10 Months

Dear Ellie Belle -

You are 10 months old!  Double digits!  I can't believe it.  How did we get here so fast?!  Everyone says it...babies grow up so fast...but really, they do!  I'm about two weeks late on this post....you're keeping us very busy!  Here's what you've been up to lately -

-I think you're clocking in at about 20 pounds and may have grown another 1/2 inch to put you around 28 inches.  You are wearing mostly 9 month clothes, but a lot of your 6 month clothes still fit too.  You have also worn a couple of 12 month outfits but definitely have room to grow in them.  You are still comfortably wearing size 3 diapers.  Your shoes are all finally starting to fit you, so I think we can officially say you wear a size 3. 

-You graduated to the big bathtub this month.  We said bye bye to the ducky tub, bought a no slip mat, and never looked back!  You love to play in the bath tub.  You have gotten much more busy toward the end of this month, and keeping your bottom down in the tub is quite the battle!  You'd much rather stand and cruise around....but that's not very safe!

-You have 8 teeth now...4 on top and 4 on the bottom!

-I'd venture to say that your new favorite activity is eating!  You are loving finger foods.  We've all but given up trying to give you purees because you're just really not interested at all.  You have eaten so many new things this month:  pancakes, waffles, chicken, turkey, cheese, potatoes, corn, oatmeal, grits, peaches, plums, Cheerios, watermelon, Pasta Pick Ups....whatever you can get your little hands on!  The only things you really haven't tried are fish, beef, pork, nuts/nut butters, milk, and other high allergen foods.  You've been experimenting with the spoon some.  I think you get it...spoon in food, spoon in mouth...but mostly you like to chew on it, bang it on your tray, and carry it around!

-You're eating 4-5 bottles a day still.  You've been getting 7 oz when you wake up and before bed, and we send 5 oz bottles to school.  They say you don't finish your bottles at school...I guess there's just too much to take in because you're really pretty good about finishing every bottle at home!  You are also getting three meals a day.  Breakfast is about an hour after you wake up, lunch sometime between 11:30 and 1:30, and dinner around 6:00.  You are an excellent sippy cup user now.  We may start sending one of your school bottles in a sippy cup to try to slowly begin the weaning process.

-You had your first Chick-Fil-A breakfast experience, which is monumental and we had to document it!

-You also got a little taste of a pickle one day and absolutely loved it!  You got mad when we wouldn't let you have anymore and came crawling back across the room to try to find it!  You didn't even make a sour face!

-We retired some of your "baby" toys and replaced them with some fresh new ones.  You're loving your shape sorter, stacker, and balls.  You love to bang things together.  We keep all of your toys in the storage ottoman in the living room.  We'll open it up and you'll just stand at it forever pulling toy after toy out of the box!  You get way up on your tippy toes, sometimes standing on one leg, to reach way in to grab your favorites!  You love your little push car thingy.  You are basically running behind it now!  You love to take Bunny along for rides with you and have recently started carrying Bunny in one hand and your sippy cup in the other!

 

 

-You are also into toys that aren't toys!  Spoons have provided lots of entertainment.  You love to pull on cabinet doors, drawers, and the doors on the entertainment center.  You think "No No" is the funniest thing you've ever heard.  You have also recently found the little spring door stopper thingies on the base boards and love the "boing" noise they make!

-You have started dancing.  You hear a good tune and those little legs starting bouncing and your hands start flapping! 

-You are getting more ticklish.  You have the most precious giggle I have ever heard.

-You are such a great sleeper...at home anyway!  You are not having such great naps at school.  They aren't allowed to let you stand up in the crib, and that's kind of your thing.  At home, you are still typically taking a long nap in the morning/early afternoon (usually 2-3 hours!) and a cat nap in the late afternoon.  You are usually down for the night around 7:30 and we can still count on a good 12 hours.

-You have started sleeping with your bunny lovie.  You are the sweetest little snuggler!  When we put you down for bed at night and hand you your lovie, you reach out with both arms and nuzzle your sweet little face into it.  It's really the sweetest thing.

-Speaking of the sweetest thing...you have started giving kisses.  It's a giant, open mouth, sloppy kiss and it's one of the best ones we've ever had!  You also hold onto our hands when we hold you.  You just wrap your little fingers around our thumbs and hang on tight!

-You are really starting to get the whole "bye bye" thing.  You pretty much wave everytime we say it now. 

-You are an expert crawler!  You are so fast!  You're also really good at finding the tiniest speck of lint on the floor and immediately trying to eat it! You are SO close to walking!  You get behind your push toy and take off!  You are a cruising machine too.  You know how to get exactly where you want to be.  Sometimes, you'll let go with both hands while you're cruising and will just stand in the middle of the room all by yourself!  I think we'll definitely have a walker on our hands by your first birthday!  You've recently become a climber too!  You have no fear!  We had to finally install the baby gate this month, and Buddy was not so happy to have his favorite spot blocked off!

 

 

-You are such a social butterfly.  You love being out in public...restaurants, the grocery store...anywhere there are people to watch is a happy place for you!  You are super curious and like to reach out and grab people when they walk by!  We're going to have to teach you about personal space pretty early!

-As much as you like other people, you aren't such a fan of being left with them!  We still have rough mornings when I drop you off at school sometimes. It just breaks my heart to see you so sad!  You put your little hands in your lap, drop your chin, poke out your bottom lip, and the tears start to flow. You are easily distracted though and are calm before I leave the room. 

-We had a fun day out at the US National White Water Center for Father's Day weekend.  You loved it...outside, people, dogs.  It was all of your favorite things in one place!!

 

 

-You've started having water play at school.  Every other week, all the babies head outside and splash around on a big tarp with lots of toys.  Apparently, you hate it.  No idea what that's all about.  I think the water just must be cold or something, because you LOVE the water!  The bath and the pool are so fun for you!  We also got caught in a monsoon after school one day and you thought it was great!

 

 

-The biggest step we all took this month was spending a weekend apart!  Your Daddy and I took a little weekend getaway to Savannah and you went to stay at Grammy and Pop Pop's house. You were there Friday-Monday and did so awesome!  You ate great and slept great and played and gave lots of love.  Grammy and Pop Pop had the best time.  We missed you like crazy, but we feel really great knowing that so many other people love you so much and take such wonderful care of you.

-Happy 10 months, sweet Ellison. You make everyday so special.  We love you to the moon and stars and back again.