10 months

This month seems to have gone by really fast. I have 4 friends whose babies turned one in the last 2 weeks so all of a sudden it seems like your birthday is right around the corner, only 2 months away.

You continue to be a happy, content baby. You are so full of smiles.
You are now a very fast crawler. You are able to pull up on anything and have started "cruising" around holding on to things.

You are quite the squirmy girl, especially when I am changing your diaper. This is not fun. I try to enforce the idea that you need to stay still and on your back but it has not been too successful. Many times I let you stand up and lean on the wall while I get your diaper on. You think it is great fun to crawl to the edge of the table and peer over the edge. I have had to move the basket with diapers, wipes and lotion to a bookshelf because you would knock it off several times a day.

You are getting into everything. You love to open any cabinet or drawer that is not baby proofed. You love to take things out of boxes, baskets, or bags. A few times you have closed your tiny fingers in cabinets or drawers and that is not fun. You also love to explore the refrigerator. I make sure you are no where near when I open it or you try to take all of the condiments out of the door.

Your favorite person in the world is Katherine. You follow her around the house, pull up to whatever she is playing with and try to join in. It is so cute and most of the time she loves it. She gives you tons of hugs and kisses but sometimes gets a little rough and actually decided to bite you a few times this month.

This month you have learned to give kisses. They are wet, slobbery signs of affection where you pretty much lick my nose. It is gross but of course I love it anyway. You are so affectionate and love to hug and snuggle.

You love to come to our bed in the morning to nurse, snuggle and play. Katherine usually joins us and we are all crowded but it is one of my favorite times of the day. I try to get a little more sleep but you are getting to a point where you wake up and poke my eyes. Sadly, you even fell off the bed one morning as I dozed and you had woken up.

You are becoming more verbal. Of course most of what you "say" is indiscernible but you sure are trying and doing a great job of mimicking language. I know that you can say "dog". Your version is "da". You say it when you hear a dog or see a dog, either real or in a photo. We have been a little lazy with sign language so you have not started to sign back yet. i am trying to make sure that I am doing signs more so that you will pick them up.

You continue to be a good eater. You will try pretty much anything I give you. Your favorites are your breakfast cocktail of yogurt, applesauce, cereal and molasses that I make as well as carrots, peas, peaches, green beans and anything that you can feed yourself. You still nurse as well, usually 4-5 times a day. You like it but are fine without it a lot of the time too. This is so different from Katherine who wanted to nurse all the time and did not care about eating. I don't know how long you will nurse but my goal is at least a year.

You sleep pretty well at night and not so great during the day. You are withing the range of what a baby your age should sleep an dyou are so happy when awake that I don't really worry about it too much. At night youusually go to bed about 7:30-8. You have been waking up at about 1 and then again at 6. This past week we have not been going in to you at 1 and just letting you fuss a little. Each night you are doing better at going back to sleep on your own.

Your morning nap is very inconsistent and often nonexistent because we are on the go. You take a log of morning naps in the car. In the afternoon we are home so that Katherine takes her nap so you usually take one at the same time. The problem is that you do not go down in your crib without a fight (lots of crying) and I don't want you to wake up crying. I have not been consistent in how I have dealt with this. Some days I let you cry. Some days I pick you up. Some days I let you nap on my lap while I am on the computer. I am really getting tired of it.

You love your bath, especially since we usually bathe you with Katherine. You do not protest at all when we dump water on your head to get the soap out of your hair. You are not scared of the water at all and will try to crawl to the other side of the tub.

You are going through a bit if a separation anxiety stage right now. You usually cry in the church nursery. I can leave you with Nana for awhile but I try to leave without you noticing. I know you will get over it but it is not a fun phase for mommy.

Caroline, we are so in love with you. I enjoy my time with you so much. You are such a sweet baby girl and I am so glad to be your mommy.

ps - notice how squirmy you were when I was taking your monthly pictures. Between the dog, the paper and the fact you were in a rocking chair, you were having a great time.