10 Months Old
We're on the countdown to one. I can hardly believe it.
{ 10 months old! }
Ten months has brought about tooth number 5 for Ryan and tooth number 3, 4, 5 AND 6 (all at the same time, lord have mercy!) for Reese.
{ Oh, hello Sophie! Who designed a teething ring to look like a gag ball? WTF? }
Ryan got his first hair cut. It broke my heart to do it, but he was starting to look like a chia pet. Now he looks like a little boy (who is this little boy that ate my baby?).
{ I think he knows he's cute... }
Miss Reese is full of personality. When she eats she sits with her legs crossed. She's also learned how to fake eat. She takes food to her mouth, puts it in, gives it a small chew (a taste test if you will) and then slyly spits the food she doesn't want into her hand, holds her hand out over the edge of her tray, waits for Gracie to move closer and then drops the food to the dog. Little shit. I got an email from baby center that says they don't know what they're doing with food throwing, it's all about cause and effect, yadda yadda. I guess my kid is smarter than the kids that baby center tested, because she knows.
She dances to music, says "mama", "mommy" and "hi daddy" which cracks me up. We call our daddy a few times a day and I'm always telling the babies to say "hi daddy" and one day Joe came home from work and she looked at him and said "hi daddy". We both almost died.
She can give hi-fives and thinks it's the funniest thing ever when you hold up your hand and say "hi-five". She plays with Gracie nonstop, and follows that poor dog wherever she goes. Just last week Gracie was eating and Reese crawled up to her bowls, stood up, reached in the bowl and grabbed some kibble for herself. I grabbed it just as she was giving it a taste test. Lordy, lord.
Reese loves to read. The book nook I made for them in the basement has been a huge hit. She crawls over to her book racks, pulls down a book and sits down with it. She'll whimper until you read to her. And I am more than happy to oblige. Our favorite right now are the Karen Katz lift the flap books. We're learning about body parts and where they are. Her favorite part of "ears, nose and toes" is the tongue. She thinks it's a riot when I stick my tongue out at her and when I reach in and touch her tongue. Giggle fits.
She giggles when you kiss her. But she doesn't like to be held for long. This girl is on. the. move. She can walk behind toys, cruise the furniture and even walk while only holding onto one of your hands. But she hasn't taken a solo step yet. Peanut is a fraidy cat.
Both babies are mobile now, which necessitated a few well-placed baby gates. Baby jail is kind of funny. Reese has figured out that the bunched fabric is flexible and she will press her face into the fabric as far as she can so she can look down the hall and see what's going on. Ryan recently figured out how to pull up to his knees and (sometimes) pull up to standing. The problem is he doesn't know how to fall. So he just hangs there and when he gets tired, he cries. Baby Huey.
Ryan still moves around utilizing the worm. Although lately he's been getting on all fours and rocking. His daddy is holding out hope that he'll "really crawl" someday. I can tell he's already more focused on standing and walking. I think he's tired of being outrun by his sister.
This sweet face is the face of a biter :( Stupid mommy nibbled on this munchkin every day of his cute little life. It makes him squeal with delight. And then one day he crawled up to me, pulled up to his knees, leaned in and gave me a hug and just like I have for all these months he "nibbled" on my shoulder. Except his puppy teeth and baby brain don't know how to not hurt you. And he bit me HARD. He has since bitten his sister on the shoulder too (breaking skin). I taught my kid to be a biter. Oy. That's not been fun. The worst part is he thinks he's being affectionate.
And affectionate he is. My boy loves to hug and kiss. When his nanny comes he leans in for the kill 263 times. Love him. He'll kiss you all day long. That's fine by me. He hugs with his whole body and rubs your back when he hugs you. I can't stand him. The cuteness is too much. Lately, he's been grabbing his sister and pulling her in and giving her a big open mouthed kiss. It looks like he's trying to eat her face. This makes her laugh hysterically. In my lifetime, I've never witnessed something as sweet as this.
Ryan is a wonderful sharer and loves playing with other people and his sister. He'll offer you his food while he eats. The only thing he doesn't like to share is his milk sippy. That kid thinks drinking from a straw is the coolest thing to ever happen to him. He gets giddy and waves his hands in the air and starts to shake. When he sips his eyes get wide and he gulps frantically like he may drown. He's a character. If I offer his sister the cup, cue. the. tears.
I think the last half of nine months and the beginning of ten months has been my all time favorite age. They are affectionate, interactive and they laugh all the time. I love it.
{ ten months }
{ ten months }
They play together (a lot). Joe and I often wonder how hard singleton parents have to work to entertain their kids. Ours have a built-in playmate. Sometimes they don't even want to play with us, they're so busy with each other. Life is amazing. I'm so thankful for these little mushies. They take up every second of my day and every space in my heart.