10 Months

Dear Ryan,

Today you turned 10 months old! You have now been out of my belly longer than you were in it. The past month has certainly been an exciting one! You have learned to do so many new things! It seems you learn something new every day! Here are a few of the high lights:

You are eating pretty much anything and everything these days. You much prefer to feed yourself than to have Mommy or Daddy feed you with a spoon. You still eat baby food, but you prefer actual "finger foods" like pasta, bread, cut up strawberries, avocado, pears, chicken, apples, bananas. You love Mommy's homemade vegetable soup (you only eat the vegetable part, not the soup part) and you even tried a few tiny pieces of a PB&J sandwich as the pediatrician said you could have Peanut Butter! (The new AAP recommendation says not to wait too long!)

You are obsessed with light switches and LOVE to turn them on and off watching the light as it flashes. You love opening and closing drawers and doors and are particularly intrigued by the dishwasher and the kitchen cabinets.

You say "Hi" to nearly EVERYONE you meet and get so much attention for this when we take you to the grocery store. These days, you and Daddy do the grocery shopping together early on Sunday mornings while Daddy lets me sleep in. This is your special time with Daddy and you both seem to love it! (Mommy loves the extra sleep too!) You also wave and say "Bye-Bye." You also continue to say "Dada" and "Mama" though you say "Dada!!!" much more often. Although, I was at a conference the past two days and Daddy told me you said "Mama" a lot while I was gone. That's not fair! I want to hear you say it when I am with you! Just today you seem to now be able to say "sock" which is an odd word for a little guy to be able to say. But you are CONSTANTLY taking your socks off, so we say that word to you a lot.

You have learned to give "High 5s" and you can point to my nose, eyes, mouth and belly button when asked "Where is Mommy's ______?" Most times when you point to my nose you think it is so funny to stick your finger in my nose. You giggle, giggle, giggle when you do this...but it HURTS!

You love balls and you can throw a ball if it is small enough for you to get your little hand around. You also love books. You especially love books that have flaps you can open and close. It is so much fun to cuddle on the floor, the couch, or the rocker in your bedroom to read books. We read "Goodnight Moon" every night and you can point to the moon and the red balloon when Daddy or I ask you to.

And perhaps the biggest news of all is that YOU CAN WALK! You took your first steps (5 in row) on October 18th and you get better and better every day. You are still a bit unsteady at times and can definitely move more quickly and easily by crawling, but you regularly take off on your own two feet and head towards whatever it is you want. You can even stand up without having to pull up on anything. We bought you your first pair of "real" shoes today and they look adorable, even if you're not quite sure you like these clunky things on your feet.

We did a lot of fun things this month too! At the beginning of the month we went to CT to visit your Connecticut Family. While we were there we visited Mommy's cousins Tim & Patti and their three little girls. They doted on you like you were a little king. You had a blast!

We went to the Pumpkin Festival at Butler's Orchard with Nana, Pop-pop, Uncle Mark, & Auntie Catharine. You LOVED kicking and throwing the hay in the hay loft. You went on your first Hay Ride and you helped us pick out the perfect pumpkin.

You also dressed up as SKUNK for Halloween! Nana, Uncle John, Auntie Cindy, Uncle Mark, Auntie Catharine, Caitlin (the Pumpkin), and Julia (the Bat) came over for a Halloween Party at our house and then Trick-or-Treating. I couldn't believe how content you were to keep your costume on! It was such a fun night!

(I have no idea why this is sideways...the original picture is not, but when it uploaded, it came out sideways.)

It is so exciting and so much fun to watch you exploring, discovering, and learning new things every day. You are so energetic, happy, friendly, and easy-going that it is just a joy to be around you. Being your Mommy is the best thing I have ever done! I love you so much, Ryan!

Happy 10th Month Birthday!

Love always and forever (no matter what!),

~Mommy