Graham: Ten Month Update

Ten months! Amazing how it seems like just yesterday we were bringing home our little G for the very first time! At the same time, it's hard to remember a time when he wasn't part of our family. This month has brought significant changes as G is ON. THE. MOVE. and rarely sits still. Gone are the days of endless baby snuggles and here to stay are some very exhausting days of 'chase me around mom, I dare you!'



THE STATS:

Age: 10 months

Diaper size: 4

Clothing: 18-24 months

DEVELOPMENTAL ACTIVITY:

This month has led to some serious developments on the gross motor front! G has officially learned how to crawl, and it seems he gets more speedy every day. There was a couple of weeks that he would crawl a few steps then revert to his army crawl because it was the faster way forward, but now that he's figured out how to crawl with a little more coordination, full steam ahead! Near the end of this month, G started to pull himself up on a couple pieces of furniture, so he is well on his way to being more mobile than I want him to be! Did I mention that he also climbed up a couple of stairs this month! SLOW DOWN! G also learned to shake his head 'no', and enjoys practicing while I'm trying to feed him vegetables or when he gets full. He now has BOTH of his front bottom teeth, and thinks he needs to eat whatever we are eating. I let him have macaroni and cheese the other night, and his determination in picking up the macaroni shells would rival an Olympic athlete training for the games. 

SCHEDULE:

G's schedule this month looks pretty much identical to last month. He continues to be a great sleeper going to bed around 7-7:30pm and sleeps until 7:30-7:45am. Naptime from 9:30-11:30, then again from 1:30-2:30. This basically means that we don't get out much until late afternoon since C & G have near complete opposite nap schedules. G does OK SKIPPING HIS 9:30 nap as long as we are out doing something, but if we are just at home...watch out! The bear comes out, and he makes it known that he wants a snooze! He's still too young to go down to one nap a day, so we try to get him both a morning and afternoon nap - in his Pack'N'Play - on as regular a basis as possible.

FAVORITE TOY:

G continues to love his activity cube this month, and enjoys opening and closing its doors...along with opening and closing the bedroom and bathroom doors in our home. I am a little nervous that he is going to gets his fingers pinched eventually, but so far he has been cautious enough about it that he hasn't had any injuries. I may have to order a couple of door catchers in the meantime to help prevent the inevitable!

STORYTIME:

This month we have made a point to read every night before bedtime and before naps. Usually, G either tries to read with me, and talks through the entire story, or he sits contentedly on my lap and listens...only occasionally trying to eat the book.

CUISINE:

As I mentioned above, now that G has two teeth, he thinks he's a hot shot, and can eat whatever we are eating. This month, he got to try egg, banana pieces, graham crackers, cheese, tortilla, French fries, and continues to enjoy the old stand-by, Cheerios. In addition to these morsels, G continues to enjoy a 6-8 oz bottle upon waking up, baby food before naptime, bottle for lunch, baby food around 5:30, and a bottle at bedtime. In a big development this month, I got a second high chair so that G can sit up at the table with us for dinner. He LOVES to be part of the meal, and watches every move that C makes at the dinner table.

TEN MONTH FAVORITES

Crawling

Swinging

Big brother

Real food

Chewing on everything

Trying to eat things he's not supposed to...like day-old crumbs that didn't get swept up, or pieces of tape hiding on the floor.

TEN MONTH LEAST FAVORITES

Being left out of whatever C is doing

Looks like someone's discovered the cabinet locks!

OH THE MEMORIES:





We got out for G's first bike ride this month! After being unsure about what was happening when I strapped him in with his helmet, he soon discovered it wasn't so bad, and it was in fact kind of fun after we got going. We've gone on quite a few rides since, and he is usually completely silent just taking in his surroundings and snuggling up to his big brother C.



I enjoyed celebrating Mother's Day with this little peanut at the lake this year. It was a beautiful warm day, and we spent most of our time outside by the water.







Nature Tots at the Dickinson County Nature Center. G was not even vaguely interested in watching the older kids from the sidelines, and insisted on crawling along pretending to be a butterfly going from flower to flower looking for pollen. This was also the first day that he attempted climbing when he wanted to reach what the older kids were playing with in the designated kids area. I'm not ready for him to climb stairs yet!!





G enjoyed going on a trip to the local YMCA with his grandparents. He is taking after his big brother  C and has a serious love of balls. When Grandpa & Grandma finally let him play with one, he was a squealing machine after every.single.dribble. A real highlight of his life to be sure!



This picture has nothing to do with G, but is classic C...mad that he isn't the focus of the photos. LOL.