10 Months!



Austin turned 10 months old on June 9.  I can't believe it!  He is almost 1.  It is going by too fast.  It is almost impossible to get a picture of him sitting still by himself.  He just wants to be on the move!  He starts crawling as soon as I put him down to pose.  He is very fast - he be-lines it to Savannah's bowls if they are in his sight.  If not, he heads to one of the shelves where I have picture frames.  I have moved these now.  He just discovered that he can reach into his toy basket in the living room or the book basket in his room.  He still just gets on his knees to reach.  He is not quite pulling up and standing yet.  Most of the furniture in the living room is still too tall.  He did pull up and stand on the edge of the bathtub the other night.  Right after he turned 10 months (while in Tahoe), he started using "N" and "M".  So he can say Ma-ma and Na-na, but doesn't associate Mama with me yet.  He is figuring out how to pet Savannah (or should I say hit and pull hair).  Savannah doesn't seem to mind; she just wants to play.  She gets a little wound up sometimes when Austin is talking and crawling around; she thinks he wants to play with her.  We have to watch this because her paws are a little sharp and she is a big dog. 

Austin is still having milk 5 times a day, 2 6oz bottles and 3 times nursing on the weekdays with more nursing and less bottles on the weekends.  He has solid food 3 times a day.  He still only has 2 bottom teeth so he can't have hard things yet.  He is doing much better with finger foods.  He can pick up puffs really well.  He likes pieces of banana, avocado, pear, watermelon, and peas.  His absolute favorite is shredded cheese!  He is able to put this in his mouth really well.  We discovered his love for cheese while in Tahoe and started to take it to restaurants because we knew it would keep him happy and occupied.  He also drinks water from his sippy cup really well.  He gets so excited when I hand it to him after his dinner.  I wish it would stay like that forever but unfortunately someday I am sure he will say "no" to water and ask for a coke.  We still have not introduced juice and I am not in any hurry to do that. 

He likes swimming and swinging.  His favorite books are "Toes, Ears and Nose" and "Peek-a-who".  He smiles really big when I pull them out of the basket.  We read these as well as his Max Lucado Kids' prayer book each night before bed.  At school his favorite toys are the nesting baskets (little baskets that are different sizes and fit inside each other) and the colored rings (plastic rings of different sizes that stack on a cone).  He can take the rings off and put them back on (not in size order quite yet though).  He is such a happy boy almost all the time.  He is going through a phase right now where he wants to be with me.  If I am in the room and he is not occupied doing something, he looks for me.  When I leave the room or walk away, he notices and fusses a bit.  He doesn't cry or fuss when I say bye-bye at school though; he must feel comfortable and like his teachers.  This makes me feel good that he knows the routine and does fine during the day.  One of the Montessori ways is to not limit the kids' space.  In May, they transitioned all except 4 of the infants in his room to floor beds.  So now Austin naps on a mattress on the floor that has a wooden frame.  I think he is doing well with it but sometimes if he is not really tired, he just wants to get up and crawl around instead of sleeping.  It helps if he is in a sleep sack, but I also want him to get away from the sleep sack and start using a blanket instead. 

Austin - you are growing TOO FAST!  I can't believe I am starting to think about planning your first birthday party.  It will be here before we know it.  Love you, little buddy.

Playing with mommy's "real"camera (taken with iphone camera)

That Savannah dog is looking smaller and smaller (mark on head is from falling off the bed - see Tahoe trip part 2 post)