny.  

He's also started to occasionally crawl on his hands and feet like Mowgli does in the Jungle Book. It's so cute and makes us laugh every time he does it. I haven't gotten a picture or video of him doing that yet.

    

He's started to rediscover some of his toys which makes me happy. He especially loves his rattle, toy car, and ring of plastic keys. He will sit and push his toy car back and forth on the floor and laugh. He loves to shake things lately, so that makes his rattle and plastic keys the perfect things as they make a lot of noise. Almost any time he picks something up these days, he raises both his arms up and shakes them up and down.

     

He still notices details, and once he discovers something that he wants to see he'll do anything to get it. For example, if I'm wearing earrings he'll move my hair out of the way to try and grab them. If I turn my head, he'll put his hand on my cheek and turn it back to get access to them once more. He does this with Brian when he wants to grab his ears.

Lately he's developed a fascination with zippers. He loves that the zipper pulls move and he knows that they do something, he just hasn't figured out how to pull on them to open and close the zipper. This is especially frustrating for him on his footie pajamas. Every night when we zip up his pajamas and close the snap tab across the top, he gets so mad. He'll pull at his neckline and cry until I undo the snap and pull the zipper back down a bit so he can reach it. It's gotten to the point that I have to distract him with another toy while I'm zipping them up, or give him a second pair of jammies to hold so that he doesn't throw a fit.

     

Speaking of throwing fits, he's started doing that a bit. If I pull out the yogurt at the same time as his baby food, he'll cry cause he wants the yogurt and not his vegetables. If I take something away from him that he shouldn't have, he gets mad. If I shut the glass door to our balcony when he was looking outside, he throws a fit. It's quite the meltdown too. He sinks to the floor, lays face-down on his stomach with his arms and legs thrown out and just cries. Poor fellow...he has a hard life sometimes. Haha! Seriously though, he's already throwing fits and he's only ten months old. The fun is just beginning I'm sure...but I didn't expect it to start this early. I just try to stay calm and explain to him why he can't have what he wants, etc. and then try to distract him with something else. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. He usually doesn't stay mad for too long though, and then he's back to his happy self.

He still says "mama" and "dada" occasionally but not as much anymore. As soon as he started saying "dada" he stopped saying "mama," and everytime I would ask him to say "mama" he would smile and laugh and then say "dada." Little scamp. Now he only says "mama" when he's tired, whiny, or needs something, or wants me to hold him. I still love hearing him say it. He hasn't said any other words, but he loves to talk, squeal, and squawk all day long. Sometimes he gets so serious and looks at us so intently with his big dark eyes and says "Bah" or lets out a string of gibberish. He's so solemn about it that we know he's saying something that he thinks is important, we just have no idea what it is. Haha! It's pretty cute. Here's a cute video of him talking. 

Connor has also discovered how to buzz his lips, and he hasn't stopped since he started. He does it all the time and it's adorable. 

Connor has really started to enjoy it when we read to him. I try to read to him at least once a day, whether it's before his nap, before bedtime, or just during playtime. He loves the board books the best because their pages are easy to turn(his favorite thing to do), and they're short enough to match his attention span. A couple of his favorite books are "I Love You Beary Much" by Sandra Magsamen and "Moo, Baa, LaLaLa" by Sandra Boynton. He picks those two out of the pile every time and he always laughs at certain parts. His growing love of books makes Brian and I both happy.

The two closest libraries to our house are both closed at the moment for renovations, so we haven't been going to the library as much as usual. We have gone a few times to the next closest one which is a bit farther away. We love library trips. Connor was so cute the last time we were there. Brian took him to look for books while I was browsing the knitting books. When I went to find them, I found Brian scanning the shelves while Connor was sitting on the floor watching him intently. It was pretty cute. I sure do love them. 

Connor tried on Daddy's hat while we were still at the library. He got the biggest grin on his face when Brian put it on his head.

     

Connor and I sat at a nearby table while Brian was checking out books and getting his library card renewed. Connor loved the slippery benches and table. He was sliding all over as he tried to stand on the bench. This is the first time he got to wear his new jacket too. He is just too cute with it on.

