Dear Bob, you're ten months old.

August 15

You are normally a rather light sleeper.  Even so, I always, every single night, risk waking you up to sneak in your room and kiss you before I go to bed.

August 17

Today you learned to pull yourself up onto your feet.  It started this morning with you pulling up onto your bouncy chair to yank the frog so it would play its song.  You leaned over with your hands on the seat and shoved your bum into the air.  Then tonight we gave you a bath and you were a maniac trying to climb up the slanted side of your little tub; you grunted and slipped but your legs kept at it like you were on a treadmill.  Finally tonight, after we had put you to bed and you played and then whined for a while, we went in to check on you and you were up on your knees at the rail.  We hung out with you by your crib for a bit, and you reached up to the side rail, and pulled with your arms and pushed with your legs, and you did it -- you stood up straight!  You glanced over at us to get a look at our beaming faces, then you squatted down and did it two more times.  We were so so proud of you.  And to think that a calf is standing within moments of plopped out onto the hard earth.

August 20

You like to stick your face in the water while you bathe now.  You drink from your tub like a trough.

August 22

Normally I shower while you are asleep, but when dad's home, I often shower while you're awake.  Today you heard the water running in the bathroom and dashed in there, yelling all the way.  You would have crawled right into the shower with me if dad didn't stop you.  You cried until he lifted you up over the curtain where you could see me.

You try to copy words that we say.  Earlier when you woke up from your nap we played while you were in your crib.  I would stand up at the rail and say "up," and you'd say "puh".  Then I'd squat down and say "down," and you'd say "dah".

When we read your touch and feel book, you now push your face against the feely parts instead of touching them with your hands.  I think you're pretending to smell.  Also you just love soft stuff on your lips.

September 1

You just got over your first fever.  You took it like a man -- we wouldn't even have known you were sick except you were so hot.

Unfortunately, as soon as the fever went away you developed a serious case of the whines.  Boy, have you been hard to please.  I think part of it is that you're bored... it's been so hot that we've been cooped up in the AC except when we go outside to swim in your rescue copter pool.  You've got to be teething, too... fever, drooling, those are signs I think.  I sure do hope you start feeling better soon because boy have you been a grump!

September 3

Today you learned to click your tongue.  You saw me do it and figured it out right away.  So cute to see such a tiny person do such a thing.

September 7

By the time I went to bed last night I had forgotten that yesterday morning you puked all over my pillow, and I was too tired to notice so I slept all night with my face on your dried baby puke.  Love is disgusting sometimes.

September 8


You're TEN months old!

You've been acting a lot better the past couple of days.  Thank the Lord.  It seems you may be getting three teeth in at once -- that will hopefully explain your "don't tell me that every time" attitude.  (But guess what: even when you're a little crank butt, I still love you just as much.)

You love to eat.  Bread or any grains really -- crackers, Cheerios -- are your favorites.  You eat pretty much everything, except I haven't been able to convince you that you like avocado.  You eat big people food with your fingers for the first half of your meal, and then I feed you some baby cereal and pureed vegetables and/or fruits to "fill in the chinks."  It's hard for us to eat around you without feeding you because you get food jealousy.

Recently I fed you your first sandwich.  You were intrigued.

Some of your other top favorites: swimming and playing ball...

Tearing up paper...

...which inevitably leads to a breakdown because I won't let you eat too much of it.

Panting like a dog (that's what you're doing below) and yelling "daw" whenever you see or hear or are reminded of a dog.  Balls and dogs are your two passions apparently since those are the only things you talk about.  Sometimes when you wake up you sit right up and say "ball" over and over until I get one for you.

You're starting to get a little more versatile on the playground...

And you're starting to get more versatile off the playground.

Dad and I just snuck into your room to watch you sleep and to whisper-chant "you're ten months!" at exactly 11 PM, the hour you were born.  You were sleeping on your belly with your legs tucked up under you like a huge newborn.  We tickled your back and you rolled over and sprawled out for a minute or two, then you rolled back into your fetal position.  From my angle (or perhaps it was the darkness) you looked exactly like you did the night you were born.  I rubbed your back again (couldn't help it) and you sat up for a second, then plopped back down.  Your eyes opened but I don't think you really woke up.  That's when we decided to stop bothering you because clearly you're quite tired.

We love you like crazy, little dude.  You're getting cooler and cooler every month.