Carter: 10 Months

Ten months have arrived! It's hard to believe that in just two short months, we will have a one year old on our hands. C continues to light up our lives and is such a little sweetheart. He's particularly curious about measuring spoons, napkins, and anything on the dinner table he can reach from his high chair. With the warmer temps (if temps in the 40s can be called warm), we have ALL been enjoying time outside after being cooped up for what seems like forever. We got the patio furniture out last week, and C was loving being able to rock in the chairs outside in the sunshine and fresh air. I have a hunch we'll be spending lots of time this spring sitting on the patio and watching C as he watches all of the wildlife and tries to figure out those silly honking geese that wasted no time repopulating the lake behind our home after the ice went out.

Do you think this little guy is going to be as mischievous as he looks?

10 MONTH FAVORITES:

Playing with napkins, water bottles, junk mail

Reading

Magazines

Outside

The color yellow

For reasons unknown, C seems to be drawn more to the color yellow than any other. A sunny disposition perhaps?

Our little junk mail aficionado!

10 MONTH LEAST FAVORITES:

Being sick - Poor little guy has been battling his first cold this month 

Being left with anyone besides Mom or Dad
Working on upper body strength

MEMORIES & MILESTONES

Teeth! C's very first tooth popped through the day he turned nine months, and three weeks later, his second bottom tooth started to make an appearance...que poor sleep, runny nose, and general fussiness. On top of teething, C picked up his very first cold this month, and struggled to get rid of it for a good two weeks. Thankfully, after a great deal of extra nap time, he finally started to kick it, and seems to be on the mend. T thinks he may have had a touch of RSV. Poor little fella. He has been all out of sorts for a good two weeks trying to recover.

We finally got some snow and were able to take C's new sled out for a ride on the ice before the weather warmed up. He loved it! We thought he might get tired or fussy with the cold, but he was completely fascinated by the whole event, and stayed awake looking around the entire ride. Hopefully next winter we might get a little more snow so that we have the opportunity to enjoy the sled more than once!

After much studying on C's part, he finally figured out how to clap his hands on his own at about 9mos. 3wks. He spent most of month nine helping me clap my hands by grabbing them and helping to bang them together when we practiced. He was very proud about figuring it out for himself! As with shaking his head 'no' that he picked up a couple of months ago, he doesn't clap on command yet, and I don't think he necessarily understands the reasoning behind clapping. That being said, he seems to clap at some pretty opportune times, like when we told him he got to see his cousin, or go outside for a walk. He's really been studying our mouths lately when we are talking, so I don't think it will be too long before he figures out some babbling with consonants rather than just the single syllables he's currently using. Any bets on his first words? I won't lie, we practice saying 'mama' multiple times a day.

This one isn't really a memory or milestone so much as it is an observation. C's hair has really started to fill in this month, and we can say with some certainty, that it will be the same color as his mama's. Of course, when I was his age, I had blond hair, so who knows if it will stay that way. It still looks different in different light, and I would say it's somewhere in the middle of the two above pictures. I've started to give him a little comb-over styling after bath time that looks especially handsome with his new head of hair. Both T & I have very thick hair, so if he takes after us, it won't be long before he'll be needing a haircut I'm sure!

C continues to work out with a physical therapist once per week to work on building up his muscles and getting stronger. He's shown a lot of improvement over the last couple of weeks, and T thinks he's been more antsy lately and wanting to move more, so that's a good sign. He has been rolling front to back this month when he spots a toy just out of reach that he thinks he may want to play with, and has also started using his legs to lift up his behind off the floor when he's laying down. He is almost to the point he can hold himself up on furniture without us having to support him, so it's only a matter of time before he starts to figure out he can furniture cruise! We've been working lots on standing, upper body and arm strength, and getting him to lift his head for longer periods of time when on his tummy rather than letting him just immediately rolling over.

Uncles teaching C how to lift.

First 'kid' birthday party celebration! Cousin J turned one last weekend, and thankfully, C was feeling just well enough that he and I could attend. Sadly, T was stuck at home being on call all weekend, so C & I had to make the trip alone.

Uncle N helped to put together Cousin J's new ride, and C got to take a little test drive before the party to make sure everything was working correctly. He wasn't quite sure what to think of the ride, and more interested in Cousin J's new tricycle. All in all, it was an adorable tractor themed party, and C had an absolute blast playing with cousin J and the rest of the family. Stay tuned for C's birthday wishes... 



Hey everybody! Look at me playing piano with my mom!





Also on the weekend agenda, checking out a new bridge construction site with Grandpa T & Grandma J, a family walk in my hometown for a change of scenery, and a reunion of sorts with 'The Greats' who had been lucky snowbirds in Florida all winter. Luckily, C was in a great mood after being sick all week, and was eating up all of the extra attention from aunts, uncles, cousin J, and grandparents. Seriously, the kid's smile the entire trip was face splitting.



Until next month...