     

Our little man's love for music has only grown. I was watching the General Women's Session Broadcast from home last week and each time the choir sang, he would stop whatever he was doing and crawl over to the tv stand. He would stand up and get as close to the tv as possible, and watch with rapt attention, sometimes waving his arms up and down, until the music was over. I just love that music has this affect on him. His most favorite song that I sing him lately is "Five Little Ducks." My mom sang that to him a few times during our last visit, and he just loves it.

We introduced him to the Superman theme song from the Christopher Reeve's Superman movies. He loved it! It was the first time we'd seen him dance, and it was so cute. He stood right in front of the tv and bounced up and down. Every time we play this song for him, he stops what he is doing to listen and dance.

Fall has come and with it chilly temperatures. I love it. It's my favorite time of year. I've started dressing Connor in long sleeves, pants, and socks to keep him warm. He wasn't sure about socks at first...he kept rubbing his feet on the ground trying to get them off. He doesn't mind them now, but still will pull them off when he notices them because their something to play with. Occasionally, he'll pull on his sleeves too, trying to take them off as well. 

Connor has progressed on the walking front as well. He still gets excited when he pushes his walker around, and has learned to pull himself up behind it without falling over. He still doesn't steer it very well, and hasn't figured out how to back it up and turn it yet, but he just moves around to the front or side and pushes it from that angle, sliding it across the floor.

He still loves sitting in his box, and riding in it when Brian pushes him around. To his delight, he has discovered that he can push his box around while walking behind it. It has become a replacement to his walker because he can maneuver it much better.

      

It's the perfect walking aid for him because it's the right height, and slides in all directions. He got really good at steering it quite quickly. When he runs into a wall or piece of furniture that stops his progress, he just walks around to a different side while slightly turning the box and pushes forward from there. The change in angle/direction usually gets him unstuck and gives him a new path forward. He gets so excited about walking with his box and will giggle and shriek with joy as he makes his way around the apartment.

      

All of the practice walking with the box has done great things for him. He first started standing on his own, without holding onto anything for support. At first, he would let go of the couch or whatever he was using as a support and stand on his own for a just a few seconds here and there. It was fun to watch him test out his balance, and each time he got more brave.

A week or so after he started standing without support, he walked across my parent's living room (we were there visiting for Carson's baptism) while I was walking behind him holding onto his hands. A few days after that, he took his first steps. Luckily, Brian had joined us in Idaho by that time and was there to see it. He was standing in front of me and he turned and walked two or three steps to me. It was so exciting. Everyone clapped and cheered, and he looked around with a smile on his face although you could tell he wasn't sure what all the fuss was about.

Once we were home, I tried to get him to walk again by sitting on the floor and standing him up six inches or so in front of me. The first time I did this and let go, he took one step towards me, lost his balance and fell forward. I of course caught him and he laughed. We tried again, and he immediately just leaned forward so he would fall into my arms. It had become a game. For the next week, each time I would try this, he would laugh and fall forward. It was his favorite game. Then one night, a week or two later, I told Brian to video us because I wanted to catch him doing his trust fall. Of course, he decides to walk instead of falling. Haha! I'm so glad he did though. Here's the video. It's super short, but so great. 

Since then, he's walked a few steps here and there, usually when we're trying to coax him to do it. He has walked away from the couch a few times by himself, and twice now he's walked halfway across our living room on his own. It's pretty exciting for him...and us.

This last month I packed up all of his clothes from newborn to present that don't fit him anymore. Connor was very helpful while I was sorting and folding. He had fun pulling all the clothes out and spreading them over the piles I was making, and then he started to unfold what I had already folded. Ugh! Once I had them all in the plastic tub and put the lid on, he started crying. I was feeling a bit misty eyed myself. I couldn't believe how big he'd gotten, and his newborn clothes looked so tiny compared to his size now. It's going by so so fast. He was crying because he couldn't pull the clothes out anymore and he wanted to climb into the tub and I wouldn't let him. He had a bit of a meltdown about it because he was tired and overdue for a nap. Once I put him down for a nap, he fell asleep almost immediately. I can always tell when he's tired because he starts to get frustrated at everything.

     

Speaking of sleep, he's kind of hit or miss at sleeping through the night, although he's been sleeping for 6 hour stretches more consistently. This kid is a night owl, and I'm not sure what to do about it. I'll get him down around 8 or 9 pm and he'll sleep for 20-30 minutes and then wake up all bright eyed and full of energy. Sometimes he'll sleep until midnight. If I wait to put him down until 10 (which he sometimes stretches to 11), he will usually sleep until sometime between 4 to 6. After I feed him at 4 or 6, he falls right back asleep and stays that way until 9 or 10 am. Then he takes a good two to three hour nap in the afternoons, usually starting around 1 pm. I try to keep bedtime consistent, but he has other plans. It takes him forever to fall asleep as well. He is so tired but he fights it, wiggling and crawling and rolling around until all the sudden he just drops off to sleep. I can't complain too much though, those six hour stretches are heaven. Whenever I lay down with him, he'll crawl over to me and snuggle up against me (that is when he's ready to crash), and it's one of my favorite things. I love Connor snuggles, they are the best.

As for eating, he's doing so great. He eats every three and a half to four hours. He's not really a picky eater, and for the most part eats everything I put in front of him without fussing. He's gotten so good at feeding himself finger foods, and I love watching him pick out which piece of food he wants next and grasp it with his tiny thumb and pointer finger. He loves yogurt, avocados, cereal puffs, graham crackers, scrambled eggs, string cheese, and any kind of fruit. He especially loves bananas, raspberries, peaches, and mandarin oranges. He really likes pureed butternut squash, carrots, sweet potatoes. He prefers green beans to peas (although he'll eat both just fine) and scrambled eggs to boiled. He loves bread, muffins, and pancakes. He's not a big fan of the Gerber meat sticks/Vienna sausages and would rather eat a vegetable or fruit serving of baby food than a meat flavored one. I've just been sneaking bits of the meat sticks/sausages into his baby food and he doesn't seem to mind it then. He prefers eating baby food/solid food to formula, but I still manage to get enough of the formula down him. He drinks really well out of his sippy cup.

He loves his baths. Since he's learned to stand on his own, thinks it's the funnest thing to stand up in the bathtub and give me a heart attack by falling back down on his bum. He likes to stand up by the faucet and play with the knob that turns the shower on, and he always squeals with delight when he catches his reflection in the metal backing the faucet's handle. Connor also likes to stick his face in the water and drink it or blow bubbles, but I don't let him do that. It doesn't stop him from trying to do it, though. 

Connor wears size 6-9 month pants, 9 to 12 month shirts and onesies, and 12 month pajamas. He fits into size three Pampers and Huggies diapers and size 4 Parent's Choice. We've mainly switched to Parent's Choice because they are more cost effective than the former two, and they work fine during the daytime. He'll usually soak through them at night though, so we still use Pampers/Huggies during the nighttime. 

He got sick for the second time the week we got back from Idaho. He had a really bad runny nose which turned into a croupy cold and he had a bit of a fever. We ended up taking him in because his cough was scaring me, but it wasn't in his lungs at all and his ears looked fine. Although he didn't feel the best for about a week, he weathered it well and is back to full health at the moment.

His next well check isn't until 12 months, so we just took his measurements at home. I didn't get him measured and weighed right when he turned ten months, but a week later. 

• Weight: 20 lbs; 43rd percentile
• Height: 29 inches; 50th percentile
• Head Circumference: 18.25 inches;46.35 cm; 75th percentile

He's growing just fine, and continues to outgrows his clothes lengthwise before he can fill them out width-wise. He's almost too tall for his current car seat, so I need to do some research and get him his next one soon. I can't believe he's that big already. We sure do love our happy, healthy little bug. He's definitely changed our life for the better.